Page 8 of The Penalty Box

“What the hell?” Jessy asks after I’m done telling her what happened last night, her mouth hanging open.

“Does it sound like something I’d joke about?” I push my glasses up the bridge of my nose. Those stupid things keep falling off, but I still prefer them over the contacts. “Liam and I never talk about these things.”

These things beingdating.I never ask about him and the girls he hooks up with—because as far as I know he never actually asked one of them out—and he most certainly doesn’t ask me those kinds of questions. Not like there is something to ask about, but still.

“Where did that come from?”

“I wish I knew.” I shrug, trying to play it cool, although my heart is still racing at the thought. Liam seemed equally surprised, andembarrassed, for asking that question.

“Didn’t you ask?”

I look at her, giving her a dull look. “Of course I asked! But he started to stutter over his words, and then he was saved by dinner. I planned to ask him again later, but he and Aunt Kristy went back home shortly after, so I didn’t get a chance.”

“Bummer.”

“Not like he’d actually say something.” I don’t know why I thought that, I just did. If Liam wanted to talk about something, he did. He’s not one of those people who like to drag things along unnecessarily. Before Jessy can ask for any explanation, I continue, “I found him lingering in the doorway.”

“Lingering how? Creepy lingering or I’m checking you out kind of lingering?” One of her dark brows arches in question.

I shrug. “Just lingering. I was doing my homework and when I lifted my gaze, he was there. I’m not sure how long, but he was standing in the shadows watching. He’s been acting really weird lately.”

“Maybe he’s finally starting to notice.” Jessy wiggles her brows at me playfully.

I shove her away. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re friends.”

“You haven’t looked at him as ‘just friends’ in a long time, Evie.”

She’s right, but it’s not like I’m going to say that out loud. Jessy’s the only person who actually knows how I feel about Liam, and how far that is from brotherly kind of love he feels for me. The rejection is on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t get to say anything because there is a light tap on the glass.

Temporarily startled, I turn around only to find Liam’s smiling face looking at me from the other side of the Plexiglass. He’s in full equipment, white jersey stretched over his in-pads-covered shoulders matching the one I’m wearing underneath my jacket.

I wave at him, mouthing good luck. Today’s the big game, and I can’t wait to see him play. The ice time he got in the past was minimal, and it was never as a starter. This is his chance to prove his coach what he’s made of and claim one of the starter spots that will open once his senior teammates graduate this spring.

If possible, Liam’s smile grows bigger as he waves back, slowly skating away. Backward. Attention monkey, that one.

“Just friends, huh?” Jessy elbows me lightly, drawing my attention back to her.

Tilting my head to the side, so that the hair stuck behind my ear falls down and covers my red cheeks and a big smile, I say, “Stop it.”

“Girl, if he smiles like that to his ‘just friend’”—Jessy actually uses air quotes, which only serves to irritate me more—“I’d like to see how he smiles at the girl he’s in love with.”

Shaking my head, I nibble at my lower lip to stop the words from coming out.

I wish I never have to see it myself.

* * *

“I think you should just go for it,” Jessy yells over the loud music, looking around the crowded room for Mila and Tammy, her cheerleader friends. Wolves have won their game and I’m sure people in the next county know it by now.

Once we left the game, we went to get ready at my house. Instead of having Mila and Tammy make a double trip, first to my place, and then to the party, we decided to meet here instead. If the house wasn’t packed as it is, maybe it would have been easier to spot them.

I’ve heard all about Andrew Hill’s parties, although I’ve never been to one before. If the hockey team were a royalty, Andrew Hill is most definitely their king. He’s known for his cold, almost ruthless behavior, but even that doesn’t stop people from wanting a piece of him any way they can get.

I look around as we struggle through the crowd. People are mingling around, red Solo cups tucked into their hands. Some of them I know from school, some not.

“I’m just saying, boys are dumb, Evie,” she continues as we stop in the kitchen to grab a drink. “For all their macho behavior, they’re either A) scared to make a move or B) too lazy to do it, because they’re comfortable with the situation like it is. And you have a guy who’s genuinely interested in you. Don’t you think you should give him a chance?”

I think for a bit as Jessy goes about getting our drinks.

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