Page 91 of Practice Makes Perfect
EM
I leanagainst the wall outside the hockey team’s locker room, trying not to look like I’m stalking the sweaty, half-naked hockey players inside. Although honestly, I wouldn’t mind if one specific player happened to emerge in that state right about now.
“Just five minutes,” Lea had promised before disappearing into what I imagine is a testosterone-scented cave of equipment bags and communal showers. “I’ll just pop in to congratulate Mike, then we can go home and get ready for the party.”
That was twelve minutes ago. I’ve counted every second because my phone died halfway through the third period, leaving me with nothing but the peeling paint on the opposite wall to entertain me. I trace a pattern in it that looks vaguely like Abraham Lincoln if you squint and have an active imagination.
I’m exhausted after a shift at the diner yesterday, double dance class this morning, and then rushing to make it to the game on time—which I failed at spectacularly, sliding into my seat next to Lea during the second period just in time to see Linc’s incredible transformation into a literal human tornado.
Yet despite the bone-deep tiredness, I feel strangely… buzzy.
It’s like I’ve had three espressos, but the caffeine has bypassed my brain and gone straight to my heart, which hasn’tstopped racing since Linc spotted me in the stands and gave me that thumbs-up. The one that made Lea elbow me so hard I’ll probably have a bruise tomorrow.
“Did you see that?” she’d whispered. “He looked right at you.”
I played it cool. “He’s probably looking at someone behind me.”
But I knew he wasn’t. There was something electric about that moment—something that passed between us when our eyes met, something that made my skin prickle with awareness and my chest tighten with a strange mixture of pride and longing.
It’s terrifying how quickly I’m falling for him.
This wasn’t part of our arrangement.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
And yet…
A burst of female laughter interrupts my spiral of thoughts. Three girls walk past, all wearing Pine Barren University sweatshirts and jeans so tight they must require special tools to remove. I recognize one of them from one of my classes—Kimberly, or possibly Kylie, I’m not sure.
“God, did you see Linc tonight?” one of them says, sighing dramatically. “I swear I nearly came in my seat.”
I feel my cheeks flame even as my ears perk up involuntarily.
“He’s literally perfect,” says another, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “Like, have you ever heard anyone say anything bad about him? Ever?”
“Unicorn,” declares the third. “Hot, smart, good in bed, and actually nice. A mythical creature.”
“I heard he’s, like, really attentive,” Kimberly/Kylie adds, audible even as they head down the hallway. “Jessica from my Psych class hooked up with him…”
As they get out of earshot, something hot and uncomfortable settles in my stomach. I’ve never felt this particular flavor ofemotion before—like I’ve swallowed a porcupine, and its quills are slowly expanding outward, poking at my insides. It takes me a moment to identify it.
Jealousy.
“Em?”
I jolt so violently I nearly headbutt Lea, who has somehow materialized in front of me while I was busy having an existential crisis over girls I don’t know discussing Linc’s sexual prowess, and weighing up whether I want to stab them for stepping onto my turf or continue to refuse that I’d staked a claim at all.
“Jesus, Lea!” I press a hand to my chest. “Make some noise next time! Wear a bell! Something!”
She raises an eyebrow. “I called your name three times. What planet were you on?”
“Sorry, I was just…” I trail off, unsure how to explain the tornado of thoughts in my head.
Lea studies me for a moment, her head tilting slightly in that way that always reminds me of a curious bird. “What’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” I say automatically, then sigh. There’s no point hiding anything from Lea. “I just overheard some girls talking about Linc.”
“And?”
