Page 61 of Empty Net

He picks up one of the hundreds of glass and ceramic turtles on the shelves, which take up an entire wall of his “office.” He holds it out to me, and I take it. I study the little figurine carefully, loving the details of the green and brown. It looks almost lifelike, like it might tuck its head back into its shell at any moment.

“Do you remember those videos they showed us in school about how horrible plastic is for the ocean? The ones of the poor sea turtles with straws stuck up their noses or those six-pack rings that hold soda cans together? And we were supposed to ‘Save the Turtles’ by recycling and cutting those up?”

“I remember.” I set the small turtle down and pick up another figurine, admiring the details of it. “They were traumatizing. It’s why I only use paper straws even though they totally suck and disintegrate within five minutes.” It hits me,and I gasp. “Please tell me little baby Fox took that to heart and decided to save all the turtles?”

He nods. “He did.Idid. I, uh, rescued many, many turtles over the years until my parents said enough and I had to pick hockey or the turtles. I picked hockey, of course, but I continued rescuing the turtles in other ways by collecting these little guys.” He grabs another figurine from the shelf, holding it so gingerly, and I smile at how extra tiny it looks in his giant hands. “Then my parents got in on it, and eventually my siblings, too. It took on a life of its own, so now I have this.”

He sets the turtle back on the shelf, then takes the one I’ve been holding and puts it back in its place, his touch light and loving. It’s so sweet and gentle, and I think this might be my favorite moment with Fox so far. He’s always been a little soft, but seeing this side of him, knowing he’s kept all these figurines to “save the turtles” in his own way… I don’t know. It makes me like him more than I already did, and I already liked him a lot.

You can kiss me if you want to.

And for the second time tonight, I want to. I want to press my lips right to his and kiss this wonderful man. He’s so good and so pure and so much more than I thought he was. I’ll admit I had some preconceived notions regarding hockey players being meatheads. I knew I was wrong about that when Hutch proved otherwise a long time ago, but now that I’m spending time with Fox, I can see how wrong I really was.

And that might be more dangerous than me wanting to kiss him again.

“What?” he asks when he looks over at me, and I know it’s because I’m beaming at him like a total fool.

“You, Arthur Fox, are somehow nothing and everything like I thought you would be.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No.” I shake my head. “It’s a good thing. A very, very good thing.”

He grins, and I swear I feel its warmth down to my toes.

“Come on,” he says, holding his hand out to me. I slip mine into his, curling our fingers together like it’s second nature. “Let’s go have some nachos.”

CHAPTER 12

FOX

“So?”

Lilah holds up a messy cheese-and-sour-cream-covered finger, chews, and swallows. But she doesn’t answer me then. No. First, she takes a sip of her sparkling jalapeño lime lemonade, letting out an exaggeratedAhhhbefore setting it back down and dabbing at her lips with a napkin.

I get the feeling she’s enjoying the fact that I’m sitting on the edge of my chair, awaiting her reaction far too eagerly.

Finally, she sets her napkin down and looks me in the eyes. “I think we should get married.”

I laugh. “Apparently, we’re already getting married, sugar.”

“Oh, right.” She pokes her tongue into her cheek, contemplating. “Let’s have sex, then.”

Fun fact: jalapeño lime lemonade does, in fact, burn when it comes out of your nose.

Lilah beats on my back as I choke thanks to herverysudden suggestion we have sex. That suggestion has my pants tightening, and that’s even while I struggle to breathe. I’m not sure if that’s a new kink being unlocked or what, but it’s certainly a recent development when I’m trying not to die.

“Sorry,” she says, though she doesn’t sound sorry at all; she’s barely able to get the word out amidst her laughter.

I cough, reaching shakily for the glass of water she hands me. I’m thankful I had the foresight to grab it just in case dinner was too spicy for her. After chugging half of it, I take my first real breath in what feels like hours instead of seconds and sigh.

“I was…not…expecting…that,” I manage through labored gulps of air.

She giggles, and it’s so cute I almost forget she just nearly killed me. “It’s the only thing I could think of to repay you because these nachos might be the best nachos of my life.”

“Sex for good nachos. Got it.” I take another long pull of water, then set it down. “I’m not sure that’s an equal payment, but if you insist…”

I reach for the button on my jeans, pretending to undo it, and she yelps, rushing to stop me. I fight back laughter the whole time.

---