Page 155 of Skate the Line

Teeth brushed, hair pulled into a high pony, sleep shorts on.

But after tossing and turning for what feels like hours, I shove the blankets away and go back to painting another tree.

Sure enough, it’s the same shade of green as before, which is impressive since I made the color on a whim. It’s scarily similar to the color of Rhodes’s eyes.

My teeth sink into my lower lip.

I wonder what he’s doing.

Watching a hockey game downstairs?

Sleeping?

I stare at my cracked door. Butterflies fill my stomach when I think about him in his room, thinking aboutme.

Water.

I need water.

Creeping out of my bedroom on bare feet, I stare over the ledge of the banister.

He isn’t down there. There’s no faint sound of a hockey game or flickering lights, so I quickly pad on quiet feet and slink down the stairs one by one until I’m gulping cold water in the kitchen.

My nipples perk from the cool wintery air seeping underneath the back door.

Their alertness has nothing to do with my memory of the last time I came downstairs for water.

After placing the cup in the sink, I tell myself to go right back to my room.

Except, there is something pulling my attention to his bedroom door as soon as I take the last stair.

With each step down the hallway, my body grows warmer.

I pause outside his room.

What the hell am I doing?

A voice distantly fills my head as I stare at the closed door.

No one will believe you, Allison. I’ll just tell them that you came onto me and then wanted to turn it around so you’d get money out of me. You’re a slut, Ally.

His threat is a bitter reminder of who’s in charge, day in and day out. Would anyone even believe me if I spilled the truth? Ruby believed me, of course. And my boss. But the league? The world? Rhodes?

Just go back to your room, Sunny.

My shoulders fall, and I force myself to head in the direction I came. I hate that I’m allowing someone who doesn’t deserve any part of me to control my actions again, but?—

“Sunshine.”

My soft gasp fills the quiet hallway. I press a hand to the wall and stare at the very half-naked, dark figure standing mere feet in front of me.

“Rh–Rhodes,” I stutter. “What are you doing here?”

He gets closer, and I run hot.

“What am I doing here?” Shadows move over the dips and valleys of his bare chest. “Well, I live here…”

I clear my throat but talk quietly with Ellie sleeping a few rooms down. “I mean…”

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