Page 4 of The Save

The one-sided feud fizzled when he started needing math help. Easy to forget when he was paying attention to me. Thenhe left to play hockey, and I never saw him again. Our parents broke up, and that was that. It was water under the bridge, but it felt a little like self-betrayal that I was now sitting here ogling his forearms. Chase Wilson didn’t care about me. He never had. He cared about his grades, his social life, and his hockey career. I needed to cut this weird obsession with him free once and for all.

But damn. Those forearms.

“I don’t see Axel. Or Rory.” Crystal squinted at the lineup as the puck dropped. “They’re not starting?”

Right. That’s what I’d been investigating. My attention snapped back to the ice. I was correct in thinking something was off. Number sixteen, Axel, and number five, Rory, the Outlaws’ top forward line, weren’t anywhere near the face-off circle.

Crystal’s jaw dropped as we found them behind the bench without their gear on. “What the hell? Are they benched?”

Shar wet her lips. “Rob told me they aren’t allowed to play until they get their grades back up.”

I straightened, the words clicking through me like tumblers in a lock. “They were serious.” It wasn’t a question. Of course they were serious. This wasn’t the United States, where the NCAA brought in TV spots or sponsorship money. Canadian universities prioritized academics, and they didn’t give special privileges to student athletes.

While plenty of our friends on the Outlaws were hopeful they’d get a shot at a WHL or AHL tryout, those opportunities were rare. Though Logan had proven it wasn’t impossible to get back in the running for pro consideration. He left only a few weeks into the semester to play for the Fredericton Canadiens and put his degree on hold.

A slow heat crept up the back of my neck as my brain revved.I needed service hours.I could offer to help them, but was tutoring athletes a thing? This couldn’t be just an “Oh, I spend time volunteering at the animal shelter on weekends” kindof thing. I needed something official—something that looked impressive—to add to my application.

The first period dragged. Without Axel and Rory, the team lacked bite. If someone told me Edmonton had been on the power play for the first eight minutes, I would’ve believed them. We barely visited the neutral zone.

“Bear’s already gassed,” Shar muttered halfway through the second. “They’re double-shifting him again.”

The scoreboard reflected exactly what they were seeing on the ice. It was 2–0 for the Prairie Devils, and the crowd started feeling it. Less cheers, more groans. The guy beside me spilled half his nachos, yelling something about line changes, and even Crystal had stopped heckling.

By the time the third rolled around, it was painful. Edmonton scored again on a power play that left the Outlaws' defence hanging their heads. Rob was trying to rally the guys, but wasn’t having much luck.

“They’re unravelling,” Crystal murmured.

She wasn’t wrong. After losing Logan and now without Axel and Rory, there was no spark. No flow. Rob was stranded out there.

“What if I tutor them?” I pushed my curls behind my ears. Sharla and Crystal’s eyes widened. “What? How bad could it be?”

“Babe, you don’t exactly have a bunch of extra time.” Crystal gave me a skeptical look.

“And have you met Axel and Rory?” Sharla added.

I held up a hand. “Okay, let me put it this way. I could look into tutoring them.” My brain circled around the idea. It was a good option. Something I was already good at, something I felt passionate about. “I need service hours for my scholarship application, so maybe I can work something out with the coaches?—”

“You mean with Chase?” Crystal raised an eyebrow, and the rest of that sentence died on my tongue. “He’s the compliance coach. You’d have to coordinate with him on that, right?”

I cleared my throat. “I guess so. Probably.”

Sharla jabbed Crystal playfully. “You aren’t going to leave her alone about this, are you?”

Crystal laughed. “Nope. Not as long as she keeps blushing like that.”

I rolled my eyes, immediately second-guessing myself. What if Oxford didn’t care about student athletes? Did they even have hockey in England, or did they only play cricket and . . . football?

Wait—I was thinking about this all wrong. It wasn’t Oxford who made the selections. It was the committee at Douglas, then the provincial committee. I’d read that somewhere in the packet. Hockey was a sure bet for them, wasn’t it?

“I think it’s a great idea.” Sharla looped an arm over my shoulders. “I’m sure Rob would help make it happen if you want.”

The Prairie Devils scored again, and a collective groan sounded throughout the arena. I clenched my fists with resolve. These guys were my friends, and I wouldn’t let their season end like this. Plus, tutoring would be a win-win. Whatever weirdness I felt around Chase would have to take a backseat because this was the Rhodes freaking Scholarship.

And I was going to earn it.

Chapter

Two

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