Campus is tucked away near the beach, like its own little city within a city. It’s one of the reasons I love it here so much. Best hockey program in the nation notwithstanding, it’s quiet. It doesn’t feel like you’re in the middle of a big city.
Cutting my way through campus, I head to the library. Everyone is out in the quad soaking in the sun. Palm trees line the sidewalks between Spanish-style buildings. The library is one of the newer buildings on campus, and probably the ugliest. It’s one big square made from cinderblock.
Heading inside, I’m met with a wall of cold air.
“Hey Troy!” A blonde wiggles her fingers at me as I enter the library.
“Hi.”
“Going to be a good season?”
“I hope so.”
I don’t let the conversation linger. Being the team captain, I get more people I don’t know approaching me than I know what to do with.
Especially the ladies. It’s not me being cocky—it’s the truth. I get so many women throwing themselves at me that it wears me out.
With it being my senior year, and the most important year with scouts coming to see me play, I don’t want to be distracted.
But as I set my backpack down on a small table in the corner of the second floor, a certain brunette catches my eye.
One that I don’t know, yet I know everything about.
Angela Brooks-Young.
She’s the same age as I am. A senior. Somehow, on this campus, our paths have hardly ever crossed. I never see her at the hockey games or parties. I have no idea where she spends her free time.
It’s like my thoughts of her pull her attention to mine. Caramel-brown eyes flit up to look at me.
I don’t miss the subtle way her gaze narrows on mine. More of a glare, really.
There is no love lost between our families. Her dad hates mine. Growing up, I knew all about her family. It’s hard not to when the teams your dads played for were bitter rivals.
Long, brown hair falls around her face. It doesn’t hide the way her eyes keep seeking mine.
Angela Brooks-Young. The one person I wouldn’t mind getting to know better. Except I can’t. That’s not where my focus needs to be.
Hockey. That’s my biggest priority this year. Myonlypriority.
Like I said, I don’t need the distraction.
Chapter Two
ANGIE
“Is that right? I feel like it’s wrong.”
“That’s exactly it!” I cheer on the high school student I’m working with.
“It is? I can’t believe I did that.”
“Proofs get easier as you do them.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know why we have to prove a problem is right. Seems dumb.”
I laugh. “You’re telling me. I hated proofs, but now that I understand them, they aren’t so bad.”
“Well, maybe I’ll get at least a B on my test this week.”
