Page 27 of Crazy Pucking Love
“How would I know?”
“Because you play hockey with Beckett.”
Dane ran his fingertips across his jaw. “Before Lyla came into the picture, the guy hardly talked. And if he did, it was about hockey. He’s a lot more involved with the team now, but he still doesn’t talk about personal stuff much.”
Considering the fact that my brother had almost let Lyla get away because of keeping everything all bottled up, I guess that shouldn’t surprise me.
We neared my car, so I leaned on the hood and gave Dane the brief version of D&T Pharmaceuticals. How my great-grandfather started it and how my parents died a few years ago on their way home from a business trip. I withheld the part about their affairs. As I relayed what’d happened to Dane, I understood why Beckett hadn’t mentioned any of it—it wasn’t the kind of story you wanted to tell over and over.
“My parents were gone a lot, and often it felt like it was just me and Beckett, which made us really close. But actually losing them for good…” A lump formed in my throat. “Well, you’re close to your family. I’m sure you can imagine how hard it was.”
“I’m not even sure how you deal with something like that,” Dane said, his voice soft, “and I’m sorry you had to.”
I blinked repeatedly so I wouldn’t start crying, working to keep it together.
Dane moved over and sat next to me on the hood of my car. “My parents were gone a lot, too, which made my sisters and I close in a lot of ways. But without parental supervision, we also got into plenty of trouble, not to mention some of the fights… I’ve broken up many a battle over borrowed-without-permission clothes and jewelry.” A smile ghosted across his lips, there for only a moment before it faded away.
“Is it weird that that sounds kind of nice? I mean, I’m serious about my jewelry, but I always wished I had someone to share with and borrow from.”
“I’m not sure many girls could pull off your giant earrings.” He reached up and flicked the longer of the asymmetrical heart drop earrings, and it made my pulse skitter under my skin, my body forgetting about the just-friends decree for a moment.
All traces of humor faded from Dane’s features. “Right now things are off back home, and even all the way from here I can sense it. Yet I can’t really do anything about it, and it makes me feel so helpless.”
“Care to expand? Maybe I can help?”
He kicked at the ground and then his brown eyes lifted to my face. “I’d rather just forget it a while.”
A shiver ran through me, and I wrapped my arms around myself. My nose and ears were passing the numb point, growing ever closer to the burning, angry point.
“You’re freezing,” Dane said, frowning. “We should’ve had this conversation inside—I wasn’t even thinking.” He tipped his head toward the door of his place, only a few yards away.
I glanced back at my car. It was late enough that Vanessa and Justin would probably be done with the part of the night I didn’t want to be there for.
Dane placed his hand on my knee. “You should come in. I won’t be falling asleep anytime soon, and I’m not quite ready for tonight to be over. Unless you’re tired…”
If I headed back to the dorm, I could lick my wounds alone, but then I’d be alone. Alone and sad sucked ass. “I’m always tired,” I joked, only it wasn’t a funny one because it was a little too true. “But since I won’t sleep if I go home, and I’m not looking forward to it, I could come in for a while.”
Relief flooded his features and it calmed all the unsure emotions swirling around inside me. There was something in him that needed me, just like I needed him. Maybe he’d taken himself out of the potential boyfriend category, but I had other items, and he definitely fit number three.
3. Make good, not-fake friends, who’ll have my back instead of stab it
I could honestly say that I was sure Dane would have my back if and when I needed it, so I’d have his back, too. Even if my heart would always wish we could be a little bit more.
…
After the end of the movie, which I actually enjoyed once the anxiety-and-caffeine-fueled adrenaline had left my body, I checked the time on my phone and saw that I had a calendar alert.
When I opened it, I shot straight up. “Crap. I forgot to email my professor my paper. I accidently set the reminder for p.m. instead of a.m., and now it’s due in…eight minutes.”
Dane put his hands on my shoulders. “Okay, first, breathe…”
I sucked in a deep breath and then slowly expelled it.
“Now, what do you need?” he asked.
“My laptop, but it’ll take me longer than eight minutes to get to campus, and surely he’s not sitting there waiting, but what if he sees the timestamp and decides he won’t take it?” Would the professor do that? Judging by how much he’d already assigned us, he clearly had sadistic tendencies.
My mind spun for a faster solution to ensure I got credit for the paper, and I realized thanks to my saving-in-three-places paranoia, I had everything I needed in my email account. I just needed to open it up and add the one reference that I’d procrastinated finding, to the point of forgetting about it. “Actually, any computer would do.”
