“Kissing someone in defense? Sounds about right. Is that how you plan to win hockey games, too?”
I gripped my stick tightly and tried to remember not to use it as a weapon. “I don’t need to kiss people to win hockey games. You couldn’t score on me. Not without cheating, anyway.”
“You really think that? Well, the truth is, Iwastaking it easy on you.”
“Oh, of course, you were.”
“Want me to prove it?” He gave me an irritating smirk and skated back a few feet to where he’d taken his last shot. He slammed his stick against the puck, sending it flying toward the net. There was a familiar metallic twang as it hit the post in the exact same spot he’d struck before. My heart sank.
“I lied,” he said. “You didn’t win our bet. I can put the puck anywhere I want to. I missed on purpose.”
“You…” I gaped as I stared at him. I could feel a sense of inferiority rising up inside me, but I quickly tamped it down. “You’re an ass.”
“At least I’m a hockey player.”
Using my dad’s condescending words against me was a low blow, and it made my blood boil.
“Ugh! I’m just glad I’ll never have to see your face again.” I started across the ice, my skates pushing hard so I could put as much distance between us as possible.
“I wish I’d never seen yours in the first place,” he called afterme, like he couldn’t resist stealing the final word. Fine—it was all his.
I was planning to forget tonight ever happened. And I was most definitely going to forget that my first kiss had been with a jerk like Parker Darling.
Chapter 2Parker
Three years later
I’d always dreamed of being a famous hockey player. Of scoring goals, packed stadiums cheering my name, and girls falling at my feet. It all sounded pretty damn great. And while I might only be a senior in high school, I’d already experienced my fair share of all three.
“Are you going to make captain tonight, Parker?”
I was trying my best to get to practice, but I was penned in by a group of sophomore girls who’d just come off the ice after a figure-skating lesson. I usually didn’t mind this kind of attention, but not when I was running late to such an important session.
It was the last week of preseason, and tonight was the night Coach Ray would announce the final varsity team roster and name the team captain. Ray had pretty much told me the position was mine at the end of last season. But nothing was guaranteed until I had a bold letter C stitched onto the heart of my jersey. Plus, Coach had been out sick last week, and I wasn’t even sure if he’d show today, so I didn’t want to get my hopes up.
“Uh, can’t make captain if I don’t make practice,” I said with an awkward laugh. I tried to maneuver past the group, but the girls shifted in sync with my movements, refusing to release me. They were like a pack of wolves, and apparently I was their prey.
“Your brother was captain last year,” one of them said. “Surely Coach Ray will make you captain too…”
“Yeah, that’s the plan.” I tried again to move beyond them but failed once more. I’d developed a bit of an infamous reputation with girls over the years, and I was usually quite good at charming my way both into and out of their clutches. But right now, I was outnumbered and struggling.
“He’d be crazy not to. You’re by far the best player.”
“Yeah, you scored so many goals last season.”
“And practically won the state championship game singlehandedly…”
Okay, maybe this wasn’tsobad. I could be a few minutes late.
“You guys are going to win it again, right?”
I paused as some lingering doubts crept to the surface. A lot of good players had graduated over the summer, including my brothers, Reed and Grayson. The Ransom Devils would be a very different team this season.
I started moving again, more urgently now.
“Like I said, if I don’t get to practice, we won’t be winning anything. Have a good night, girls.”
“Bye, Parker,” they all chimed.
