While we waited, teachers streamed out into the hallway behind many of the kids lingering there. The crowd swelled, and I gritted my teeth as I forced smiles for the multitude of selfies that finally made my head ache. Maxim’s temperament slid as well, and I worried he’d turn into a wounded bear. The only one worse than him in these situations was Cruz.
Then finally the office door opened, and a middle-aged woman slipped out with Keelie behind her. Keelie held open her door, her face a mask of disapproval.
“It’s my fault Cormac didn’t contact you yesterday,” Maxim began, tripping over his own feet to get into Keelie’s room. “I pranked him, and his phone ended up in Cruz’s ice bath, fritzed to hell… Please give me a minute away from all the flashes. My eyes…”
I slipped through the space just before Maxim slammed the door and leaned back against it, his chest heaving.
“That’s worse than the mobs at the bars after a game,” I said. “They’re shorter and rowdier.”
“I almost stepped on a kid,” Maxim groaned, running his hands down his cheeks, expression filled with horror. “Like, a baby one.”
“A kindergartener?” I asked. I hadn’t seen any child that young outside.
“I don’t know! It came up to my knee. And it squeaked.”
My shoulders shook at his dramatics, but I managed not to laugh. He shot me a wink that I’m pretty sure Keelie caught. I straightened, blinking to rid my vision of the black spots floating there.
“What…” Keelie’s brows tugged low, darkening her eyes. “Marian said you were out with another woman. I saw the picture.”
“Shannon, my ex.” I sighed. “And that wasn’t really by choice. She came into town for the weekend—some kind of legal convention. I’d told her we shouldn’t meet up, but she decided otherwise.”
“Cormac escorted her to her car after the game,” Maxim cut in. “He didn’t go anywhere with her because he was too busy yelling at me about the damn phone. I bought him a new one this morning—”
“After rolling your lazy butt out of bed at eleven—”
“Because we didn’t have practice today. And I’ll point out that I came here to be blinded and deafened by the kids. Christ, they’re loud.” Maxim stuck his finger in his ear and winced.
“You can go,” I said, leveling him a look.
He smirked, eyes brightening for the first time since I told him how he’d screwed me over. “No, I can’t. You made me ride with you. Now you have to give me a ride home.”
My jaw ticked. “Call a ride share.”
“You really threw his phone in someone’s ice bath?” Keelie asked.
Maxim nodded. “Yeah. See, Nik said that—”
“And you think that was an appropriate choice?” Keelie continued. “What if he’d had a family emergency? What if, say, your father had a heart attack, but you didn’t know about it because your family couldn’t get in touch with you? Would you think the prank was funny, then?”
Maxim wilted, swallowing hard, gaze shifting. “No, that wouldn’t be funny.”
“But you thought because no one was injured, it was okay. Just my feelings were crushed.” Keelie settled her hands on her hips. She’d just used her teacher voice on Maxim, and that warmed my lower belly nearly as much as her words. Not that I wanted her feelingscrushed—I didn’t. But knowing she was into me caused my heart to swell.
Maxim shot me a desperate look, but my attention turned to the woman in front of us.
“And you…” She rounded on me. “There’s the cloud. You could have messaged me on your computer or something. If you really wanted to get in touch. Maybe that’s the point—you didn’t.” Hurt and anger clouded her expression.
My lungs seized as if I’d just skated thirty laps. “I could? That’s possible?”
“Yes, but you let me think you stood me up. I told you I wouldn’t do that, so you turn around and do exactly that to me?”
My neck and face burned. Keelie, in teacher mode, was scary. “I… I didn’t know—” I stuttered.
“I DIYed,” Keelie exclaimed, “an entire ceiling.” She glowered at both of us. “Do you know how messy that is? I probably still have stuff in my hair, and my shoulders have been killing me all day. For what? A silly game.”
“Keelie?”
I snagged her hand, studying the soft, small appendage. Her fingers were long, tapered, beautiful. “I’m really sorry. We both feel terrible about it.”
