And yet, she’s given me the perfect opening to share what I’m too scared to tell anyone in my life besides Kennedy.
“I want to support Zach. He’s had a tough time, as you know.”
“You’re here for Zach?” Deandra’s expression is neutral, but the lack of curiosity in her tone makes me suspect this revelation doesn’t come as a surprise to her.
I look toward the ice, where four people wrapped in large plastic bubbles race to win concert tickets.
“Yeah. We’ve become friends, living in the same place and all.”
“Friends?” she repeats, arching an eyebrow.
I want to talk about my feelings for Zach all the time, the way he holds my heart in a vice. I’d love for someone to offer advice because this is all new to me. I used to categorize boys as a distraction from my goals, but Zach has improved my life from the moment he entered it. The problem is the secret I keep from him and the one we keep from the rest of the world, particularly my brother.
“He’s hard not to like,” I say finally.
She chuckles. “Yeah, you took a shine to him right away.”
“What do you mean?”
Deandra opens her mouth to reply, but the arena bursts into cheers as the Wolves charge out of the locker room to warm up before the second period. My breath catches when Zach’s gazescans the crowd briefly before landing on me, and he grins in the self-consciously cute way of his. I give him a quick wave, and Zach’s face becomes impossibly brighter.
“Well… hypothetically, if someone headed back to their room during Matt and Gem’s wedding because a drunk hockey player spilled wine down the front of their dress, they might have caught quite an eyeful.”
“Wait.” My head snaps in her direction like whiplash. “Yousawme and Zach that night?”
She flashes a devious grin, her lips blood red as always. “You wouldn’t believe the secrets I know, Finley.”
Gemma and Kennedy appear at the end of the row, carrying drinks and snacks, and Deandra and I fall silent. She winks at me, then rises to give them space to return to their seats.
The rest of the game passes in a blink. The Palmer City Wolves pull out an easy victory, defeating their opponent by two goals. Zach got an assist and made several good defensive plays—a solid showing for his first game back. More importantly to me, Zach grinned as he left the ice, happy to be playing the game he loves.
My phone buzzes soon after the game ends. I can’t help the smile stretching across my face, knowing I’m his first thought.
Zach
I want to see you
“Finley, you ready?” Gemma stands in front of Deandra and Kennedy, their gazes all on me.
I jump out of my seat. “Oh yeah, sorry.”
I start typing a quick response to Zach, but when Gemma tries to catch a glimpse of my phone, I slip it into my back pocket.
“Who’s got you smiling like that?” Gemma says in a lilting tone. “You meet someone?”
I nearly blurt a denial, but my face already gave me away. “Maybe. It’s new.”
The lie turns my stomach, but she’s left me no choice. It’s a risk to reveal this to her because she might run to my brother, who will tell my parents, who will schedule a mandatory family therapy session with Dr. Warren.
But I’m also tired of hiding myself to make other people’s lives easier.
Gemma squeals. “Oh, Finley, I’m so excited for you. Tell meeverything.”
“There’s nothing to tell yet.”
“Let the girl breathe!” Kennedy jumps in before Gemma can fire off questions. “She’ll tell you when she’s ready.”
Gemma points at me. “I want to meet him.”
