Page 57 of Stick It
“I thought you said Jax told you what happened?”
His teeth grind, jaw flexing. “He told me Kyle went at you, but he didn’t give me any specifics. He sure as fuck didn’t tell me Kyle invaded your privacy.”
I shrug like it’s no big deal when, in reality, it fucking is. “Well, he did. I’m going into town after the team meeting to get a lock for the door, and I don’t care what you have to say about that being against policy. I don’t give a?—”
“Don’t.” Ethan pierces me with a look so severe that it would have me running for the hills if I didn’t have the distinct impression that it’s not aimedatme butforme. “I’llget one and fit it for you.”
“I…” I trail off, momentarily lost for words. I’d expected him to argue with me. To tell me it was against our rental agreement and we’d risk losing our deposit. “You don’t need to do that,” I eventually manage to respond in a slightly breathless tone.
Ethan’s jaw grinds like he’s chewing on wasps. “I do, actually.” His gaze drops, but not before I see the flash of guilt and disappointment that darkens his eyes, making them look like dark clouds on a stormy day. “It never occurred to me that you might not be…comfortable here. I wish I could promise you that you have nothing to fear—” That same weightedness enters his eyes before he looks away. He seems to stare at nothing for a long moment. I don’t say anything, don’t wave off whatever he’s trying to say, because this is important. It’s not something to be dismissed.
Blowing out a breath, he returns that heavy stare to me. “We don’t hate you—Idon’t hate you,” he corrects when I go to argue. “When you first showed up, I didn’t like what your presence meant for the team. Admittedly,” he rubs awkwardly at theback of his neck, “I didn’t think you could hack it, but every time you get on that ice, you prove me wrong.” I’m once again sucked into the swirling vortex of Ethan’s gaze. “You held your own last night, and I know that can’t have been easy—to play against your old team.
“I still think it would be easier if you weren’t here, but I can see now why Coach vouched for you.”
My eyebrows hitch, my lips curling in a tease. “Did Ethan Maddox just say he liked me?”
“What?!” he splutters, an adorable redness dusting his cheeks. “Absolutely not.”
“I’m pretty sure I just heard you say you liked me.”
Huffing an exaggerated breath, he shakes his head at my shenanigans. “I said no such thing. You’re a pain in my ass, Thorn. One I could definitely live without.”
“You can’t live without me?” I gape at him, fighting back the laughter sitting at the back of my throat as he grows increasingly exasperated with me. “Wow, Ethan, hold your horses. Next, you’re going to tell me you’re head over heels in love with me.”
“Forget it,” he grumbles, lifting a hand as he turns on his heel and stalks into the kitchen. I follow after him, grinning. It’s incredible to believe that after how last night ended, I’m able to smile this morning. That,thanks to my roommates, I’m capable of smiling at all. “You can deal with Kyle on your own.”
I scoff as I grab a mug from the cupboard and fill it with coffee from the pot. “I was planning to.” I take a deep gulp, sighing softly as the warmth slides down my throat and settles in my belly. “I’ve known guys like Kyle my whole life. I know how to handle them.”
Turning, Ethan leans against the kitchen counter as he arches a brow. “You mean, guys like Lucas Tremble.”
I grimace, looking away and taking another sip from mymug. It doesn’t taste as good this time, though. “Yeah, guys like him.”
“He had some choice words to say about you last night.”
I attempt a tight smile over the lip of my mug. “I’m sure he did.”
Pushing off the counter, Ethan closes the distance between us. “The Steelhawks aren’t the Glaciers. I won’t tolerate shit like that on my team. I don’t tolerate people likeLucason my team. Kyle has always had an issue when there is fresh competition, but he’s never crossed a line before.” At least, not one Ethan is aware of, but I keep my lips shut as he continues. “Having said that, what he did—invading your privacy—is not okay, and I’ll make sure he knows what will happen if he goes anywhere near your room again.”
My throat bobs, emotion lodged thick and unmoving in the back of it. “And what’s that?”
Lifting his head, Ethan’s stormy eyes pierce mine, as though boring into my soul. “He’ll have to find somewhere else to live because he’ll no longer be welcome in this house.”
Head down, I’m bent over my phone, ignoring the rest of the team as they trickle into the room ahead of our team meeting. Conversations buzz around me, but I pay them no heed as I write out a text to Wren. She messaged last night asking for a minute-by-minute play of the game. She’d wanted to be there in person, but she works part-time at The Stanley bar on campus and couldn’t get her shift switched. With everything that happened after the game, I never got a chance to respond, and she’s blown up my phone overnight with a kazillion messages. I skim over most of them before typing out a reply.
Me
We lost.
I glance up as a broad frame fills the doorway. Lips pressed into a hard line, Griffin scans the room, stopping when he spots me sitting in the far corner. He stalks toward me, and I hastily rip my gaze away, absently scrolling through my phone. We’ve barely spoken since the night of the party, going back to our amicable silence when we’re in the gym or doing our late-night practices on the ice. Although I swear I see him around campus more than I used to—striding past my classrooms as I happen to walk out, entering the coffee shop shortly after I do. I even thought I saw him lingering outside the library after my lunch date with Wren one day, but when I looked back, he was gone, so it’s entirely possible I imagined it. I don’t know if I’m just more attuned to his presence or…well, actually, there’s no logical alternative, so it must be that I just didn’t notice him before. Though with the intensity of his presence drawing every eye in the vicinity, that seems impossible.
Truth be told, after what he did at the party, I don’t know what to say to him. He stuck up for me against Kyle—a warning that clearly the whole team has heeded. Not once since the party has anyone whispered about me sleeping with the coach. It’s a miracle, really.
My shoulders stiffen as I sense him approach, but I keep my gaze down, pretending not to notice until he moves past me, his arm brushing along my back between my shoulder blades. I struggle to swallow, my entire body becoming attuned to his close proximity as he plops down on the seat directly behind me.
I dare to flick a glance over my shoulder, findinghim slouching in his chair, legs sprawled out, his arms resting on the armrests like he owns the place.
“Hurricane.” He nods in greeting, and I blink at him before going back to my phone.
