He grinned, as though he was completely unbothered by my rejection.
“Tell me you’ll think about the goalie tryouts, and I’llleave,” Parker said. “They’re tomorrow night. And if you want another chance to prove your dad wrong, I’ll figure out a way to make it happen.”
“Fine, I’llthinkabout it.”
Parker beamed.
“But only to get you out of my room.”
There was far too much satisfaction in his gaze for my liking. “I guess that means my work here is done.”
He pulled a yellow piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it and placed it on my bed. It was one of the posters advertising the tryouts. Then he turned and opened the window. I didn’t even have a chance to ask him what he was doing, because the next moment he was crawling through it and easing his way onto the broken trellis. Then he dropped from view.
I rushed to the window to check on him, but he was already on the ground.
“Are you crazy?” I whispered down at him. “You could have killed yourself.” But when I took a closer look at the trellis, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it.
“Didn’t know you cared,” he called up, his voice just above a whisper.
“I don’t.”
He chuckled softly as he walked off across my front lawn, into the darkness. “Goodnight, Mackenzie.”
I slammed my window shut. I think I preferred it when he couldn’t remember my name.
Chapter 12Parker
“Do you think she’s coming?” Seth asked before immediately answering his own question. “I don’t think she’s coming.”
The two of us were waiting in the ice arena parking lot. It was close to four o’clock, and we were due on the ice any minute now for practice. The goalie tryouts were tonight, and while Mackenzie hadn’t made me any promises she’d be here, I was still hopeful she’d show.
As much as she might try to deny it, I knew she loved this sport just as much as the rest of us. I’d seen it in her eyes when she’d told me she was banned from playing. It was something I still couldn’t quite wrap my mind around. I knew Coach Foster was strict, but banning his kid from a sport they loved was shitty, even for him. I’d been trying my best not to think about my own involvement in her ban; to ignore the guilt that had flared in my chest when she told me it was because of our kiss. Perhaps offering to kiss her again immediately after hadn’t been the smartest move. It had somehow gotten her to think about trying out, though.
“She’ll come,” I replied, because I honestly didn’t want to think about the future of this team if she didn’t. There had been a small group of wannabe goaltenders getting ready inside. Some had already tried out for the position and failed, and there were a few new faces too, but they all looked like they’d only recently hit puberty. I already knew none of themwould be good enough.
“You heard what she said yesterday,” Seth continued. “She won’t come, just to piss you off.”
“Yeah, well, I’m hoping I convinced her to reconsider last night.”
“You saw her last night?”
“Uh, yeah.” I coughed, wondering if perhaps I should have kept that detail to myself. “I may have gone to her house to try and talk her into it.”
“Wait, what? Was Coach Foster there? What did he say?”
“He didn’t see me.” The knowing grin that was already spreading across Seth’s face convinced me to skip the explanation of how I’d climbed into Mackenzie’s bedroom.
He shook his head at me. “You reallyaredesperate.”
“I just don’t want to lose again. You should feel the same.”
“Yeah, losing like that did suck. But I think you’re reaching if you believe Mackenzie cares about it as much as you do.”
“Don’t speak too soon,” I said, as Jasmine Cleaver’s car pulled into the lot. Seth turned to follow my gaze, just as Mackenzie climbed out of the car and started toward us. For a moment it felt like the world stilled. She’d come. She’d actually come.
“Well, well,” Seth said, sounding as shocked as I felt.
Mackenzie wore a frown as she approached with her large sports bag slung over her shoulder. She looked as though this was the last place she wanted to be, yet I had never been happier to see her.
