While I appreciate your candor, kindly fuck off.
All the best,
Tori Prince
I read this version of the email. Once. Twice. Three times.
Not at the expense of Bennett.
Because he’s not dispensable.
He’s reckless. Infuriating. Impossible to manage.
Also, funny as hell. Charming. Loyal in ways that sneak up on you.
Someone worth loving.
I stare at the email for thirty minutes, wishing I could press ‘Send’ on the damn thing.
Then I delete the message, one letter at a time.
Some things are better left unsaid.
My phone chimes with a reminder notification:Away game, 7 PM
I shouldn’t go.
The last thing Bennett needs is me in that arena, reminding him of last night.
The dark blue Crushers lanyard dangles from my bag.
Tempting me.
Closing the laptop, I stand and stretch. The sky’s fully dark now and the walls around me suddenly feel more like a gilded cage than a safe haven.
I’ll go and check on him one last time. To make sure he’s okay.
I hurry to my bedroom to change out of my pjs, suddenly more alive than I felt all day.
CHAPTER 34
BENNETT
Iwake up hungover for the first time in months. Dry mouth, pounding head, eyes that feel like sandpaper.
Fuck.
Then I drag myself to a god-awful practice.
I’m slow off the line. A half-step late on every read. Overcooked cross-ice passes, my lungs burning with every effort.
“Steele!” Keller waves me over, scowling.
I skate across the ice, legs heavy and the rink lights glaring.
Keller pins me with a look, his brow furrowed. “What’s going on? You look like a damn rookie.”
I toss my stick from hand to hand, avoiding his stern gaze.
