Page 128 of Penalty Shot

He gives one look in Cassie’s direction before mumbling, “Sure. I’ll catch her later.”

My fist is wound so tight, I might snap a ligament. We walk to the other end where there’s a stretch of hallway past the bathrooms. We still have to raise our voices to be heard. At least here a conversation is possible.

“Well?” he asks, looking nearly as pissed as I feel. “You never hang out with us, but you think you can tell everyone what to do? Fuck, Lance, there better be a good reason for scaring off that hot chick.”

“That hot chick is not a puck bunny.”

“I never said Cassie was a puck bunny.”

The sound of her name coming from Sergei makes me cringe. “I know for a fact she has a boyfriend. He’s an asshole so it’s not gonna work out—”

“Yeah, yeah,” he interrupts. “She broke up with him, man. That’s why she’s out partying with her friends.”

“Oh,” I say stupidly, processing multiple reactions.

First, good for her. That Simon guy was a piece of shit. Second, the guy in front of me isn’t much better. He’s a stellar hockey player, but it comes to treating women right, he’s also a piece of shit. Lastly, I’m left with a bitter taste in my mouth. This guy knows Cassie is single before I do? That’s ridiculous. I’m practically family.

“Just do me a favor, OK? She’s off-limits. We grew up together because she’s my best friend’s baby sister. This isn’t who she is… picking up hockey players for a one-night stand.”

“Who says I want a one-night stand?”

“Fuck off, Sergei. No one got amnesia between now and the last time you went out.”

“You think I’m stupid enough to have a one-night stand in a city I live in? That’s what road games are for, man.” He shakes his head before donning a wolfish grin. “Besides, she’s awesome. I gave her my number.”

“Suddenly you’re dating material?” I huff my disbelief. “You’re full of shit.”

“I don’t need this. Go play daddy somewhere else. I’m finding Cassie.”

He pushes past me, about to storm off, when I blurt out, “She’s a kid.”

“What do you mean? She’s in her twenties.”

“I mean, like,mentally. She’s sheltered and young and… and innocent,” I say. And because I’m desperate, I bend the truth. “Cassie doesn’t even have a job.”

“She told me that she’s running a business. I asked what she does for a living.”

“She makes crafts, man. That’s not a job.”

“What?”

“Crafts. Like what kids do.”

His eyes flick over my shoulder and I know, I just fuckingknow, I fucked up. By the time I whip around, Cassie’s fleeting form is swallowed by the crowd.

Cassie

“I’m sorry, Cassie. Please call me back.Please.Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

Changed for bed, I listen to the third message Lance has left on my voicemail. He started leaving messages after his dozen texts went unanswered.

I kept my phone off as Stephanie drove us back to Cincinnati. My girls were set to grab food at the deli near the university. I begged to be dropped off first. Without getting into details, they knew I was upset when we left the club.

Upset barely covers it. I’m humiliated. Angry. Hurt. I never imagined Lance was capable of cruelty. Oblivious to my infatuation when he joined my brothers to tease me, sure. I never thought he saw me in an infantile way. And to say it out loud to a stranger? He might as well have punched me, for how my stomach twisted and my heart stopped.

I’ll never look at him again without hearing his ruthless insult of me and my passion.

Crafts. Like what kids do.