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“Or you could bring it this Saturday night,” I said.

“There’s a bonfire party at a place on the outskirts of town.

They only happen a few nights a year, but everyone from both our schools will be there.

It’s kind of like a rite of passage if you live in Sunshine Hills or Ransom.

Nobody misses a bonfire night.” I was rambling, and I hoped my sales pitch didn’t sound too desperate.

I guessed this was what happened when you liked a girl you had no chance with.

“A bonfire night?” she slowly repeated. “I’m not sure…”

“Well, it’s going to be a very cold night for me if you don’t turn up with my jacket.”

“But I thought you were part snowman.”

I released a breathy laugh. “Just think about the bonfire,” I said. “You won’t regret it.”

“Okay,” she finally agreed. “But I’m not making any promises, so please wear another jacket just in case. I don’t want to spend the night worrying about you jacketless and freezing in some field.”

“You’d worry about me? That’s so sweet.”

“I…” She laughed and shook her head. “I’m going to go now.”

I still didn’t want to say goodbye to Violet, but at least I knew there was a chance I’d see her again soon. “Have a good night, Sunshine.”

She playfully rolled her eyes at the nickname and responded with a quick wave. Then, she was gone from the garage before I could think of a legitimate reason to keep her talking any longer.

“You really like her, huh?”

I jumped and turned to find my dad standing in the doorway of his office.

“She’s just a friend.”

My dad smirked. “Uh-huh.”

I narrowed my eyes on him, but he turned his gaze to the clock on the wall. “Are you going to practice today? Or are you planning on hanging around here until she comes back?”

“Shit.” I’d totally lost track of time. I was definitely going to be late, and Coach would be pissed. He wouldn’t be the only one. As captain of the team, I was supposed to be setting the standard for the team and yelling at them when they were late. Not the other way around.

Just this once though, it had been worth it.

* * *

As expected, Coach was out for blood when I arrived on the ice fifteen minutes after practice had started.

I was already on his bad side after I spent time in the penalty box during the game on Saturday, so he didn’t take my tardiness lightly.

He yelled at me for wasting everyone’s time, and he was only too happy to remind me how important our upcoming games were.

The season was just kicking off, but in a few weeks, we would play our biggest game of the year against the Sunshine Prep Saints.

They were the one team who had any chance of beating us to the championship this year, and Coach Ray made it sound like my lack of punctuality was going to cost us the whole season.

I was used to Coach yelling, but it was rare that he directed his anger squarely at me.

It was harder to take than I expected. This was my senior year, my final year playing high-school hockey, and as captain, I didn’t want to let anyone down.

The one upshot of his rant was that I doubted anyone else on the team would be stupid enough to turn up late to training again.

“Hope she was worth it,” Grayson muttered to me when Coach finally ran out of steam.

I gave him a smile. “Totally worth it.”

Grayson grunted before skating off. It was hard to tell if he was signaling his approval or disappointment.

Coach Ray rode us harder than ever that practice, and I knew it was because I’d put him in a bad mood. Once it was all over and we filed into the locker room, I apologized to my teammates. But none of them would hear it.

“It’s not your fault,” Owen said. “Coach has been itching to put us through our paces for weeks.” It was Owen’s first year on the team, so I knew he was probably just trying to make me feel better.

His brother, Matt, my best friend, was standing right beside him, smirking as if he found the punishing practice hilarious.

“It was bound to happen eventually, Reed,” Matt added with a grin. “You haven’t been late for something since we were in kindergarten. I swear, you’ll turn up early to your own funeral.”

“What are you talking about? I was never late for kindergarten.”

“Of course not.” Matt laughed. He was probably the one person on the team I’d accept any crap from. But that was only because he had gathered far too much dirt on me over the years.

“Why were you late?” Parker asked from the other side of the locker room. His eyes danced wickedly as though he already knew the answer. I hadn’t told him I was heading to the garage to see Violet before practice, and I had no intention of letting him in on the truth now.

“Car troubles,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders. It was somewhat true. There were car troubles. Just not mine.

“Funny, you only serviced your car last week.” Parker clearly didn’t believe me, but thankfully he didn’t press for answers. He seemed content with letting me know he was suspicious of my story.

I changed quickly and left the locker room with my brothers. We had almost reached the front doors to the center when they swung inward, and a handful of Saints players strolled through the entrance.

No one was happy about the fact we were sharing a rink this season.

But, seeing as Sunshine Prep was renovating the already monstrous arena on their campus, we couldn’t be sure how long the arrangement would last. I’d played a few games there in previous seasons, and I had no idea why they thought it needed improving.

It was already incredible. Knowing the pretentious pricks that went to that school, they were probably importing ice direct from Switzerland.

“I still can’t believe we’re stuck training in this dump,” one of the Sunshine Prep players said as the doors swung shut behind them.

Before he could say anything else, his teammate spotted us and elbowed him in the ribs.

They all froze, and I saw a flash of fear in the eyes of the guy who had spoken.

They were probably freshman. All the kids on the Saints were scared of us, but at least the older guys managed to hide it a little better.

I stared back at them, keeping my expression cold and hard. I knew my brothers’ faces mirrored my own. I’d never been all that fond of the reputation we’d developed over the years, but in moments like these, it felt worth it.

“If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to leave at any time,” I said.

“We’re not going anywhere.” Jeremy Hoffman appeared from the back of the group, puffing his chest out like the little superhero he believed he was.

He was wearing that ever-present superior smirk of his, and a low growl rumbled from deep in my chest. I had plenty of good reasons for despising the captain of the Saints, but knowing what he did to Violet made the hatred flooding my veins burn even hotter.

He signaled for his teammates to keep moving into the arena, but as he passed by me, he slammed his shoulder into mine.

“Watch it, Hoffman,” I hissed at him.

“Or what, Darling?” he barked back, spinning round to face me.

My jaw tightened, and my hands clenched.

I was desperate to wipe the smirk off his stupid face, and I might have done just that, but Grayson grabbed me by the elbow and dragged me outside before I got the chance.

Parker followed right behind him, my brothers making certain I didn’t do anything I’d regret.

They knew how important this season was to me, and I couldn’t let anything derail it.

If I took my anger out on Hoffman, like I so badly wanted to, I could face serious consequences.

“What are you thinking?” Grayson hissed, finally letting go of me as we reached my car.

“That someone needs to shut Hoffman up.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Parker replied, folding his arms over his chest. “But you know what happened last time you took on Hoffman. And Coach has already told us that anyone who starts shit with the Saints while we’re sharing the rink gets benched.

You don’t want to get on his bad side.” There was a serious look in his eyes, which showed my brother knew just how close I’d been to messing up.

Parker was the last person I’d expect to come down so hard on me, but if I couldn’t play, then the whole team would be screwed.

And hockey was the one thing in life Parker took seriously.

“I wasn’t going to do anything.”

Parkers eyebrows shot up with disbelief. “Dude, you growled at him like a mountain lion about to launch into battle.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m allowed to growl.”

“Pretty sure the only time growling is allowed is in one of those dirty books Mom likes to read,” he replied. “Back me up here, Gray.”

“I don’t know how you know what’s in Mom’s books,” Grayson said to Parker before turning to me.

“But he’s right about starting shit. If you get benched this season, or worse, suspended like freshman year, you can kiss your spot on the Raiders next year goodbye.

Hoffman’s not worth it. Don’t ruin your future because of him. Or because of a girl you just met.”

“I told you I wasn’t going to do anything.” I threw my hands up in the air, trying to prove my innocence. I wondered what Grayson would think if he knew I’d been questioning all my career goals to get around Violet’s no-hockey-players rule.

“Only because we intervened,” Grayson replied. I went to argue again, but my brother continued. “Save the dramatics for the ice. If you want to make Hoffman pay for what he did to Violet, and everything else, do it at our game against them in a few weeks.”

I exhaled loudly, the tension in my shoulders releasing with the breath. “Okay, you’re right.”

“I usually am,” Grayson replied.

Once they were sure I’d finally regained my cool, my brothers ditched their gear in Grayson’s car, and I slowly made my way toward my truck.

I might not have made Hoffman regret cheating on Violet tonight, but I was certainly going to make him pay for it at our game.

I just wished I didn’t have to wait so long to teach him a lesson.