Page 61 of The Breakaway

Maddie rolled her eyes. “Your only limitation is right here.” She tapped her head with her finger.

Bear grinned and held up his hand. “This finger? Definitely not limited.” He waggled his eyebrows.

I groaned and grabbed a plate. Crystal pulled me from my seat, and I followed her to the buffet line. Rob looked up, and I briefly caught his eye before pinning my gaze on the back of Crystal’s head.

My sunshiny mood clouded over.Not friends?I wondered if he thought I wasn’t his friend when he saw his clean jersey draped over his chair. Ugh, I wanted to slap him. I thought I’d gotten over it, but maybe my successful avoidance of him over the past week had been masking those emotions that were still very much there if my clenched fists were to be believed.

Rob had held me in the middle of the night. He’d helped me get my violin, albeit with a tad bit of blackmail, but he did it. I made him dinner, and we talked for over an hour that night. Why would he, after all that, go back to being a jerk?

“Hey, you want sausage?” Crystal pointed at the student waiting to drop two links on my plate. I nodded, and we made our way through the line, then sat back with the team, listening to them swap stats and analyze their competition.

I glanced around the room. There were a few teams that were looking good this year, but the Outlaws were favoured. But without Logan . . .

"So Sharla, you coming to the games this year?" Rory needled.

I scoffed. “Why wouldn’t I?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, since Logan isn’t here?—”

“Um, if you remember, I loved this team first. Logan and I got together after I was already a fan.”

Axel reached over and put his arm around me. “I’m here for you. If you get lonely with Logan gone.”

I laughed, then looked up to see Rob staring at us. He stood and picked up his plate, his jaw tense. “Probably time to go.”

Rory glanced at his watch. “We have a few more minutes.”

Rob pushed his chair in. “I’m going to head over now.”

“Okay, grumpy,” Crystal murmured as he walked away from the table.

I nudged her. “He’s probably just nervous.” I watched his retreating figure. Had I done something wrong? Said something wrong? I’d rehashed our phone conversation a hundred times but couldn’t figure it out.

The truth was, I did feel a little bit naked without Logan there next to me. Normally my schedule revolved around his. I was with him between games, worried about getting him food or Tiger Balm or whatever he needed to recoup. But now? I was free as a bird.

The team started to disperse, heading off with Rob, and eventually, it was just us ladies, surrounded by the detritus of a truly epic breakfast. I turned to Maddie and Crystal with a grin. "So, what trouble should we get into while the boys are away?"

Crystal slapped her hands on the table. "Cafeteria streaking.”

“Matching tattoos!” Maddie added.

Pam, Rory’s girlfriend, snorted. “How about we grab coffees and scope out the competition instead? I hear the team from Saskatchewan has some real hotties." She winked.

"Now you're talking," Crystal agreed, pushing up from her chair. "Lead the way, oh wise one."

We watched the end of a game between a team from Grande Prairie and U of L—total blowout—then bought snacks in anticipation of the Outlaws facing off against the Coyotes from Bayshore College on Vancouver Island.

"I heard their top scorer, Jaxon Reed, is NHL-bound after graduation," Crystal whispered, eyes glued to the Coyotes’muscular captain as he warmed up. "Twenty goals in fifteen games this season."

"Pfft. Logan’s sitting at twenty-five goals, and Rory’s right behind with nineteen. Plus, we've got Tim in net and Rob mid. The Coyotes don't stand a chance."

Crystal nodded in agreement. "Totally. The Outlaws are going to destroy them." She chewed her lower lip. "Maybe number twelve will need comforting."

I elbowed her playfully. "Down, girl.”

She winked, then launched into a discussion with Maddie about who they thought was single. Okay. So it sucked a little that I wasn’t single this year. That had been the most fun part last time, and it stung a little that I couldn’t in good conscience join in.

The puck dropped, and the game began in a flurry of motion. Rory won the face-off—the Outlaws took possession. They made it look easy, passing the puck between them as they wove through the other team.

---