Page 24

24

L ater that day, I pushed through the doors of the education building with a huge weight off my chest.

The only other useful group member and I gave the bulk of the talk and left the useless members to flail in the question-and-answer portion. My professor assured me after class my grade would only be based on the work I’d done.

I was proud of myself for taking the initiative to ask and for doing quality work. It wasn’t often I stood up for myself, at least, before this semester—and Reece—I hadn’t. Too bad the rest of campus didn’t care about my personal growth, only the lies Toby fed them.

Crossing campus to meet Reece was an exercise in selective hearing. Students I didn’t know whispered behind my back as I walked past.

Do you think he knows she’s a klepto?

He calls her little thief. He must know.

If he’s okay with that, what else is he okay with?

Did you know she was kicked out of Easton?

That’s why Tobias Kane had to transfer.

Poor guy.

I heard she’s crazy.

I heard she set her sorority house on fire.

I laughed under my breath at the last one because it had been a close call. If I’d known they’d escalate and try to pull Reece in, I might have let my destructive urges loose. I was already being persecuted for something I hadn’t done, might as well give them a reason to investigate me.

Reece leaned against his car waiting for me at our normal meeting spot near Wildcat Coffee. He’d wanted to walk me across campus too, but the timing wouldn’t work. We had similar schedules thanks to Toby. Most of the hockey guys chose classes around their practice schedule, and Toby had wanted me available when he was free.

What a jerk.

It was nice having classes at the same time as Reece though. He could drive me to and from campus without me feeling like he was being put out, and we got to spend the rest of the time together. I imagined that perk wouldn’t last much longer.

The comments stopped as I drew within Reece’s hearing, no surprise since they didn’t want him to think they were talking crap about him. I couldn’t wait to graduate and get away from Toby’s influence. Provided the administration didn’t suspend me with one semester left.

Reece smiled, pulling me close for a long, slow kiss, and my other worries faded to the back of my mind. When he was holding me, I felt like the rest of the world didn’t matter.

“How was your presentation? Did you crush it? You crushed it, right?”

I smiled at his excitement. “I crushed it.”

“Now that your presentation is over, I’m going to ask you again to move in. Ask you, this time, because Cole informs me I was an overbearing ass before.”

“Cole is a good cookie,” I murmured.

Honestly, the impending move seemed like the least of my worries. My mom had called so many times in the last two hours, I’d been tempted to block her number. Three guesses who’d told her. After a brief explanation about how the eviction was a misunderstanding, I informed her I wanted to move out and I’d give her the details when I had them.

She had no choice but to accept because I got off the phone right away. Then I’d buried myself in presentation prep as a welcome distraction. I hated packing and finding a new space. The only place in Addison I felt comfortable was at the hockey house.

Boo loved it there because he could play with Sunny any time he wanted, and I was pretty sure the guys spoiled him with treats when I wasn’t around. It would be easy to accept Reece’s offer, but I’d spent most of my life choosing the easy route.

Now that I didn’t have the presentation on my mind, I couldn’t stop the spiral of worried thoughts from taking over.

Even without the threat from the school, my relationship with Reece was still in a confusing, hazy state of limbo, which was my own fault. We weren’t faking anything anymore, but I was leery of going all in again. Moving in together felt like a big freaking commitment.

Reece drove in silence, letting me stew. Yet another reason I would have loved to move into his house. All the guys respected when I needed alone time.

Which was why I couldn’t use them as a shield. Asking them to risk an association with me right as they were gearing up for the second half of their final season felt patently unfair. They needed to focus on doing their best and finishing out the season strong, not whether they’d be kicked out of school because Toby was a vindictive prick.

He was stupid for throwing his teammates under the bus along with me. Yeah, he wanted Reece’s spot on the first line, but getting rid of the best players on his team wouldn’t get him a championship. His short-sighted behavior would end up hurting all of them.

And I couldn’t follow in his selfish footsteps. Decision made.

We turned onto his street, and Reece glanced my way. “Do you want me to circle the block?”

I shook my head as my chest constricted at the conversation I was about to have. “I appreciate your offer to move in, but I’m going to find another way. When we started this whole thing, it was beneficial to both of us, but now your association with me could drag you down. Toby is determined to tie you to me even if it screws with your season. I don’t want your coach to rethink his choice for captain—and I don’t want you to regret this.”

Reece parked in the driveway and frowned. “I’m not afraid of Kane, and Coach knows his own mind. He didn’t make me captain because of my relationship with you, and he’s not going to demote me because of it either.”

I pulled the letter from the university out of my bag and handed it to him, watching him grimace as he got to the investigation and associate parts. “It might not be his choice. If things go badly, TU could make you ineligible to play.”

His jaw tightened with a familiar stubbornness. “I’m willing to take that risk. This letter makes me even more determined to have you safe here where we can help. Gavin won’t charge you rent for a single semester, so you wouldn’t have to get your parents’ approval. If the worst case comes true, we can take care of you. I can take care of you.”

Frustration dropped my head back onto the seat. “I’m tired of people taking care of me. I want to take care of myself. The sorority is required to return my deposit and advanced payments if I won’t be living there. I can find a room to rent.”

Reece let out a discontented growl, but I didn’t let him stop me.

“This isn’t up for discussion.” I exited the car and made it all the way upstairs before Reece caught up to me.

He followed me into his room, closing the door behind us. “I’m not going to try to change your mind, even though I think you’re wrong. You don’t want to live here? Fine. Boo and I will miss you, but we aren’t going anywhere.”

Instead of the cold annoyance I expected, Reece pulled me into his arms. “You’re more important to me than finishing out the season. Kane is losing his mind with this shit, and I’m worried about what he’ll do next. If it comes down to playing hockey or protecting you, I’m choosing you. And you can’t stop me.”

My throat closed up with emotion. I wasn’t sure anyone had chosen me before, but I couldn’t let him forfeit his chance to play. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I whispered.

He leaned back to peer at my face. “Are you coming to the game tonight?”

I hesitated. “I don’t think I should. I’m cursed right now, and I don’t want to bring you guys down with me. Feeling protective goes both ways. I just need a little time to figure things out.”

His face closed up, but he didn’t let me go. “Whatever you need, Kenzie. I hope you’ll be here when I get back.”

I nodded, and he kissed my forehead before releasing me to change into his pre-game clothes. Reece had to be at the arena early for his captain duties, and I bit my lip to keep from asking him to stay. The whole point was to give him the space to succeed.

My heart hurt when he left. I was trying to protect him, but why did it feel like I’d ripped open my insides? He was only going to his pre-game warmup.

This would be the second home game I’d missed since we started this crazy deal. His jersey was washed and neatly folded on his dresser, waiting for me. I hadn’t done that. My version of laundry included separating the clean clothes into piles until I went through all of them and had to start over again with the washing machine.

I hadn’t noticed, but Reece did most of my laundry now. He’d cleared a drawer in his dresser and space in his closet, and he put my clothes away there. He gave me food when I got hangry, he made me laugh when I got upset, he took care of me—without making me feel incapable or beholden.

And I couldn’t imagine my life without him.

Boo jumped into my lap, kneading my legs and purring like crazy. He’d gotten me Boo.

I didn’t want to sacrifice myself at the altar of Toby’s revenge tour, but the accusations had snowballed past the point I could safely ignore. How could I risk Reece’s future because my ex-boyfriend didn’t know how to lose? Nothing easy came to mind, so I did something crazy… I called Eva.

She answered as if she already knew what was going on. “You’re lucky I have an afternoon free to work on your crisis.”

I frowned at the screen. “How did you know I was having a crisis?”

“It’s the main reason people call me. Now give me the details.”

I explained the situation, along with my lack of good choices and the simmering fury I couldn’t seem to move past.

Eva hummed. “This doesn’t feel like a wear his jersey to the game situation. I actually think you’re making the right decision at the moment, but you also need to get more information. You’re right that you can’t do anything pro-active. That’s because you haven’t gone on the offense. How do you feel about a bit of light confrontation?”

“Depends on the subject.”

“Find Tobias. I have it on good authority he isn’t at the rink right now. You need to find out how vindictive he really is before you decide to pick the path of least happiness simply because he led you there.”

Her words made my view of the situation click into a new position. Toby wanted me unhappy. He wanted me desperate and begging—he’d said as much. What was his end goal?

“I’m not good at confrontation,” I admitted.

Eva scoffed. “You’re not helpless, and you can do hard things. It might surprise you the depths you’ll go to protect the person you love.”

My brows shot up. “I didn’t say anything about love.”

“You didn’t need to. I’m a pro at recognizing it. You want to spend all your time with him, he makes you giddy, you’re currently putting Reece’s happiness above your own. Love. If this is new information, deal with it, then go find out why Tobias has it in for you. We can move forward from there.”

I absently thanked her, and she said she’d see me later before hanging up. My mind was busy filling with a montage of all the happy times with Reece. Did I love him? The warm honey feeling in my chest sure as hell felt like love, but I’d been wrong before.

I’d thought I’d loved Toby. My feelings for him weren’t even close to what I felt for Reece though. The thought scared me because I’d been so blind before. How could I trust myself to make the right decisions when it came to my life?

Boo meowed when my grip got too tight, and I snuggled him as an apology for forgetting he was there. The kitten’s rumbling purr vibrated against my chest, and my shoulders relaxed. I loved Boo. No question. I didn’t doubt my feelings because I didn’t have a bad experience coloring my perception. Toby’s horrid actions were still controlling me.

With a new perspective, I looked around Reece’s room, at the space he’d made for me in his life, and it hit me. I didn’t need to trust myself. I needed to trust Reece—and I did.