Page 165 of Jaded

We’re starting to worry about you, Cap

Cap.

Not evenCaptain. Already we’re on nickname terms—Cap. Why does that make me feel choky and weird all over again?

“They all believe in you,” Nat says, and I feel him watching me. “They all believe in you as a captain, as a teammate, and as a part of the whole. That’s the thing about a team—none of us is perfect. We fill in each other’s gaps.”

“Crap, Mouse, you’re making me all teary again.”

He laughs softly.

“So, how many for you?” I slide my phone back into my pocket without marking any of the messages as read. Maybe I’m a loser dweeb, but I kinda want to bask in the glory of this many people caring about me.

“Twenty-three.”

I laugh. “Oh, the glorious irony.”

“I think it’s a sign,” he says. “That we both should go to the rink.”

I pull in a shaky breath, meet his gaze once more. “You gonna skate, Mouse?”

“I’m gonna do even more than that.” His mouth pulls into a somber, sad smile. He blows out a long, slow breath, like he’s bracing himself to say whatever he’s about to say. Oh boy. “I’m skating for Avery.”

“But . . .” I startle right off the wall. “But then how could you be Forty-Seven?”

“I wouldn’t.” He shrugs. “I don’t want to try out for the Dingoes, Olli. When I say that part of my life is over, I mean it. It was my dream once, but my life’s so different now. I’m different now. It’s not my dream anymore.”

I stare at him, like I’ve basically been doing since I got here, while the words sink in. “You’re kinda brilliant.”

He grins. “I kinda am, right? The beauty of masks.”

“Except . . .” I blow out a long, long breath. “Are you really sure about that? You don’t think it’s time you stopped wearing a mask? Go out and show the world how good Number Forty-Seven is?”

“Maybe it’s timeyoustopped wearing a mask,” he murmurs, and for some reason, those words hit me.

He’s right. “Damn.”

“What?”

“Damn.” I lean my head back against the wall. “I’m gonna do something crazy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’m going to the rink tonight to talk to the team. And . . . Actually, there is something you can do for me.”

“Anything.”

“Make sure Syd is there too. Filming.” I lean out around him to stare at the parking lot. “Also, we’re gonna have to drive fast.”

Chapter 42

Nat

Wemakeittothe rink with thirty minutes to spare.

The place is packed. I’ve never seen so many cars overflowing the parking lot, so many people crammed outside on the sidewalk. Luckily, I have a designated employee spot around the back, or we’d never have made it.

I let us in through the back door. We head down the hall, and I remind myself to keep breathing. Olli walks close enough for me to take comfort in his warmth. If he senses how my heart races or my breath snags, he doesn’t let on.

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