Page 32 of My Last Dance

“Whoa, it looks way too serious over here,” JP said. “Wait, are you two actually getting along?”

Feeling caught, I immediately snatched my hand back. I tried to pull my legs away from him, but Kappy held firm and kept massaging them.

“Ooh, I need some hot chocolate,” Ali said, coming up behind JP. “Shouldn’t they get off the ice?” she asked, glancing back at Mer and Colt still on the frozen pond. “It’s getting late, no one will be able to come help if something happens,” she added in a worried voice.

“Yeah, that’s true.” JP cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Colt! Mer!” He twirled his finger in a wrap-it-up motionlike a coach.

Without hesitation, Colt scooped up Mer like a bride and carried her over to our little campsite.

Kappy motioned to the empty ice. “Look boys, it’s our defensive line,” he joked, making JP and Colt crack up laughing. He gave me a secret little smirk, and I knew the serious version of him, the one that asked deep, probing questions and discussed hopes and dreams of the future, was gone for now, and the goofball “Kappy” version of him was out to play.

As we sat around the fire, the boys all chirped hockey insults at each other, making the rest of us laugh.

“At least I’m not the one who poops for a fucking hour before games,” Colt quipped at Kappy. Mer smacked her boyfriend’s chest for being gross.

“Hey, it makes me lighter on my skates,” Kappy defended himself with a proud smirk. “You should try it some time.”

“Ew,” us girls chorused.

Kappy shrugged. “And at least I’m not so whipped that I’m literally blowing on my girlfriend’s toes to warm them up.”

Mer slapped a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter. Colt just gave a shit-eating grin while holding Mer’s sock. “These toes are important for triples. And at least I’m not the one who broke the zamboni last week.”

Ali practically choked on her hot chocolate. JP started patting her back, concern etched on his face. “That was you?” she sputtered out between coughs.

Kappy was trying awfully hard to keep a straight face.

“I’d bet all my savings that it was him,” Colt said, leveling Kappy with a challenging stare. “I thought Hans was gonna kill someone. His throat veins were all bulging, and his face went all red.”

Kappy finally broke and started laughing. “Haven’t you guys wanted to try it before? It was just sitting there, calling to me!”

The group busted up laughing.

“Tell me you haven’t thought about it,” Kappy challenged.

“Sure, maybe if I had permission,” Colt said. “But you car-jacked it and got it stuck, man. Remind me to never let you be in charge of the getaway car.”

“Getaway car? When are you gonna need one of those?” Mer asked, patting Colt’s cheek.

“You never know with these two, babe,” he answered her,pointing at JP and Kappy.

“Hey, I’d be a perfect getaway driver,” Kappy argued, puffing his chest out.

JP scoffed as he threw another log on the fire. “The zam was stuck in the middle of the ice for hours. They had to delay games.”

Kappy held his hands up. “Yeah, well, it’s not as easy as it looks.”

“I bet I could do it,” I blurted out.

Ali snorted a laugh and choked on her drink again.

With a grimace, JP patted her back again. “Let’s just…be done with this,” he said, taking her hot chocolate away.

Kappy arched an amused eyebrow at me. “And I bet you couldn’t.”

“Let’s bet on it then,” I directed to Kappy, ignoring the group. Really, how hard could driving a zam actually be? It was just like a car…probably. “What’s the wager?”

“Shit, you guys get this text?” Colt interrupted, holding up his phone. “Coach just added another practice. I think he’s trying to kill us.”

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