“Fletcher,” a deep voice said, making me look up. It was a tall dude with the biggest eyes I had ever seen. “Pretty sick you’re joining us.”
My throat dried up. “Er, right. It’ll be an experience.”
The guy smiled before moving on. My face flamed at the attention. How did he know me? Did he confuse me with Cami?He called me Fletcher.
I chewed my lip as I overthought the entire three second interaction when an enticing smell caught my attention. It was like outdoors and the air right after it rained combined into woodsy perfection. I took a deep breath just as Reiner’s face came into view.
My heart thudded hard.
“I’m with you, Klutzy.” He flashed a grin that went straight to my core and lifted a bag to put it overhead. The movement made his shirt drag up and his biceps bulge, and I slammed my eyes shut.
I needed to open a window.
“You eat enough today? You look a little pale,” he said, sitting down next to me so our thighs touched like they did in the booth that night. It wasn’t his fault, more his parents’ fault. He was a tad too tall and his legs a tad too thick.Oh my god. I’m thinking about his thick thighs with his delicious cologne surrounding me.Plus, that sleeve of tattoos on his arm distracted me. The intricate designs were beautiful.
I fisted the strap of my backpack and swallowed. The gesture hurt, and I was pretty sure he could hear it. He watched me with the same intense eyes that distracted me at the bar, and I nodded. Right, he’d asked me a question. Answering him was the normal thing to do.
A line appeared between his eyebrows as he looked over the seat and down the aisle. “Any of the guys giving you shit? I know it can be overwhelming on a bus of hockey players, butmostof the time, they’re alright. Just rowdy.”
“Fighting in college hockey isn’t allowed,” I said, almost shouting at him. Michael surely knew that already. I pressed my lips together as my face rivaled a furnace, and I scooted closer to the window.
“Oh, Little Miss Hockey knows a fun fact.”
His sarcasm made me glare at him, but he just wore that easy smile with one dimple on the side. Steve Kornaki had dimples too, but those didn’t have the same magnetic pull on me. Even though I tended to be logical and linear in thoughts, Michael overwhelmed my senses and my brain. I needed space. Air. A moment to think. “Are you sure you have to sit with me?”
Michael’s smile slipped, and he ran a hand through his unruly hair, the tattoos on his arm moving with the motion. The playful glint to his eyes dimmed, and my chest tightened.Did I hurt his feelings?
“I can leave you alone. No stress.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out headphones before settling into a comfortable position. His thigh still pressed against mine, but I swore it lacked the warmth from before.
I didn’t upset people. Going under the radar was my specialty, yet this larger-than-life guy seemed...bothered. My stomach soured, and sweat pooled on my forehead. I ran my arm over it and tried to think of what to do.
Linear.
He overwhelmed me.
I asked if he had to sit with me because I needed space. Not because… Oh. Did he take the comment personally? That I didn’t want to sit with him? That’d be silly though. How would that hurt his feelings? He was so… extra in every way while I was average. I exhaled, unsure of how to fix this situation when my dad got on the bus with the assistant coach following him. Hank was skinny for a coach and wore dark glasses that made me blush because he was cute.
I might’ve had a crush on the assistant coach, but I kept that secret to myself.
“Has anyone seen Cal?” my dad asked, a dangerous lilt to his voice. I knew that tone. I’d heard it a few times when Cami or I were in huge trouble as kids. I didn’t know a lot about Cal, but I felt bad for him already.
“No, sir,” someone from the back said.
“Call him. This bus leaves in five minutes, with or without him.” My dad stomped into the seat across from Michael and I, his attention not once landing on me. It was fine. He had to worry about Cal. This was normal behavior I was used to. I just didn’t expect it to bother me. I hoped… or wrongfully assumed we’d talk on the bus or at least he’d acknowledge me being there. The indifference to my presence felt like a knife to the heart, and I wondered, again, if I should’ve said to hell with this.
My dad barked out Reiner’s name, making my seatmate sit up straighter. He sat a row back and popped his head over the seat.
“You ever miss a road trip?”
“No, sir.”
“Ever seen someone else miss it?”
“Yes, and it didn’t end well for them,” Michael said, running his hands along his thighs. He wore dark jeans that fit him well.
“What would you do?”
Michal’s entire body tensed. His thigh grew harder against mine, and the muscles in his jaw flexed a few times. He ran his hand through his hair again, making it stand on end a bit before he blew out a breath. “Are you asking as an alt-captain or as your intern?”
