It seemed that my new friend might be a bit competitive. “Bring it on then, Klutzy.”
She licked her bottom lip, and a wave of lust coursed through me. Whoa. I took a step back and welcomed the cool air of the rink. That was weird. One flash of her tongue and my body got all tight? No. No thank you. Coach’s daughter. Coach’s daughter whohatedhockey and her dad. A major no-no. I held out my hand and waited. She placed her palm against mine, and I ignored the zing that shot up my arm.
It was just a soft hand that felt nice. Nothing more.
She puffed out her chest and spoke in the strongest tone I’d heard from her yet. “You’re on, Michael Reiner. I’m gonna knock you on your ass, hockey boy.”
This was going to be fun.
CHAPTER SIX
Naomi
The bus pulled into Central’s campus around midnight, and regret weighed me down. Why the hell did I walk to the stadium? That meant I had a fifteen-minute trek back at midnight. Sure, our campus was safe, but it wasn’t the best choice I’d made in a while. Honestly, I wasn’t positive when the last time I made a great decision was.
Two years ago? When I chose to sit by Mona in the dining hall? Yeah—that was my best choice without a doubt. Those girls were my ride or dies, my friends for life.
“I want pancakes.”
I grinned before I could stop myself. “At midnight?”
“Yes.” Michael wiggled his eyebrows at me, the faint streetlights causing shadows to dance across his face. The sight of him in his Central Wolves sweatshirt made me want to curl up next to him and listen to his deep voice. He reminded me of chilly fall nights and warm cider. Somehow, the guy got past all my walls after a few hours together and now I was thinking about cuddling him.
“Um, I think there’s a twenty-four hour place a few blocks from here.” I yawned, and my shoulders sagged once the bus stopped in the lot. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Michael, which made zero sense. We barely knew each other, and I’d see him again at the next game.
“Reiner,” my dad said, interrupting my attempt to figure out if Michael was inviting me to get food with him or if it was just a statement.
“Yes, sir.”
“Tomorrow morning, eight a.m. My office. I want your analysis. Naomi, when will you have a report for us?”
“When would you need it?”
“Would 9 a.m. be too soon?”
Seeing how it was midnight and already the next day?I kept my mouth shut and nodded. “Nope. I can have it to you by then.”
“Email it to Michael when you can.”
Send my report to Michael? Not to my dad who was the reason I wanted this internship in the first place?I said none of those things as his flippant response made my eyes sting. Just another example on an already long list of ways my dad tossed me to the side.
My dad stood and gave a quick motivational speech to the players—which I ignored— and put Cal on bus clean-up duty. The guys cheered after the assignment, and I didn’t stare at Michael as he got our bags out from the overhead compartment.
I yawned again and put my backpack on, looking up at the midnight sky. It was so dark with a sprinkling of stars, and it was pretty. Calm. Michael stood off to the side, talking to Erikson about something as they both laughed. It would’ve been weird to go ask him about the pancakes, so I took a deep breath and started heading toward my place.
“Naomi, hey,” my dad said, my muscles tightening at the sound of his voice.Is he going to change his mind about the report?“Did you walk here?”
“Yes, but it’s fine. I can walk back.”
“No, no. Of course you’re not.” He frowned and nodded at a player who walked by. “I’ll drive you.”
The offer was appreciated, but it was a gamble on when he could actually leave. Memories of waiting hours for him flashed in my mind—the hurt, the frustration, the glaring fact that hockey always came first. The missed chess games, spelling bees, band concerts because ofhockey,yet he never forgot about one of Cami’s dance recitals or half-time shows. I gripped my bag tighter and met his gaze before taking a step back. “No, it’s okay. I won’t keep you from coaching stuff.”
“It’ll only be a few minutes. Just gotta drop the equipment off and send a write up to the media. Ten minutes, max.”
“Don’t worry. Take your time. I’m uh, getting some food with Michael anyway.”
“Oh, are you? Good. You won’t be alone then. Can’t have my daughter heading back by herself.” He smiled, but it looked off and forced. Someone called his name, and I could see his attention shifting beyond me, where we both were more comfortable.
