Front row seats from now on, since you're such a fan.??
With love, your brother, Case.
I gasp, crumbling it up as the usher holds his hand out for me. I look at Annie whose eyes are wide and I laugh.
“Don’t just sit there, come on,” I yell and she fumbles while getting her belongings as I take the usher's hand and he leads us right behind the glass where the team is sitting in the lower bowl. I unfortunately couldn’t ever afford these seats, but here we are.
“Holy shit, Lyla! Why didn’t you tell me you knew Case?” Annie asks as I watch the man of the hour glide down the ice scoring a goal. I whoop in excitement then look at Annie.
“I just found out he’s my stepbrother,” I deadpan and her eyes widen.
“Wow, and the plot thickens, girl. Youreallyshould’ve led with that the minute you saw me.” She answers and I shrug.
“Guess it just slipped my mind,” I lie and she laughs.
“Yeah sure it did, Miss ‘I obsess over Case Nicoletti’.” She teases and I roll my eyes.
“Oh, I know. I just didn’t want to make it seem anymore obvious.” I say as pounding against the glass causes me to jump.I turn to look and see Case ripping his helmet off his head and waving me over. The amount of butterflies that swim through my belly as I stand and walk a few feet over to him.
“Hey Doll, I see you got my note!” He yells and I cup my ear acting like I can’t hear him.
“What!?” I yell back and I swear my heart stops as he points to the tunnel. I can’t believe he is walking off the game just to talk to me. I shake my head and laugh. “I can hear you! I was just kidding!” I yell back and he shakes his head, smiling brightly.
“Meet me in the tunnel after the game!” He shouts.
“I can't, I came with a friend!” I yell and he rolls his eyes.
“Meet me at the house then?” He asks, raising a brow and I nod.
“Yeah, now get out there and win this!” I shout, and he nods, grinning from ear to ear.
“The last goal is for you, Doll. Watch me work,” he winks, throwing his helmet on and skating away towards the center of the ice. I step back, never taking my eyes off of him as I sit next to Annie.
“What was that about?” she asks and I shake my head laughing.
“He wanted to make sure I was going home tonight,” I answer and she laughs.
“Damn, you are so lucky,” she says, bumping me in the shoulder.
“That just means I can introduce you to your precious goalie.” I tease as her cheeks redden in embarrassment. The buzzer goes off as the time on the clock runs down, while Case glides down the rink. His brothers pass the puck back and forth, shoving the opposite team out of the way, as Case gains control of the puck. I hold my breath as he spins around the guys blocking his way from the goal, sending the puck right between the idiot's legs and straight into the net. Me and Annie jump upand scream, hollering as the team skates towards Case who lifts his glove and points it at me. A blush creeps up my cheeks and I shake my head but can’t help the smile spread across my face. My heart is pounding wildly inside my chest and I just want to scream.I wish he was mine. I wish he’d call me on the ice and lift me in his arms and skate while celebrating his big win.Then reality sets in and someone taps me on the shoulder. I look back and my face pales. All smiles are gone and I’m immediately in fight-or-flight mode. Luckily we are in a public place so I am safe for now.
“Hello, Angel. Fancy seeing you here,” Kenneth says and I cringe at the nickname.
“Nice to see you Kenneth. We were just leaving.” I say grabbing Annie’s hand and pulling her towards the exit. I need to go. I don't care that this is a safe place for now. Ineedto get out of here. As we start to walk away, he grabs my arm and I rip it away. “Don’t touch me!” I say and Annie’s eyes widen.
“Can I have a moment of your time?” he asks and I shake my head.
“NO! You may not. Now if you will excuse me.” I say trying to walk away but he grasps my hips from behind and breathes down my neck. His breath smelling like stale cigarettes and old beer.
“Keep running from me Angel and you won’t like what happens next. You are mine!” He growls, licking the shell of my ear. I thrash in his hold as we walk towards the exit. Pounding against the glass gets my attention and I snap my head in that direction, to see a very pissed off Case but I shake my head as I continue to walk.
“Get your fucking hands off me Kenneth or I’m going to make a scene!” I threaten. His hands immediately leave my hips and I grab a hold on Annie who is a few steps ahead of me and walk quickly through the tunnel and out into the parking lot.
“What the hell was that about?” She asks and I just shake my head.
“Nothing, I don't want to talk about it. Ready to fight through this traffic?” I ask and she nods as we walk through the sea of people and get to my car. Of course there's a note on my windshield. Ripping it from my window I shove it in my pocket and huff then climb in.I can’t wait to get as far away from this fucking place as I can.
Case
