Daniel’s walking up from the gym wing, a water bottle in one hand and his hoodie tied around his waist, hockey jersey still clinging to his frame. His brow furrows the second he sees me.
“You look weird.”
I scoff. “Hello to you too.”
He narrows his eyes. “No, like… weird weird. You’re not doing that sparkle thing. What happened?”
“What sparkle thing?”
“The thing where you act like you’ve got secrets, but you’re gonna flirt them out of everyone else first.”
“I don’t sparkle.”
“You sparkle like abitch, Luke. Even without glitter.”
I huff, scrubbing a hand over my face. “You’re annoying.”
Daniel just tilts his head. “What happened?”
“I’m fine.”
He doesn’t even dignify that with a response. He just waits.
“Jesus,” I mutter. “Fine. Whatever. I had practice. It was sweaty and unpleasant, and maybe I got rejected again by a man who railed me against a locker and then decided to speak regret inSpanishas if I wouldn’t notice.”
Daniel’s whole face contorts. “Wait, what?”
“Yeah.” I gesture vaguely behind me. “Coach. You know. My new hot-as-fuck coach.”
His mouth opens. Closes. “You—again—” He cuts off, checking over his shoulder. “Is this a joke?”
“Does it look like I’m joking?” I snap, instantly regretting the bite in my voice.
Daniel studies me, voice softer. “Shit. Are you okay?”
I hesitate.
Becauseno—I’m not. But it’s not like I’m heartbroken or whatever. We barely spoke. It wasa hook-up. A hot one. A violent one. A fucking insane one that I instigated.
And yet here I am. Standing in a sun-drenched parking lot, feeling hollow in the chest and a little bit like my skin doesn’t fit right.
“I’m fine,” I say again, quieter this time. “It’s just… I didn’t expect it to feel like that.”
Daniel blinks. “Like what?”
“Like he touched something I didn’t know was there and then left it exposed.”
The silence between us stretches. Then he says, “You want me to get Ty and Will and we can stage an old-fashioned locker room exorcism?”
I snort. “What would that even look like?”
“I don’t know. A lot of sage and glitter.”
That cracks something in my chest. Not all the way, but enough to breathe again. This isn’t that serious. I’ve done hook-ups before. Sure, I don’t usually go back for seconds, but it’s still just sex.
“I’ll survive,” I say. “It was just sex.”
Daniel arches a brow. “Yousureabout that?”
