Page 62 of UnWholly Angels
I opened my mouth to counter his statement when Riley came to my defense. I wasn’t offended because I thought it was funny; clearly, he didn’t. Before I could stop him, Riley had alreadyskated toward Ethan, sizing him up as the words tumbled from his mouth. “Yeah, and if you keep bringing it up to every Dick, Tom, and Stacy, it won’t happen again. I allowed it because she was comfortable, and she was in control of what happened the whole time,” he spat. Ethan’s eyes widened, his demeanor tense and apologetic as Riley continued to speak. “You are all my boys, my team, but this is my girl. If I ever had to choose, it would be her and wouldn’t be a second thought. So, respect that, and her…please.” I chuckled at the difficulty he had saying that word. Skating up to him, I rested my hand against his arm, signaling that I was ready to start. Glancing at the men in front of me, I shot Ethan a nod, then a wink, letting him know he didn’t offend me.
I released Riley’s arm, my chest thrumming with a growing gestation that I would embarrass us both. It wasn’t about the money anymore; my pride was on the line because he had to be a bro and make a stupid bet. I shot a worried glance at him and plastered the biggest smile on my face, pushing the fear as far down as possible.
No sound could be heard aside from the light giggles and cries of the children until I started skating backward, and the blades whispered against the ice as I gained speed. My posture remained strong as I continued to glide, making sure to stay focused.
“Show them, Maya!” Chloe screamed from the other side of the ice. Her voice sent a shrill of confidence up my spine, and I used that to pull myself inward and fold my arms across my chest…the first small trick Chloe ever taught me. Once steady and balanced, I started spinning, but only a few times until the world also started spinning along with me. A few moments later, the lights dimmed as Riley’s stunned frame towered over me, catching my body before I could hit the ice, and I looked to him with a triumphant smile.
“Looks like Idoremember a thing or two, huh?” I giggled leisurely, allowing him to pick me up with ease and skate to where I assumed was the bench.
There was a glimmer in his eye as he spoke to me. “You never cease to amaze me, Maya.”
I scoffed. “At least you get the money you bet.”
His hand flew to the back of his neck, rubbing the area raw as he searched for the right words. “Actually, once I saw that look of determination you get, I told them to keep it. I wouldn’t have made the bet if I thought you couldn’t do it goof.”
He leaned in, his lips brushing against mine teasingly. I took it upon myself and closed the distance between us, taking his bottom lip in between my teeth and sucking it in to deepen it further. When we pulled away, I couldn’t help myself; I had to challenge him. “Wow, in front of everyone? It’s like you’re obsessed with me or something, Mr. Kingston.”
His next words hit me like a wound that had been doused with rubbing alcohol, déjà vu hitting my senses. “Well, maybe I am.” With a jerk of his body, he turned away from me for a moment to address the voice that called out to him. I really enjoyed today, and I hope he did too. The other voices seemed far away as memories of all the amazing times we had started flooding in. These memories could stay as long as they wanted. Maybe Rocco gave up. Maybe he found someone else, which would be equally as tragic, yet I couldn’t stress about it. It was my turn to heal, to find myself. Riley’s voice cut through the thoughts, repeating my name over and over until I finally met his gaze. “You okay? Was it too much PDA?”
“No, not at all. I do have to admit I’m getting a little tired. Is it okay if I skip the afterparty, you can go,” I encouraged.
“Fat chance I’m leaving you alone in the middle of the night again. Let’s go home. Why don’t you head into the locker roomand get ready to leave, and I’ll be close behind, just going to say goodbye.”
I nodded, rising from my spot on the bench and headed down the tunnel toward the locker room. The smell of the area vastly changed from the cool scent of freshly used ice to something more like sweat covered up with an insane amount of cologne. It made me gag. I was already nauseous from the spinning. My fingers worked quickly to undo Riley’s knots and unlace them, giving a sigh of relief when I could fully flex and move my foot around again.
The air changed and was almost unsettling, but I chalked it up to being tired and slipped on my shoes when a presence appeared next to me. “Do you mind?” he asked, pointing to the spot next to me on the bench. I’d never met this one before, but he looked younger than most of them, and it clicked. Riley was always bitching that the rookie would make mistakes as if almost on purpose. He wanted him sent back.
“No, go ahead, I’m leaving anyway.”
The silence was deafening between us, and I gingerly tried to start a conversation. If he’s a rookie, way too many of these guys were probably tough on him. Deep inside, my gut was screaming to stay away from him, and I couldn't pinpoint why because he seemed nice.
“So, how do you like playing for Crestview?” I asked.
He just shrugged his shoulders, and I rolled my eyes, waiting for an answer. “It’s cool, just wished I could see a bit more ice time.” His accent was thick and held what sounded like some harbored resentment. “How does it feel being a lucky one? Angel never comes to a team event, let alone brings someone. I mean, how can one person be so miserable?”
I was a bit offended by that statement. Riley wasn’t miserable; he was an asshole. Those were two totally separate places to be mentally. He cared, he just had a weird way of showing it.
“Riley’s an old friend, we reconnected, and things grew from there.” I wasn't exactly lying, but didn’t know this kid well enough to give my life story either. “And he’s not miserable. Riley had a really tough childhood. Until he can trust you, I can promise you won’t get an ounce more than who he is at surface level. Once you get there, it’s incredibly worth it, though. Riley is worth it.”
This conversation had me feeling like my boyfriend was a TV in the store I worked at, trying to sell all the special features to a customer who wouldn’t even read the manual. I huffed, standing up. “Riley should be finishing up soon. Do you know where I can put these?” I asked, holding the used skates a safe distance away from the both of us.
“Uh, when you walk out of this room, head down to the first corridor and make a left. The equipment room is the first door on the right,” he said with a relieved grunt, ripping the skate off his foot and massaging the area gently.
“Thanks, it was nice to meet you,” I smiled, heading the way he’d told me to.I forgot to get his name.I’d have to remind Riley to go a little easy on him; pro hockey had to be daunting, and a completely different ball game from the minor league. Truthfully, I didn’t know that much about hockey, which seemed terrible considering a big portion of my life in some form or the other was hockey.
Dread settled in my stomach as I focused on the long corridor, the door coming into view as I turned the corner close to the door. The light fixtures weren't as bright, and a chill sent a zing down my spine. Cursing myself for being impatient, I hurriedly walked into the darkened room, my eyes scanning for the place he’d told me to put the skates. The room was adorned with wheeled baskets of unworn jerseys, extra sticks, and gloves. Letting out a breath of air, I resolved to just put them in the basket and leave. In the same moment I was going to chuckthem, a figure emerged from the shadows, flattening his suit down at the sides.
“Hello, Maya.”
My blood ran cold as I backed into a body, hands flying to my upper arms and gripping them tightly. “Please, no,” I begged as I was shoved forward. There was no indication of who was behind me, but I had an idea, and a mix of anger and fear ripped through me for trusting someone when Riley already had reservations. I made the worst mistake possible by ever letting my guard down. That’s what I got for being kind.
My breath caught in my throat as Rocco inched closer, his shoes softly clicking against the floor as he approached. Once again, I tried to break free to no avail, and Rocco was able to quickly snatch my chin in his grip, forcing me to face him.
“H-H-How did y-y-ou even get down h-h-ere?” I stuttered in a panicked breath.
“Because Maya, I want you to feel and know how close I am. So fucking close.” My heart pounded against my ribcage, watching his every movement as he continued. “That piece of shit killed my brother and made a joke out of it. He’s going to pay for that Maya, and so will you.”
“I’ll give you the drugs and all of the money, I swear. Riley would even match it, I'm willing to bet.” I was trying my best to negotiate so I didn’t lose the man I loved. “Please, don’t do this.”
