“Hey.” Recognition lit up his face. “Crystal, right?”
“Oh, hey,” I said, trying to sound casual while my stomach did somersaults. Guys you made out with once on a whim weren’t supposed to show up in your real life. That was the whole point of hockey tournaments.
“Wait, you two know each other?” Axel raised an eyebrow.
I scoffed. “Not really, just met at the invitational.”
Jake looked smug, and my cheeks heated.
“Okay, I was surprised because he just joined the team last week.”
I nearly choked on my spit. “Oh yeah?”
Rory clapped his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “He was impressed by our showing in Clearwater. Decided to transfer. Coach put him through the ringer in practices, but he’s official.”
Jake adjusted the strap of his bag, his eyes still on me. “You all hang out?”
Rory snorted. “She’s been avoiding us, bud. We used to see her all the time. Now it’s like she joined witness protection.”
“I’ve been around,” I said, a bit too defensively. “Just busy.”
Axel grinned. “Nah. You just love Maddie and Shar more than us.”
I laughed. “I mean, you said it.”
Rory pretended to be hurt. “Well, Maddie’s coming to the tourney this weekend. Is that enough to get you to come?”
I blew out a breath. “Some of us have actual homework to do.” I did have things I could work on, but a part of me wondered if I should call up Maddie and invite myself along. Sounded a lot better than sitting on a couch with Garrett.
“We’ll have to plan something when we get back then,” Axel pulled me into a hug, squeezing the air from my lungs. “Promise?”
“Fine,” I grunted. “I guess.”
Rory ruffled my hair and I slapped his hand away. They laughed and waved. Jake walked backward a step or two before joining them.
Have mercy. What was wrong with me? I should’ve been jumping all over that, but the idea of hanging out with the team filled me with dread instead of excitement. It just wasn’t the same.
By the time I reached the fourplex, my fingers were numb. I dropped my bag beside the couch, kicked off my shoes, and microwaved some leftover pasta. I rinsed my bowl, wiped my hands on a dish towel, and spotted the red blink of the answering machine.
I grabbed a pen and notepad, pressing play.
There was a beep, then a low voice. “Hey, Crystal. It’s Logan.”
The pen froze midair.
“I wanted to check in about that gallery thing. I talked to my mom, and she said Norman’s open to meeting you. If you’re still interested. I think he’s going to be over at the space tomorrow afternoon or evening. It’s a weekend, so I get it if you have plans . . . ”
No, the hell I did not have plans.Not anymore. I scrawled down the address and time on my notepad, and as soon as the message ended, I picked up the phone and dialled Logan back.
Funny, I didn’t have to check my notebook. I had his number memorized.
Chapter
Four
The phone rang twice.
“Hello?” Logan’s voice sounded rough, like I’d woken him up.
