“Good—uh, I mean,itlooks good. Your nose. It’s fine.” I dropped back onto my heels and stepped away from him,relieved to be able to breathe again.
“Glad to hear it.” A knowing smirk was pulling at his lips.
“Yeah, well, I’m not an expert, so maybe the hospital is still a good idea. You are getting blood on the pavement after all. It’s like a public health hazard.”
“You’re the only public health hazard around here,” he replied. “You should come with bright flashing lights, warning tape, and a barricade.”
I folded my arms. “This can’t be happening.” I said it more to myself than to him.
“Apparently, it is.” He sounded just as frustrated.
The rain started to come down a little harder, and he glanced up at the sky. “Well, as fun as this has been, I better go before you decide to punch me again. I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Macy.”
“It’s Macke—” I didn’t even get a chance to correct him before he turned and strutted away, leaving me fuming in his wake.
Chapter 4Parker
I was torn between feeling smug and furious as I stalked across the parking lot to my truck. MackenziefreakingFoster. The hits just kept on coming tonight. She’d been back in my life for two minutes, and I already had a messed-up nose to show for it.
She was the kind of person you only had to see once to remember. With bright blonde hair and green eyes like shards of broken glass, she was probably seared into the memory of every guy who’d ever looked her way. I wasn’t going to let her know that, though, and it was strangely satisfying to make her think I’d forgotten her name.
If only that were truly the case.
I’d thought about her far more often than I cared to over the years. The surprise I’d felt when she took off her helmet and I saw her for the first time. Her piercing glares and subtle smiles. Our shootout. The bet. The kiss… and the fallout.
I liked making out with hot girls as much as the next guy, but no kiss was worth risking my hockey career. The thought pissed me off more than the pain in my aching nose.
I picked up my phone from where I’d left it on the dash during practice and saw a stream of notifications, all from my brothers.
Reed: How was practice?
Grayson: Did Coach Ray make you captain?
Reed: Is it finally time to teach you the secret captain’s handshake?
Grayson: Oh God, maybe you don’t want to be captain after all, Parker.
Reed: No need to get jealous, Gray.
They’d clearly grown impatient when I didn’t respond, because they’d started speculating.
Reed: Damn, maybe he didn’t even make varsity.
Grayson: I have always thought he’d be more suited to the junior Devils.
Reed: Don’t worry, little brother, at least you’ll score a lot of goals in JV.
Grayson: I’ll get Paige to bake you some muffins, that’ll cheer you up.
I drew in a breath as I considered how to respond. I didn’t have it in me to explain how things had spiraled from one disaster to another. Easier to keep it vague.
Me: It’s all good, I killed it.
The truth was, tonight had nearly killed me. Still, I hoped it would shut them up.
No such luck.
Reed: Proud of you, man! We’ll talk about the handshake soon.
