Page 171 of Skate the Line

He clears his throat. “Yeah, well I’ve straightened out some of my priorities, and it’s helped me tighten my skills and focus on the ice. We’ve been running some new plays, and I think with each win, our momentum gets stronger.”

“You guys definitely have some momentum,” she says. “Especially you with that hat trick.”

I suck in my cheeks. I teased him earlier and egged him on to score, and sure enough, he did.

Timesthree.

I slip backward, afraid of the camera swinging toward me, and wait until they finish the interview. Not wanting to make anappearance and cause rumors to swirl, I press against the tiled wall near the locker room and twirl Rhodes’s keys in my fingers. I practice acting cool and unfazed by this three-goal game.

With the shuffling of feet and low murmurs, my pulse starts to race. Any second now, I’ll come face to face with him, and I’ll have to act like our entire text exchange never happened.

As soon as he rounds the corner, every one of my senses sharpens.

He spots me right away, and his eyebrow rises. “Are you hiding from me?” he asks.

I scoff. “Why would I hide from you?” As if I didn’t tempt him to score goals andpunishme earlier.

His hand disappears into his sweaty hair as he brushes it off his forehead. “Should I bring up our texts?”

Please don’t.“I was just trying to steer clear from the cameras,” I admit. “Not you.”

Concern burrows in between his eyebrows. “Oh, right.” He quickly glances around, and I know he’s looking for Ellie.

“Emory and Scottie took her for ice cream to celebrate the win.”

His tense jaw loosens.

“That’s okay, right? I said she could go with them, and by the time we get home, they should be bringing her back.”

He presses on the locker room door with his large hand. “Yeah, that’s fine. You didn’t want ice cream?”

I scrunch my nose. “Well, I have your keys, and I didn’t think you’d be okay with me making you walk home.”

Rhodes snorts. “That’d definitely call for a punishment.”

That’s twice he’s brought it up in the last thirty seconds, and I have no one to blame but myself. It’s easy to flirt through texting, but now I’m having to face the repercussions, and it’sreallyhard to act normal.

“You can wait in here.” Rhodes pushes the locker room door open farther and inches his chin for me to follow.

“In there?” I squeak. “I can’t go in there.”

He laughs under his breath. “The team has cleared out. It’s just me.”

That sounds like an awfully dangerous invitation.

One that I will willingly take.

“Okay.” I slip through the crack in the door and wait until Rhodes directs me where to sit.

Only, he doesn’t.

I stand near the door and stare into the vast locker room. Their team colors cover the walls, and to my surprise, it doesn't smell musty or like sweaty hockey gear. Instead, it has a scent of masculinity and cologne.

“You can sit, you know.”

I flick my gaze to Rhodes. He stands in front of his locker and sits to take his gear off. I squint when I catch sight of a colorful picture hanging up inside it. I find myself walking toward it with a smile on my face.

A rainbow is arched above what I think is an ice rink with three stick figures. One has insanely long legs and is holding a hockey stick, and the other is a little bit smaller with a big smile on her face. Then, in between them, is an even smaller figure with a big blue bow in her hair.

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