Page 17 of Off The Ice

We made our way over to the benches, where I had a gallon of water waiting for me. I moved to take off my helmet, feeling the sweat plastering my hair down against my forehead.

Collapsing on the bench, I took my gloves off and downed a drink of water, trying to force my mind to refocus back where it belonged—on the ice.

“Oh, well, that’s great!” Brody looked relieved. “Because, to be honest, I was nervous for you when your sister pitched that idea. But anyway, about your sister—”

“Why were you nervous?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Because I know you. And having someone in close quarters with you doesnotsound like a recipe for success.”

I tensed, realizing that on any other day, I would’ve agreed with him without hesitation. But today, it rubbed me the wrong way.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” he said, his expression shifting to one of surprise when he picked up on the edge in my voice. “Just that, you didn’t even want to live withmewhen I was looking for a roommate, and I’m your best friend. Never mind some random girl.”

“Because we didn’t need to be roommates.” I bristled. “It’s not like we need someone to split rent with.”

“Yeah, but living alone is lonely as hell,” he said before waving away the topic. “It doesn’t matter, I was saying—”

I rubbed a hand over my face, confused by the prick of annoyance I felt at his words. He was right. I didn’t do roommates. Not since college. Not even with him. Hockey was plenty of socialization for me, and after all the noise, rush, and chaos of a game, it was only natural to want to escape home to silence and solitude.

Then why was it that I couldn’t get that damn little blonde out of my mind?

“—and I just thought it would be cool if you could arrange that.” I looked up to see Brody trailing off, apparently at the end of a long-winded sentence I’d completely spaced out for.

“Sorry, what?” I blinked, feeling worse that my distracted state of mind wasn’t solely on the ice but spilling over into normal conversations too.

“I was saying that it would be cool to meet your sister again sometime,” he said. “Maybe the three of us could go grab drinks or something one night.”

“Are you blushing?” I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.

“No,” he shot back defensively, cheeks reddening even more. “I just thought she seemed cool, is all.”

“Right,” I said, my voice trailing off as my mind began to wander.

Where was Cassie right now? Did she find a place to stay? Did she get back together with that guy? I needed to know.

“You’re clearly vacant today,” Brody observed, making me feel like an idiot. “I’m gonna give you some space to recharge because I sure as hell don’t want to spend any more time here tonight than we have to. Come back with a clear head, okay?”

I nodded, knowing there was only one way to clear my head for good. And that was to get answers.

Sighing, I gave in to the urge I’d been fighting all day and pulled out my phone. I had to scroll farther down in my message chain than I thought she’d be before I finally found Maggie’s name and shot out a text.

LIAM:How’d Cassie make out today?

Maggie’s response was almost instant, thank God, because I honestly didn’t think I could go another second without knowing.

MAGGIE:Dave’s a dick. That’s all there is to it.

A flash of irritation shot through me as I contemplated all the many ways he might’ve hurt her again today.

LIAM:What happened?

I sent back, trying not to sound too invested.

I wasn’t really. More curious than anything else. At the end of the day, it wasn’t like it affected me one way or the other.

MAGGIE:He had some girl over at their house when she went to get her clothes. Cassie’s devastated.

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