Page 10 of Off The Ice

“It came with the place.” He shook his head, but he wore an answering smirk of his own. “And Maggie decorated it herself, so hopefully, it’s girly enough for you.”

“And what makes you think I like things to be girly?”

He looked at me up and down, probably noticing my bright pink sweater, flower-embroidered jeans, and floral print sneakers. “Just a hunch.”

He was right, but I wasn’t going to admit it. But I didn’t have to because my stomach erupted in a growl that was loud enough to shake the house.

“Are you hungry?” he asked a bit stiffly, as if taking other people’s needs into consideration wasn’t something he was used to.

“Uh, a little.” I downplayed my starvation, “But I’ll live. I’ll just go to sleep and grab something at the coffee shop in the morning.”

“Sit, I’ll give you some eggs,” he said, maneuvering back around the counter.

“Oh, it’s okay. Those are for you—”

“Cassie, relax. Just… eat, okay?” he said, spooning some food onto a plate before pushing it across the counter toward me.

“Well, thank you,” I said gratefully.

“You don’t have to thank me for basic decency.” He frowned, making his own plate before sitting down across from me. “Where’s your stuff, anyway?”

“Oh,” I said between bites of food. “I was too embarrassed to go home and see Dave, so I just didn’t?” I shrugged in explanation.

He shook his head. “So you don’t have anything to sleep in?”

“I have the clothes I’m wearing,” I said because I didn’t want him to think I was going to sleep naked beneath his sheets or anything creepy like that.

He stood up from his spot, making his way across the room to one of the many closed doors. I wondered if that was his departure for the night. He didn’t exactly seem the type to wish me ‘goodnight’ or anything like that, but I figured he’d at least give some type of conclusion to the conversation.

I’d finished my plate of food, washed it in the sink, and put it on the drying rack, but then I heard footsteps.

I turned to see Liam holding a pair of gray sweatpants and a blue long-sleeved t-shirt. When he extended them out in my direction, I realized they were for me.

“Oh, you didn’t have to—”

“Take the clothes, Cassie. You’re not going to be comfortable sleeping in jeans.”

I blushed, hating that I had to take even more from this man after he already told me he didn’t want me there in the first place. I hated being a burden, and I hated more that I had to accept it.

“Thank you,” I said, my hand touching his as I took the clothes from him.

I snatched it away quickly, not wanting to upset the guy who clearly had a lot of issues with personal space.

He nodded, moving back to the counter to eat. I held the shirt out in front of me, looking at how its size would swallow me up. The growling logo of the Harbor Wolves Hockey Team was staring up at me from the shirt.

“You’re a big hockey fan, huh?”

His eyebrows furrowed impossibly. “What?”

“It’s not a bad thing!” I quickly amended. “I was just noticing how you have tons of sports stuff in here. I take it you’re a big Harbor Wolves fan?”

He blinked incomprehensibly.

“I get it. It’s cool that there’s a big team so close to us. If I were into sports, I’d probably support my local team too.”

“Uh.” He scratched his head as if not knowing what to make of me. “Yeah. I guess you could say I’m pretty into hockey.”

“Nice, well, maybe some time you can explain the rules to me or something. It seems pretty intense, as far as sports go. Definitely the most violent, it seems. I mean, what’s up with these guys ramming each other against the glass? I know they have gear and everything, but they have actualbladeson their feet.” I shuddered, thinking about all the potential injuries. “Not to mention how bad it hurts when you fall against the ice. I haven’t skated in a while, but a few falls on my butt, and I’m bruised for a week after.”

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