Page 62 of Blocked Score

Exciting, but confusing. Sometimes I’m not quite sure what I’m watching, and my eyes haven’t totally gotten used to tracking the tiny puck yet.

“What’s the deal with you and Sebastian, anyway?” I ask Harper. The pair’s obvious hostility is such that she didn’t even want to come to the game today, but I wore her down with my constant entreaties. “I don’t buy that it’s just over him getting salty at you criticizing one of his essays in class.”

That’s been her excuse for why they can’t stop throwing barbs whenever they’re in each other’s vicinity.

“That’s my story and I’m sticking to it,” is all Harper gives me.

I roll my eyes. Something tells me I don’t need to hurry up to discover the history between them. While the rest of the guys Ilive with are seniors, Sebastian is a junior, like Harper. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunities to get to the bottom of what’s between those two.

“How’s living with Hudson going?” Maddie asks Summer. Harper and I rejoin the three other girls’ conversation now that they’ve moved off hockey.

“Incredible,” Summer says, eyes gleaming in a way that makes me feel a tiny pang of envy. “Plus, Salsa’s really thriving now that she’s finally in a two-parent household.”

“Salsa?” Harper questions.

“Our cat!” Summer exclaims. She thrusts her phone toward us, displaying a picture of a majestically fluffy feline sitting on Hudson’s chest while he lies on a couch.

Weawwandohhas Summer scrolls through her pictures of Hudson and their cat. I haven’t spent a lot of time around Hudson, but I’ve never seen him look as happy in person as he does with that furball in his arms. Well, except for the one time I saw him and Summer together, when his smile was so bright it could’ve lit up a dark room every time he looked at her.

When the break between periods is over, and the team skates back out, I keep my gaze on Lane, wondering if I’ll notice him glance up at me like Summer insisted he’s been doing.

It only takes a second for our eyes to meet.

31

SCARLETT

Isn’t it supposed to start getting warmer in March?

I guess no one decided to make the state of Vermont aware of that fact. Last night, the temperature plummeted even lower than I’ve gotten used to up here, and today’s been downright arctic.

The second I step out of the library with Lane, biting cold wraps around me like a straitjacket.

I’ve got a calculus exam coming up, so Lane agreed to meet me in the library for another study session.

Now we’re walking home. As luck would have it, the wind happens to be blowing directly in our faces. Yay.

Even when I’m shoulder-to-shoulder with Lane, it’s so cold that I don’t feel the waves of heat that always radiate from his muscle-stacked body.

“Let’s distract ourselves from our miserable present with dreams of a better future,” I say to Lane. “What are you most looking forward to about spring?”

Lane chuckles. “I can’t wait until it’s warm enough to go on a shirtless run again.”

Despite the bitter cold, Lane mentioning going on a run makes the memory of our first time in Chicago surge to life, and my body lights up in response. Heat starts to kindle low in my belly, but when a blast of wind assaults us head-on, it flickers out.

“Cardio machines at the gym just don’t hit like going on a run outside,” Lane continues.

“I can’t wait to be able to have lunch outside, on a bench or sitting on the grass,” I say, trying to remember what the warmth of the sun feels like on my bare arms.

We swap more hopeful images of the future until we finally get to the house. The feeling of stepping out of the cold into the warm interior is almost orgasmic.

Sebastian, Rhys, and Tuck are hanging out in the living room, playingInvasion X.

“Alright!” Rhys exclaims when he looks back and notices us coming in. “Scarlett’s here. Get over here and grab a controller.”

“Shit,” Sebastian grouses.

Tuck laughs. “Now let’s see how long your win streak lasts.”

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