“Damn right I am,” I say, smirking as I toss her a wink and head toward the sink.
She watches me go with longing shining in her eyes. She’s not ready to stop either, and something about that look promises that next time we won’t.
CHAPTER 58
Willow
The rink buzzeswith the usual noise—wheels on polished concrete, low laughter, a whistle here and there as Coach yells something vaguely motivational from the sideline.
It’s all normal. Except…Landon’s quiet.
He’s standing near the bleachers with his arms folded, his expression unreadable. He watches us warm up with an almost hesitant edge to him. Like he’s here, but not really here.
“Landon looks like he’s about to propose or throw up,” one of the girls mutters under her breath.
“Maybe both,” Daisy quips.
I smile—until I catch Landon’s eyes. Something’s coming. And I feel it before he even opens his mouth.
“Can I get everyone’s attention?” he asks.
Our wheels slow. A few girls stop and coast toward the center, curiosity pulling them in.
Daisy glances at me. I offer a tiny shrug, though my chest already feels tight.
“I need to say something,” Landon continues, “and it’s not about Nationals.”
Some of the team members raise their eyebrows. A few smirk, expecting a motivational speech, maybe a joke.
No one’s expecting what he actually says.
“I knew Jinx before I agreed to help your team. I knew she was on this team and offered because of her,” he says, eyes on the group, not on me. “We weren’t just friends. We were scent matches.”
You could hear a pin drop. A few of the girls glance at me, and I want to sink into the floor—or slap a hand over his mouth to stop him from sharing our past with them. But they’re my girls. If anyone deserves to know, it’s them. So I swallow hard and press my lips together, steeling myself for the words I know are coming.
“She was mine,” he adds, quieter now. “For a little while. And I was hers. And then I ruined it.”
No one says a word. I feel the moment when the shift happens—when the easy trust the team had for him starts to fracture.
“I kissed someone else,” he says plainly. “I did it to push her away. To make her think I didn’t care. And then I let her leave.”
Daisy’s head snaps toward me. “Jinx…?”
I nod. My voice isn’t ready yet.
Landon clears his throat and steps forward slowly, pulling something from under his shirt. The delicate chain catches the overhead lights.
My necklace.
The one I forgot when I hastily packed my bags.
He slips it off and holds it out to me. There's no pleading on his face. Only plain offering and regret.
“I found this on my nightstand,” he says, just loud enough for the team to hear. “She left it behind when I hurther, and I’ve kept it ever since. I didn’t know what else to do…except hold onto it and remember what I did.”
A fresh wave of pain rolls over me, and I suck in a breath.
I don’t move to take it. Not yet. My heart’s too loud in my chest, pounding in my ears, drowning out the sounds of my team as they absorb what he’s saying.
