“How was my mom today?” he asked casually.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
And there it was.
The reason I was stuck.
His mom, Katrina, was the best freestyle figure skating coach in Michigan, and more importantly, she was my coach.
Every single rink across the world had a web of connections. I was getting wrapped up and strangled in mine.
The first time I tried to break up with Mark, I was left with no protection at school, which made the bullying worse. And then the bullying continued at the rink, but this time, coming from my own coach. I couldn’t take Katrina’s cruel words that she usually reserved for other skaters. I apologized to Mark that very same night.
“Fine.” I swallowed hard, forcing myself to let go of my irritation. “She was fine.”
“Good,” he said. “C’mere, let me cuddle you. Love you, okay?” His large hand gently rubbed my arm in the exact same place over and over again.
__________
Jeez, that was way too real,I thought. It was like I actually felt the weight of a man behind me, just like in that dream. I tried to drift back to sleep, but that’s when I saw it: A hand.
A man’s hand.
Draped over my body.
Oh no.
No, no, no.
Itwasreal.
He found me.
Panic coursed through my body, making my heart pound painfully in my chest. Without thinking, I scrambled out of bed and darted to the other side of the room, hitting my tower of books in the process and making them tumble down around me. I pulled my knees up to my chest and covered my head, wanting to blockeverything out and just disappear.
What the fuck was going on? Why was my head pounding so bad? Why did my mouth and throat feel as dry and scratchy as sandpaper?
A second later, I could sense him in front of me.
He reached to touch me, but I flinched back.
“Alinna,” he said softly, and everything stopped.
That one word released me from my panic. Besides my immediate family, JP was the only one who ever used my full name.
Memories of last night suddenly crashed into me like a tidal wave, making the vice-like grip around my heart finally loosen.
“You good?”
Still closing my eyes, I nodded quickly.
JP collapsed down next to me and released a deep breath.
A few minutes later, I finally dared to open my eyes. A very shirtless, very muscular JP was on the ground next to me, his head tipped back against the wall, almost sleeping.
As soon as he noticed me looking at him, he rubbed his sleepy eyes. “You okay?”
I held my chest and released a strained chuckle. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I never drink that much. And I nevereverinvite anyone back here. I kind of forgot, and then I saw your hand, and I just thought…” I shook my head. “Sorry, I really freaked out.”
