“Was Mackenzie ‘collecting firewood’ too?”
“Uh…”
Seth lowered his voice. “You know you’re not supposed to be making out with her in the woods, right?”
“Since when are you the voice of reason?”
“Since you went and lost all of yours.”
“It’s fine. It was the last time.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“It was.” I tried to sound convincing.
“I don’t want to tell you what to do,” Seth continued. “But you should probably stop before it gets out of hand.”
I had a bad feeling that it already had.
“There are other girls,” he added with a shrug.
I didn’t want other girls. I wanted the girl that pissed me off. The girl who called me on my shit. The girl who laughed or threw a middle finger up when I called her on hers. I wanted the girl who was fiery and determined. The girl who took up so much space in my head, even when she wasn’t around, it was a miracle I could think of anything else.
So, no, there weren’t other girls. There was only her.
“Whatever, man,” I said. “I’m not focused on girls right now, anyway.”
Seth snorted.
“What?”
“Dude, you’re always focused on girls.”
“That was before Mackenzie.”
He shook his head, his eyes filled with concern. “Shit, you really like her.”
I paused as I looked at him. “Have you ever hated a song the first time you heard it?” I said. “And the more it comes on the radio, the more it drives you insane? But then, after a while, you start humming it everywhere you go. You know all the words. It’s on all your playlists. And somehow, despite everything you thought before, it becomes your favorite song?”
“Uh…”
“Mackenzie’s my song. And I have no idea what I’m going to do.”
Seth didn’t have a witty retort this time, just a look of sympathy. “You do what’s best for her,” he said. “You walk away.”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I stole Seth’s cup of punch anddowned it, wishing for a moment that it was spiked. I could still feel the heat from my last kiss with Mackenzie coursing through me, and I hoped the drink might wash the sensation away. I knew I needed to let her go. But hearing it from Seth made it all too real.
I spent the rest of the party hanging out with my other teammates, making sure to talk to every player. I knew I’d started this whole bonding thing to give us a shot at turning this season around. But I also really liked the guys I played with, and the more I got to know them, the more I wanted to spend time with them outside of practice. Friendship had never really entered the equation for me when it came to hockey, but I had to admit, it wasn’t the worst thing.
When the party started to die down, and people began to go their separate ways, I walked to my truck with Seth. Mackenzie, Jaz, and Owen were just behind us. It was the closest I’d been to Mackenzie since we kissed. I’d been avoiding her. And she’d done the same to me. But a quiet ache settled in my chest at the thought of letting her leave without saying goodbye.
Before we reached my truck, I handed Seth my keys. “I’ll be right back.”
Seth glanced over his shoulder at Mackenzie. “Be good,” he warned.
I turned and jogged back toward her before I could think better of it. “Hey, Mackenzie, got a sec?”
She hesitated a moment before sharing a look with Jaz.
