Page 12

Chapter Twelve

N othing like hockey to get your brain jostled up nice and good inside your head.

I’d been distracted for a second. One measly second. That’s all it took for my teammate to slam me up against the glass, laughing the whole time.

“Ha!” Ryan called, skating away speedily because he knew what was good for him. “I got Brynn.”

“Yeah, well, don’t think it’ll happen again.” I scowled, pursuing him on the ice, just until I saw the fear light in his eyes.

As an NHL player, Ryan Thomas was big in his own right, but he was no match for me. At 6'4", I had an inch or three over most of the guys on the team. And while I was on the leaner side compared to some of them, my height definitely gave me an advantage more often than not.

Height and speed. That’s what I had going for me, and I wasn’t about to let Ryan forget it. Following after him, I feigned left, darted right, and cut him off mid-ice, sending him scrambling to keep control of the puck.

“Okay, okay!” he called, holding up a hand as I closed the distance. “Truce, Brynn. Don’t make me regret it.”

I smirked, skating backward to let him breathe. “That’s what I thought.”

“Finally,” Coach yelled from the side. “Some camaraderie! This is what I’ve been wanting!” He clapped his hands together.

“Camaraderie?” Brody skated up beside me, grinning. “If that’s what we’re calling bullying, Ryan, then I’m all for camaraderie.”

“I’m on board with that,” Ryan chirped.

As Coach blew the whistle to signal a break in practice, the rest of the team kept their banter going all the way to the locker room, apparently not taking notice of the fact that I wanted nothing to do with it.

“Hey, Brynn,” Brody called over his shoulder, his grin as smug as ever. “If you ever decide to write a book on how to take life way too seriously, I’ll buy the first copy.”

“Sure you will,” I shot back, pulling my phone out of my bag. “I’ll even sign it for you. ‘To Brody: thanks for being the world’s biggest pain in the ass.’”

Brody laughed, tossing his towel into the hamper. “Aww, Brynn. You do care.”

I ignored him, chugging down an ungodly amount of water before unlocking my phone and scanning for messages. Some twisted part of me was hoping there’d be a text waiting for me from Cassie before I mentally forced the idea out of my head. This girl wasn’t my friend. Why would she be contacting me?

What I did have was several missed calls from Maggie. Six in the last five minutes. I dialed her number, mentally preparing myself for her to tell me something crazy, like that she had a second friend who desperately needed to use my car for a week.

“Where’s the key?” She asked before I even had the chance to utter a greeting.

“Hey, Mags. What’s up? I’m good, how are you?” I responded dryly in an effort to show her the rudeness of her greeting.

“Did you move the spare key?” she repeated expectantly.

“Yes,” I said tersely. “Why? Do you need it?”

“Where did you move it?”

“The kitchen drawer,” I responded dryly.

“Well, that’s a dumb place to keep a spare key,” she responded with agitation.

“Why do you need it?”

“I don’t. Cassie does.”

My body tightened. “I left the one I made for her. Is it not there?”

“No, she used that one but locked herself out after that. Now she can’t get back in, and your neighbors think she’s some puck bunny trying to break into your apartment.”

I stifled a laugh at the thought. Cassie was anything but.

“Well, tell her to come by the rink and pick up my key,” I said casually, ignoring the way my heart rate was spiking at the thought of her showing up here.

“Fine, I’ll text her. But she might just wait in the hallway for you to get home.”

“What?” I asked incredulously. “Don’t let her sit in the hallway. I’ll be here for a few more hours. She needs to just come and get the key from me.”

“Well, I’ll tell her she can, but she gets shy about stuff like that. I doubt she’ll be too eager to walk into an NHL practice. Especially since she already thinks you hate her.”

I stilled at those words. She didn’t actually think that, did she? I didn’t hate her at all.

“She does?”

“Well, I don’t know about hate, but she’s definitely picked up on the vibe that you’re more of a solo guy.”

Damnit, I thought. Did she feel uncomfortable being there? Did she think I resented her presence?

I wouldn’t blame her if she did. I certainly hadn’t welcomed her in that first night. But I didn’t resent it anymore, and I’d told her that. I was happy to help while she found her footing again.

“Okay, she just texted back that she’s coming,” Maggie said in the silence of my contemplation.

“Great,” I responded as if my heart hadn’t done a tumble at those words.

“Why did you move the key anyway?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” I tried to shrug her off. “Why does it matter?”

“I’m just curious why you moved a key that’s been in the same spot since the day you moved in?” she asked.

“It’s just a privacy concern,” I responded. “You know how many people try to get in when I’m not there.”

“Well, it wasn’t a big privacy concern before,” she countered, and I could picture the look on her face on the other side of the line.

“Yeah, well, that’s when it was just me living there.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, I’m not going to leave a key to my apartment that anyone can use to let themselves in when I have a girl living with me. It’s just not safe.”

In Maggie’s silence, I mentally chastised my word choice.

“Staying,” I corrected quickly, running a hand through my hair. “A girl staying with me. Not living.” Definitely not living.

“Aww,” Maggie gushed dramatically. “Is being protective over his little sister’s friend?”

“No,” I said in a clipped tone. “It’s just common courtesy. I wanted her to feel safe.”

Wanted her to be safe. I wasn’t going to chance some crazy fans being able to get in when she was there inside the apartment. It didn’t matter as much when it was just me. I was more than capable of calling security or escorting unruly fans out myself, but I wasn’t going to chance that with Cassie there.

“Awww,” she repeated in a sickening tone. “You care! ”

“It’s just practical!” I responded, getting worked up. “Have you seen the girl? She’s so tiny. I don’t want any creepy, hockey-obsessed guys to break in while she’s there.”

“You looooove her,” Maggie droned on.

“Shut up, Maggie.” I groaned.

“Awwwww, you’re not even denying it!” she squealed into my ear, causing me to hold it away from my face while I recovered from the high decibels.

“Well, I don’t!” I responded gruffly. “I didn’t think I’d have to say that to you. I don’t even know her. It’s just a favor for you, in case you forgot.”

“Calm down, I was kidding,” she said, still laughing. “She’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay,” I bit out. “Bye, Maggie.”

“Bye, loverboy. ”

I hung up to the sound of her snickering down the line.

Little fucking sisters, man. They were a guy’s worst nightmare.