“But do they even like me?” I asked. “They’re hockey players and I’m an ethnobotany major, with a stolen car, and overprotective aunties.”
The other two people from my lab group arrived.
“Oh good, you’re here. Let’s go so we’re not late,” I replied, getting in and putting my drink in the cupholder.
My cousins hadn’t just repainted and rekeyed it. After my uncles had done some maintenance and repairs, they’d thoroughly detailed it, de-scented it, and put on cute new seat covers. I’d taken the little keychain from Steven and hung it for my rearview mirror. I snapped a picture and sent it to him.
Me
Good luck at the game.
They were probably getting close to starting.
As we drove, I filled them in on my week fling, the bet, and the whole switcheroo, since only Leigh knew the whole story.
“So, there you have it. I’m not sure if they like me or not?” I replied.
“They want you to visit them and they want to come see you. Didn’t you just say this morning that they were talking about flying out at the end of May for a random weekend, because they have nothing to do all summer?” Leigh asked.
“True. I actually need to get back to them about going to Washington to see them for the Renn Faire. But I’m still working on dates for the trip I’m gonna take with my brother.” I’d decided that I did want to see them. Even if we ended up going to the Renn Faire as friends, not only would it be great to see them, but I was dying to see Ashton dressed as a pirate.
I wouldn’t ghost them for now. I’d take them as friends or whatever they were willing to give me, and I’d figure things out later. It had only been a couple of days. There was no real rush. Right?
Besides, by the time the off-season started they’d probably get busy with other things and forget about me.
Hayden grinned. “Do they know you have it this bad?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Hayden.” My expression wentdeadpan. Was it that obvious?
“I think they like you a lot. They’re just probably trying to figure out how to be with you the way you're trying to figure out how to be with them,” Hayden added.
“You should probably have a conversation with them at some point,” one of the others said.
“That sounds like it’s more like an in-person conversation. I guess we can talk about it when I see them.” I could last that long. After all, I had a lot of work to do before the semester ended.
Yeah, I’d wait until I saw them in person and we could have a big talk about our feelings. Hopefully it wouldn’t end with me once again being hurt.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Steven
We were nearing the end of the first period. The score was currently 1-1. Tension hung thickly on the ice.
Sprinting towards their goal, I stole the puck. Their defender chased me around the net, and I passed it to one of my teammates. The Panthers stole it. I took it away from him and smacked it right at their goalie. He smacked it back. Lunging, I hit it again, like I was playing air hockey.
It sailed right past the goalie and into the net. The horns blared, indicating a goal. Elation shot through me.
I just scored a goal! While I did score throughout the season, I wasn’t one of the big scorers on the team. I was more of an assist forward. Doing a little dance, I flashed Ashton a heart with my hands as he sat on the bench.
Gameplay started as the Panthers tried to take the puck back towards our goal. I’m sure they’d try to even the score as soon as possible.
There was a line change, and I sat back down on the bench.
“Good job,” Ashton praised.
“I can’t wait to tell Kai I scored.” I grinned.
The clock ticked down and we both went back in again. One of the Panthers tripped Ashton, and I pushed him up against the boards.
