Page 40 of My Last Dance

He glanced over his shoulder and his eyes locked on mine. “I’m not forgetting,” he said firmly. “Now c’mon. You do a whole bunch of crazy lifts with Patrick, I think you can handle a simple piggyback ride.” He grinned, but the smile didn’t make it up to his eyes.

I hesitantly reached out to touch his shoulder just to immediately pull my hand back. This was so dumb, I wasn’t going to—

“I think you’re confused,” he said, cutting into my thoughts. “This isn’t an offer, it’s an order. You’re done overthinking, now it’s time to listen.”

For some reason, his deep, demanding voice sent a zing of attraction skittering through me. I gingerly maneuvered onto his back, hissing once when I moved too quickly, then wrapped an arm around his neck. He carefully looped his strong arms under my thighs and lifted me easily.

“This feel okay?” he asked.

I nodded against him.

“Damn, you know what I just thought about?” He easily pushed through the heavy locker room door.

Feeling secure that he wouldn’t drop me, I let go of his neck and used the back of my hand to brush a secret tear away. “How Hans is gonna get mad at you for taking a break?”

He laughed. “Nah, he loves me.”

I snorted. “Then what?”

“I’m giving you way too much access to my neck. You’re known to go right for the throat.”

An unexpected, shaky laugh flew out of me.

He continued to crack jokes, distracting me from the pain, as he carried me to the concession stand. Instead of waiting in the concession stand line, he dipped in the back entrance. He never once set me down. He just ordered me to grab what we needed.

I held icees in both my hands, red cherry for him, coke for me, and crossed my arms around his neck. He carried the popcorn bag in his mouth, then we made our way up the stands.

He gently slid me onto the bleachers, then sat beside me.

“See the little goalie over there?” He pointed at the tiny tyke in net. “I give him two seconds before he flops to the ground, that’s his M.O. Then his dad will start yelling at him from the bench.”

A couple seconds later, he was proved right on both fronts.

“Wow, you’re way too in tune with Timbit practice,” I said while grabbing some popcorn.

He just grinned. “And those kids”—he pointed to three tiny players in the corner, all throwing fists at each other—“remind me of our crew.” One of the kids lost his balance and then all three ended up in a heap in the corner. The coach had to come separate them and plop them back on their feet.

“I can see the resemblance,” I said with a chuckle.

We watched in silence for a few minutes, but then his eyes darted to my shins. He flexed his jaw, like he was deciding on what to say.

“I’m sorry for being mean,” I said quickly, trying to distract him. “In the locker room, I didn’t mean…I was trying to…”

“I know.” In a shocking motion, he reached out and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, making me practically hold my breath. His eyes dipped down to my lips, making anticipation build in my chest, but then he dropped hand and looked out to the ice. “You have to tell someone. It’s getting too bad, Piper.”

My heart squeezed painfully. As soon as I told my parents, I’d be off the ice for days, weeks, maybe even months. That meant no Centre Ice. That meant nohim.

“Promise me,” he demanded in a quiet voice. “Promise me you’ll tell someone.” His hand went to my thigh, strong and comforting.

Sucking in my top lip to hold it together, I nodded.

“Good.” He dropped his voice to a lower octave when he said, “I never wanna see you trapped in a room like that ever again. There’s always a solution, always a way out. And when you think there isn’t, call me. Please. I’ll break windows and kick down doors for you, P.” His hand squeezed my thigh, and I knew he wasn’t just talking about being physically trapped. A little line formed between his brows, like he was deep in thought. “And just so you know, there’s not much I wouldn’t do for you,” he said quietly with his eyes still trained on the ice. “It’s actually kind of scary.”

He didn’t say another word after that, but he pulled me closer so that our sides were touching, and after a few minutes, I leaned my head on his shoulder. We stayed like that until the final buzzer went off.

8. SO…YOU AND KAPPY?

The boys left that fall.

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