“Didn’t want to go to the dance.”
“Why not?” Concern ridged her words.
“Because I knew I couldn’t convince you to go with me, and the only person I feel like celebrating with tonight is you.”
He knew his teammates were gonna be pissed that he skated out, but he was supposed to be there with Brandy, getting crowned beside her, and he refused to ever stand by her again.
Redness flushed Daisy’s cheeks. “Oh.”
She dipped her gaze before she lifted her attention back to him, eyes twinkling in lightheartedness. “So, what you’re saying is you got knocked around on the field so much tonight that all you really want to do is watch a movie so you don’t have to move?”
Nah, he just wanted to curl up beside her on his bed.
“Something like that,” he returned, his voice rough.
Concern flashed through her expression. “Did you actually get hurt? That last hit looked brutal. I was worried about you.”
“Didn’t even feel it,” he told her.
The only thing he felt was the adrenaline. The thrill. Always thriving on the violent collision of bodies.
She glanced at the wall, warring, before she looked back at him. “How are you feeling otherwise?”
A frown pulled tight. “About what?”
She gave him an incredulous look. “About what happened with Brandy today?”
“Honestly?”
She seemed to have to contemplate it before she gave him a nod of her head. “Yeah.”
“I feel a thousand pounds lighter. Like I had some sort of veil covering my eyes, and now that it’s been peeled back, I can see.”
And what he saw was Daisy standing right there.
“You aren’t upset?”
“No.”
The energy shifted, tension tugging between them like a cord he’d ignored existed. Daisy peered up at him, both timid and bold, the way she always was with him.
Time stretched long, his fucking heart battering at his chest in a way it’d never done before. In a way it had never done with Brandy.
How had it taken him all this time to accept Daisy was the reason it beat this way?
She suddenly cleared her throat and stepped back. “Well, we’d better find something to watch so we can get your injured ass off your feet.”
“Told you my ass is just fine.”
At the mention of his ass, she flamed red.
God, how was she so fucking cute?
Adorable and sexy. Awkward but the most stable person he’d ever met.
Her soul so bright and her heart so good, and he realized he couldn’t breathe.
She moved around to her side of his bed and slipped off her shoes before she pushed herself up to lean against the headboard. That hair spread out on the pillow and framing her face. Girl wearing plain gray sweats and an oversized sweater. The most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
