Page 64 of Crazy Pucking Love
He shrugged. “I did everything I could, and now I’m more behind than ever—” He yawned and gestured at the giant stack of books next to him. “I probably should ask for another cup of coffee, so I can try to tackle the rest.”
“Or maybe you should try to sleep so you can make it through tomorrow.”
He flicked my earring and my heart fluttered along with it. “Not you, too. Are you and Larry in on this together? He did say you were here last night.”
“For a little while, yeah. I thought maybe…” I almost stopped myself, but decided to push forward with the truth. “I thought maybe I’d run into you.”
“I was in New York.” He covered a yawn with his hand, and I fought the contagious urge to do the same. “I just got back this morning, and then I had to go right to classes, and by practice I was dragging. But the nap I attempted failed, so I came here to force myself to try to catch up on school crap.”
“New York? Like, home?”
He nodded. “My sixteen-year-old sister, Lissa, got into some trouble. She was arrested, and my family is pretty beside themselves.”
I tensed. Unfortunately, I knew a little too much about that. Being arrested wasn’t something I was proud of, or anything I wanted to admit to, but if I could help provide insight… “Could she maybe just be looking for attention?”
Dane scrunched up his forehead as he looked at me, head tilted.
“It’s just…”Oh, shit, I guess I’m gonna do this now.“Confession time?” My hand shook as I reached for a fry and dragged it through my nearly gone puddle of ketchup. “I was arrested once for shoplifting. Beckett had to come get me. I was dealing with a lot, and I felt so invisible, and there were these awful rumors about my mom, which was the only thing people seemed to be talking about.”
I abandoned the uneaten fry for a napkin and twisted it like it was my new mission in life. “I’d get this rush from it, and I’d actually feel alive. The first few times I didn’t even get caught, even though I fully expected to be—almostwantedto be as weird as that sounds. And when I did get caught, I thought ‘now my family will have to acknowledge me, and when the Davenport name comes up, this’ll give people something else to talk about besides my dead parents.’” I tossed the shredded napkin on the table and stared at it, the shame filling me making it impossible to look at Dane. “I know it’s messed up.”
Dane lowered his arm so it was over my shoulders and curled me into him. He didn’t say anything, just held me tight.
I swallowed back the tears clogging my throat. “I don’t do it anymore—it was just a couple of times over a year ago.”
“I’m not judging you, I promise,” Dane said, his voice soft as he rubbed his hand up and down my arm. “I’ve done plenty of bad things in my day. If it weren’t for hockey, I probably would’ve done a lot worse. I’ve been known to go too far for an adrenaline rush.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “With my sister, I’m not sure what it is. She’s partying all the time, and it’s not like her life’s so bad she needs to escape it. I think she started more to impress the older group—a group of losers I can’t stand, by the way—but now it’s getting out of control.
“The cops probably would’ve just taken her home and given her a warning if she’d only been drunk, but apparently she got mouthy with them, and they found weed on her—luckily not that much. Most likely she’ll get off with a warning, which is good, but also bad, because she views it as not a big deal. She’s so confrontational, and she won’t listen to anyone. The other problem is, my parents don’t have time to watch her every second of the day.”
“It seems like we always try to impress the people that are the worst for us. Especially at that age.” Another thing I knew too much about. “I talked to a therapist. I didn’t want to at first, but it did help.”
“I’m not sure my family can afford that.”
I immediately wanted to offer to help—to even pay for it, because it truly had helped me when I felt like my world was falling apart—but I didn’t know how he’d take it. So I thought I’d look into options and then maybe mention it again.
“I feel like I’m letting them down by not being there, but if I don’t go to classes or keep up with hockey, I’ll lose my scholarship. And the only way I can think of fixing things long-term is getting an NHL contract—or a degree in something that makes some serious money. But what if by the time I get there—if I even can—it’s too late? Then I’ll have wasted four years and put hockey over everything for nothing.”
I curled my hand around his arm. “They won’t be a waste. Look, I get it. When Beckett left, I did feel abandoned. He got to escape, and I had to stay, and yes, that made me resent him once in a while. But I knew he needed hockey, and he needed to get away. Your sister might not see it now, but someday she will. It’s a lot of pressure to put the fate of your entire family on your shoulders.” I leaned in and kissed his cheek, leaving my lips against his scruffy skin. “No wonder you don’t sleep.”
He gave a short, mirthless laugh.
“Sleep’s whispering to you now, though, isn’t she?” I ran my fingers up and down his arm. “Telling you that if you just closed your eyes you could sleep.”
His eyelids drifted shut. “Usually she’s a lying bitch, though.”
“She totally is. But maybe you can have a no-strings-attached fling with her anyway.”
“You’re giving me permission to have a fling?” I felt the smile under my lips and heard it in his voice. Then he opened his eyes, a mischievous glint dancing in the brown. “Maybe you, me, and sleep should have a three-way.”
“I’m open to it…”
He turned his head and pressed his lips to mine. “I had a feeling you were kinky.”
I laughed, then wound my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Deliriously happy, I dug into my purse, threw enough bills on the table to cover the food—despite Dane’s insistence he could get it—then I took his hand and pulled him out of the booth. “Your place or mine?”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Dane
