Page 16 of Halftime

Yes, he had a girlfriend, and I didn’t want a boyfriend. I’d had offers. Well, one serious one. But right now, I was going to focus only on hockey and enough on school that I could play hockey. I’d been a mess after Seb called that night a year ago, and it had affected my game. I wasn’t going to risk that again. And when I wanted to find someone, when I wanted companionship, I wouldn’t be looking at anyone on the hockey team.

Fool me once…

I was distracted, so when someone right behind me spoke with a masculine voice, I jumped. My face started to flush, until I realized it wasn’t Seb. Right. Why would it be? I turned to find Cooper standing behind me, smirking as if he had some idea what I was thinking. Nope. Not unless Seb had been talking, but even then…

Mental slap. Not going to think about Seb again.

There were calls of “Cooper” from people in the room. I raised my cup and said “Blondie!”

He reached out and tugged on a strand of my hair. “Good job today, Blondie.”

I slapped his hand away.

“Call me Dev so that people don’t get confused. You know, about which Blondie should answer?”

“Yeah, but I’m a junior, so I have seniority. You can call me Coop, and I’ll call you Blondie.”

“I’d sooner do an hour of crunches.”

Coop touched his cup to mine. “I’ll see what I can arrange.”

He really didn’t need to arrange anything. Coach Cray was out for my blood already.

Cooper leaned close to my ear. “Let’s go somewhere quieter.”

I snorted. “Is this your move, Blondie?”

“Do you want it to be, Blondie?” he asked.

“I don’t live here, Coop, so I couldn’t take you up to my room even if I wanted to. Why don’t you find someone who does?”

He cocked his head, never losing that smug, confident smile. “If I make a move, you’ll know it. I just want to talk to you about something.”

I was curious. I had no idea what this guy would want to talk about. We’d had fun talking hockey at the last party, but that didn’t require quiet or privacy.

He started moving through the crowd, heading to the patio doors off the back of the kitchen. Obviously, he knew his way around here. Not really a surprise. I surprised myself a bit by following. He slid open the door, and we were on the deck. A few others were out here, stealing a clandestine cigarette or joint. He kept walking, waving as a few people called his name, until we were in a corner at the back of the fence. It wasn’t totally private, but it was quiet, and no one was paying attention to us.

It was cool, but not unpleasantly so. Despite the short skirt, I was warm enough. I tended to run warm. Penny and I couldn’t agree on a room temp that worked for both of us.

Cooper didn’t say anything at first, so I looked up at the stars. Even though I was from Canada, this place was farther north than Toronto. I was from the big city, with a population of millions, and Burlington was a fraction of that. The air was different, and the stars were more visible.

It was nice.

“You’re Seb’s Faith, aren’t you?”

My head whipped around to meet his gaze. I felt my mouth drop open, but I had no words to say. It was just…unexpected and right and wrong all at the same time. Then anger kicked in. What the hell had Seb been saying?

“I’m not Seb’s anything.” I spoke each word clearly, leaving no room for doubt.

Cooper didn’t speak, and I turned to leave. I didn’t know what he and Seb were up to, but I wanted no part of it. This wasn’t something I was willing to talk about, ever.

“Sorry, Faith. That was the wrong way to say it. Let me try again. Were you dating Seb when he arrived here as a freshman?”

I turned back and crossed my arms. I’d still like to walk away, but it might be good to know what Seb had said, what people around here thought about me based on his words. I was already in trouble with my coach. If there was more, more I had to deal with, it was better to know it.

“What did he say?”

Cooper leaned back. He could relax. This had fuck all to do with him.

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