Sam didn’t seem as willing to let it go. “I’ve been meaning to apologize.”
“You already did.” All the guys had. As soon as I could take visitors, Sam, Lincoln, and Henrik were there. They regretted not finding me sooner that night. Wished they’d urged me to stay with them longer.
“I know, it just never felt like enough.” His jaw tightened. “Finn, I feel like—”
I shook my head. “You don’t have to say anything else. If you really think you have something to make up for, then help me get my spot back.”
He let out a breath. “That’s not going to be easy. In fact, it might be impossible.”
“I need this, Sam. It’s all I have left.” Besides Chai, of course. But if my confession didn’t go over well with her, hockey would be my only thing.
Sam studied me. He could see the determination in my eyes. Without him, I’d find another way. When push came to shove, I was going to play. I was going to rank again. I was going to be the best or die trying.
“Fine, I’ll see what I can do,” Sam said. “But I need something from you first.”
My shoulders relaxed at hearing he was willing to help. “Of course.”
“I need to borrow your phone later. I have someone who might be able to retrieve deleted data.”
“What for?”
“Before your accident, you were going to send me something about Stoll,” he explained.
“This is the stress you were keeping from me,” I figured out.
“More or less.”
I nodded. “I’ll get you my phone. But I want to know what this is about. I can handle it fine.”
These blind spots felt like they were piling up. I couldn’t stand them. From now on, I wanted to fill in the gaps.
“I get the data and you get the story,” he promised. “If not, we’re both in the dark. Because I only had speculation. You had hard facts.”
Theskywasalightwith stars. Despite Tinsel being a busy college town, when I looked up, I felt like I was back in the quiet safety of my small hometown. If I blocked out the noise of rushing cars and lights from the town center, I could pretend I was home. I didn’t miss being there, but I missed the idea of it.
Naomi broke my focus. She stood leaning against the passenger door of my van. The light from her phone painted her face. She smiled at whatever was on the screen. As soon as my eyes landed on her, my footsteps hesitated.
The guys were still in the locker room, taking their precious time. It’d probably be another five to ten minutes before they made their way to the parking lot. Not a lot of time, but for some reason, it felt like a century.
She looked up from her phone, possibly sensing my presence or maybe hearing the heavy beating of my heart. It was freezing out here. She clung to the edge of her jacket. There was a faint smile on her face when our gazes met. Her eyes were as bright as the stars above. I wanted to trace her skin like I would trace the constellations in the sky. Would she feel as satisfying as those myths? She sure looked as wondrous.
“How was practice?” Naomi sounded upbeat for someone whose day had been as long as mine. She didn’t seem at all stuck on how I acted before in the tutoring lab. I felt lingering bits of embarrassment about how nervous I’d gotten around her. There was a point where I could barely speak because she continued to impress me. The girl was a genius when it came to math. What the hell couldn’t she do?
“Fine." I pulled out my keys. “Why are you…”
She raised an eyebrow, waiting patiently for me to continue.
“Out here? It’s cold,” I finished.
Naomi’s smile faded. “I had a phone call and needed some air. It can get pretty loud in there.”
I frowned, thinking about how far she had to walk from the arena to the van. She hadn’t known where it was parked since I moved it earlier, so it must’ve taken time to find.
“Get in,” I ordered.
Her smile disappeared as she obliged. Once we were both inside with the doors closed, I turn on the heat and adjusted the vents so they’d filter in her direction. Naomi hummed at the feel of warm air. I watched her hold her fingers to the vents. Her eyes stayed closed as she soaked in the much-needed warmth.
“You should wear more layers. The cold’s only going to get worse,” I noted in a gruff tone. I didn’t mean to come off as harsh. Her lack of clothing and decision to stand in the cold bugged me far more than it should.
