Page 19 of Icing the Cougar
Chapter 11
Jasper
I wait outside the rink, knowing something is off. Fans trickle past, high fiving, punching shoulders, riding the energy I'm not feeling. They look at me and wonder why the hell I'm here, not inside, celebrating. It's because I can't shake how she looked tonight in her seat just past the glass. Nova doesn't see me at first. She loops an arm through Trinity's, chatting, but Trin is gone. It’s the look on her face. She's gone.
I see her mouth move as she says, "I don't know," to something that her friend says.
Then she sees me and stops in her tracks. Her eyes widen and she says something to Nova that I can't hear. She doesn't look pissed. She looks undecided. Indecision is way worse.
"Trinity," I call out. She glances over like I might vanish if she just looks away. I don’t let her. "Trin!" I say again.
Nova tries to steer her around, but I move faster. "Hey," I say. "Come here."
Trinity looks at me, then at Nova.
"Come on," I say, like it’s going to fix everything.
Nova sighs. "I'll leave you guys to it," she says. I can tell she doesn’t think we’ll last the night. Hell, the hour.
"It's okay," Trinity tells her.
Nova looks from me to Trin. "You sure?" she says, but she’s staring at me.
"Yeah," I answer for her, and then for me.
I let my relief show as Nova disappears into the crowd. Trinity hesitates, then comes toward me with that cautious look. I wish I knew what was behind it.
"Trinity," I say and start walking towards the parking garage where my car is parked.
"Jasper," she says. Her voice is soft. I hate how it sounds so unsure. "I don't know..." She trails off, but she’s following me anyway.
It’s only a short distance through some back halls of the arena before we are on the second level of the garage.
"Get in," I say, nodding to my black BMW M4. She doesn't move.
I open the door. "Please."
Finally, she slips in. The door shuts with a thud. I keep looking at her, waiting for her to say something, anything.
I start driving. Her apartment is in the opposite direction of where I want to take her, but I know better than to push. Not tonight. I need to let her find her own way there.
The tension stretches out between us. She’s quiet. Too quiet. I wonder if she can tell what it’s doing to me.
The car hums along, and I look over and see her staring straight ahead, into a space that's not here with me.
"Trin?" I don’t know if I want to hear her answer.
She just shakes her head, a small, lost motion.
Her apartment building comes into view as I pull up to the building.
I kill the engine, and we both sit there. I don’t want to do this in a car, but she doesn't move to get out.
Trinity finally unbuckles her seatbelt. "I'm sorry," she says. "I'm sorry, I just... I need to—"
I cut her off. "No, you don’t." She gives me a look that I can’t read. It scares the hell out of me.
I get out of the car and go to her side before she can shut me out again. I hold the door open, waiting for her to stand.
