“Hey?”
“Yeah?”
Jack hesitates as I look back at him. “About my dad . . . I don’t . . .” He rubs the back of his neck, his cheeks tinted red.
He wants to know if I’m going to keep his secret.
“Don’t worry about it, Jack. We’ve all got our shit. My lips are sealed.”
His throat bobs as he swallows, dipping his chin in a nod. “Thanks. If you want to stash your bag somewhere for when you’re definitelynotskating, I can put on top of my stall for safekeeping. Beats lugging them around campus.”
I hesitate, but I end up pulling the strap off my shoulder to hand it to him. “I don’t skate,” I repeat.
“Got it. You don’t skate.”
The clang of a door opening and shutting catches my attention, causing me to back away so quickly I almost trip over my own feet. “Schultz, you’re not going to make me puke before our game tonight, right?”
“Depends on how many shots you miss,” he calls back, setting my bag next to his stuff. “Thanks for dropping off my notes, Al. You’re a lifesaver.” Jack winks at me, and I sigh in relief, realizing he’s giving me an excuse to be seen here, even if his teammate doesn’t know who I am.
Correction:Jack is a lifesaver.
I make my escape, but I’m stopped in my tracks when I think the guy who shows up recognizes me, his head tilting as he looksme up and down. He squints, but I don’t stick around to find out if he figures it out.
Instead, I try to focus on clinging to the euphoric feeling of gliding across the ice again—it’s been a year too long without it.
CHAPTER 10
Jack
I’ve spentthe last week asking myself why the hell, out of all the things I could have told Alondra at the rink, the first thing that came out of my mouth was my dad being in prison. I could have said anything else.
I could’ve said I hate ketchup and mayo by themselves, but mix them together? I’ll dip anything in it.
I had braces for four years as a teenager.
Sometimes when I’m walking around campus on my way to class or to the team’s study hall, I’ll put my earbuds in with no music playing so that people don’t talk to me.
Or I’ve never had a girlfriend because I don’t believe in love.
But I didn’t say any of that.
I willingly told Alondra the one thing I never tell people the truth about. My roommates know, but they’re family to me. I’m not actually sure what Ellie knows and what she doesn’t, and quite frankly, I don’t give a shit so I’ve never cared to ask. She’s been a good friend to me.
Fuck, the last thing I expected that morning when I walked into the barn was to see Alondra doing fucking jumps and skating with the biggest smile on her face. I had no idea she skated, let alone like that.
I’m trying not to see Coach B differently after what she told me, but it’s hard. I’ve looked up to him for years, even considering him to be the closest thing I have to a father figure. He might be a hard-ass most of the time, but I know he’s always had my best interests at heart.
Now? Every time he praises one of us or checks in to make sure I’m doing okay, I wonder if he does the same with Al. It’s not my place at all, but I keep picturing the look on her face when she came to the rink two weeks ago to apologize. She looked like she’d rather swallow a handful of nails instead of tell me their relationship sucks, but Al did it because she wanted me to believe her apology.
I tip my head back, keeping the soap out of my eyes while the water from the showerhead hits all the right spots on my sore muscles. I forgot how sore my body is during the first few weeks, but we started our season going against some of the harder teams in our conference. Nate’s doing his best to protect us out there, but he can’t protect both me and Coop at the same time, and other teams know it.
Fuck.
Why did I tell her about my dad?
Most of the guys have already cleared out of the locker room by the time I’m done rinsing off, since Coach wanted to talk to me after practice about my thoughts on the team so far this season. He wants this as badly as we do.
He hesitated before asking how tutoring was going, and I tried to be as vague as possible, knowing how his relationship with Alondra is, but he’s still my coach. There’s a fine line to walk here.
