Page 54 of Thrown for a Loop
“Uh-huh,” he says, his dancing eyes flipping up to mine. “Except what’s with that spin thing? Where he’s clutching you against his too-tight pants?”
And now I want to die. Preferably soon.
“Maybe Merry can stare intomyeyes like that the next time we skate together,” Tremaine says. “I feel cheated.”
The surrounding rows erupt with laugher. “Play that part again where he’s reaching for her. Like he might die before he gets there.”
“Bro, that’s you every morning trying to get your first cup of coffee.”
More hoots and howls.
“Darcy,” I hiss. “Stop laughing.”
“I can’t!” she says, wiping her eyes. “And you deserve this, anyway.” She drops her gaze to her own phone, where I see my own stupid lovesick face. She’s watching the damn thing, too. “Can’t believe you were holding out on me like this.”
“Iwasn’t. I had no idea this video had been posted to some dark corner of the internet.” If I knew, I probably would have watched it on repeat like a dreamy fangirl. “I can’t imagine how the reporter ever found it. Journalists are dangerous people.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Darcy lets out a little sigh. “The two of you look like you’re seconds away from tearing each other’s clothes off.”
That came later.
O’Connell looks up and winks at me. He’s a young man withangular features and dark hair. The suit he’s wearing probably has to be specially tailored for his huge frame. “Listen, Coach Zoe. I have to tell you this video thing is incredibly unfair. You made Chase look like a sexy beast, and now he’s going to getallthe female attention.”
I blink. “Um, sorry? I don’t see how I can help you with that.”
“But you can! What if we evened things out? You can make a reenactment video with me, where I get to be the sexy beast. I won’t drop you, promise. Look at these guns.” He rises from his chair and does a pantomime of lifting me over his head and then turning in a circle. “We could be so hot together, amirite?”
Darcy snorts.
“Nope,” I say firmly. “I’m retired from making videos. Go fish.”
He sighs. Then he rolls his dark brown eyes. “Fair enough. But I had to ask. I have other options, I guess.” He puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles. “Weber! Over here, please.”
The rookie gallops over. He’s cute in a fresh-faced way, with a spray of freckles on the bridge of his nose. “What’s up, O’Connell?”
“You and I are making a sexy video to ‘Wicked Game.’ Can’t have Merritt getting all the views, right?”
The rookie jams his hands into his pockets and thinks this through. “Yeah, I see your point. You got some moves?”
“Of course. All hockey players got moves.”
Alexei raises his hand from a nearby bench. “Notallhockey players.”
“Cool, cool,” he says. “Then you’re our cameraman. And, Darcy? I need you to play ‘Wicked Game’ on your phone, loud enough that we can hear it.”
“All righty,” she says, leaping to her feet.
Oh God, what now?I watch warily as O’Connell arranges his troops on the airport carpeting with surprising authority. ThenDarcy starts the music, and I hear the familiar ethereal guitar riff—the one that always threatens to rip out my beating heart.
Until now, I guess. Because O’Connell grabs Weber in a tango hold and stares into his eyes, while Alexei circles them with his phone.
I shrink back behind a potted bamboo plant, determined to keep my face off the internet for as long as I live. But I can’t help peering between the branches. O’Connell’s tango is much better than really seems fair. And as the music swells, he dips Weber, who manages to throw an arm back with more dramatic flair than you’d expect from a muscle-bound twenty-three-year-old.
There’s wild applause from the rest of the team. O’Connell straightens up, and I’m thinking that’s the end of it.
But I thought wrong. “Captain! You’re up next.” He claps his hands. “Let’s go, Tremaine.”
Tremaine frowns, and I’m counting on him to end this madness. Then he sighs and steps forward. “The shit I do for you guys. Where do you want me?”
