I give him a megawatt smile as I lean up and kiss him on the corner of his mouth. “Go show me your moves, sweetheart.”
He smirks at me. “Sure thing, baby.”
When I return to my bench, the girl is back with her group. I don’t pay them any mind even with all the glaring they are doing.
After all, I’m only here to see my boyfriend.
My fake boyfriend.
“I owe you for that. Thank you,” I tell Lyla as soon as I exit the locker room.
“I think you owe me a chai for sure. Those girls were trying to kill me with their eyes.”
I wince. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? No holes in you anywhere?”
I pretend to look her over, turning her left and right.
“They didn’t bore any holes in me. I’m not convinced they aren’t going to go create a voodoo doll of me, though.”
I let my arm fall around her as we start to walk out of the rink. “I’ll protect you.”
She giggles. “I can handle myself, Wyatt. No need to go all hero.”
I lean in, kissing the side of her head. “I like to be your hero, though. Besides, I put you in their line of fire.”
“You did sound kind of panicked when you called. What happened anyway?”
I sigh, rubbing my hand down my face. “We didn’t know they were going to be there. They got some bullshit approval for their class to study us. They were specifically told to not interfere, but in the first five minutes before Coach showed up, they were all up in our shit. Some of the guys were eating that shit up, but I wanted to send a message. That’s when I called you.”
That’s partially true. I wanted to see her anyway and figured it would be a good excuse to see her. Well, that and the one chick who seemed like their leader kept looking at me a little too long. Even when I told her I had a girlfriend, she was still trying to hit on me. I don’t do shit like that.
“Coach didn’t mind me being there?” she asks.
“Coach doesn’t like us making a habit of it, but we are allowed to have family and significant others come watch practice from time to time if we get prior approval and they don’t affect practice. I told Coach I called when he came out and put an end to their bullshit. I told him that you wouldn’t be an issue.”
She beams up at me. “Was I an issue?”
I can’t tell her that I almost took a puck to the face because I was watching her most of practice. That would reveal far too much too soon. So I lie to her.
“Not at all. You were a good, studious girlfriend.”
That much is true at least. Coach commended me on picking a girl who preferred books over flirting. Told me she was allowed back if I wanted.
“Well, you were interrupting my study time. Which I hate to leave you all alone to your adoring fans, but I need to get home soon. It’s almost five,” she says, looking at her phone.
“I figured. Can I at least walk with you?” I ask.
She chews her bottom lip, which drives me insane.
“I don’t know. You have a car you could drive. You don’t always have to walk me everywhere.”
“Do you want me to drive you? I figured that if I offered that, you would argue that you could walk.”
“Well, I mean…I can walk. By myself,” she adds.
I hate that she is trying to blow me off right now. I feel like we made progress, but she is stepping back. I don’t know what to do to make her see the truth.
I am head over heels in love with her.
