Page 34 of My Last Dance

“Jump, Piper. Right fucking now,” he demanded furiously.

My limbs were shaking like crazy. “I can’t.”

His eyes were feral-looking as they darted around, taking in the dangerous scene. “You gotta jump. Right fucking now. I’m notjoking. On three. One, two…”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I jumped.

He caught me and struggled for a second to regain his balance. “Jesus, Piper! I said on three! You—”

A loud crash erupted behind us, cutting him off.

My hands flew up to my mouth.

“It’s fine,” he croaked out, but his eyes were wide with shock.

The zamboni crashed. It actually bent the boards at a weird angle. A second later, one of the windows fell out from between the metal posts and smashed to the ground, making both of us jump.

We stood there in shocked silence as smoke billowed from the machine.

“Hans is going to kill us,” I whimpered.

“No.” He swallowed hard. “He doesn’t wanna go to prison.”

“Oh my God!” I cried. “What do we do?”

“Run.” He grabbed my hand and started sliding off the ice, practically dragging me.

As soon as we exited the ice, he let go of my wrist, and we bolted—something I knew I’d regret within minutes.

He pulled open a tiny closet and ushered me in. “C’mon, it’s my secret hiding spot.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I squeezed in the small space. A second later, he pushed in next to me and closed the door, drowning us in the dark.

“I can’t see,” I whispered. There was barely enough space for the two of us. We were basically flush against each other. I was tall for my age, but he was one of the few boys who outgrew me, so I was staring at his chest.

“Sorry.” He was breathing hard from running. “I’ve never brought anyone else in here before, didn’t realize how tiny it is.”

Swallowing hard, I nodded. “How long do we have to stay here?” My body was practically shaking from the nervous adrenaline. “I almost died.”

The next thing I knew, his rough hand was touching my jaw. My eyes finally adjusted to the dark, and I could just barely make out his face. “No, I’d never let that happen,” he rasped.

I sucked in a sharp breath, thrown off by this sexy version of him. “H-how long do we have to stay here?” I stammered out.

He licked his lips and stole his hand back. “Until we hear him stop looking for us.”

“How long does that usually take?”

“Eh.” He shrugged. “Give or take fifteen minutes.”

Breathing out a sigh, I winced as I shifted my weight. My shins had been hurting more and more each day.

Ever observant, his eyes dropped down. “You okay?”

I nodded quickly, keeping my eyes on his muscular chest. For some reason, standing this close to him made my cheeks heat up.

“No, you’re not,” he whispered. “Here, c’mere.” He felt around for a bucket and turned it upside down.

“I can’t see if it’s dirty,” I whispered. I didn’t want to risk ruining my new leggings or walking around with a butt stain the rest of the day.

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