Page 111 of What Are the Chances
“And do you?”
Tanner held my gaze for what felt like eternity before finally shaking his head. I had to keep myself from pumping my fist in excitement. It felt as if I had just shed my entire hockey kit. I felt a world lighter knowing – in his eyes too – that there wasn’t anything happening between him and Riley. And we were going to keep it that way.
“If you had the right person or people waiting for you at home, it wouldn’t be possible to let them slip off the radar,” I said with conviction.
For some strange reason, looking at Tanner felt like I was looking at Riley. Or maybe it only felt that way because she was the person I wanted to be sitting opposite me right now.
“I haven’t always gotten the balance right myself,” I admitted. “But I think that’s more about not having had the right person there, rather than putting hockey before them.”
Frowning, Tanner crossed his arms over his chest. “And have you got the right person now?”
What a loaded fucking question. One I didn’t know how to answer when there was some type of history between him and Riley.
Eric was leaning forward on his elbows, like he was hanging to hear the final line of one of Riley’s shitty romcoms. Sorry to spoil the ending, but it wasn’t a happy one just yet.
“I do,” I firmly answered. “But I have my work cut out proving that to her.”
With guarded eyes, Tanner nodded slowly. Whether I’d just stirred the dust or started a war, I wasn’t sure. But I wasn’t backing down either way. I hope I’d made that clear.
The rest of lunch wasn’t actually horrible. Once Tanner and I got talking about hockey, conversation flowed freely.
When you played opposite someone as much as we had, it was easy to fall into the trap of only thinking of them as a player. Essential thinking when the puck dropped. But off the ice, there was more to him. And if the Bobcats were thinking about bringing him on after graduation, we were going to have to make amends at some point.
As Eric picked up his beer, the sight of it made me squirm. I’d settled on water, the remnants of last night’s session still too fresh.
“Maybe the universe will have its way and you’ll be teammates after all.”
I craned my head. “What do you mean?”
“Tanner received an offer for a full-ride to Phil-U.”
I’d heard the rumour that Coach Hall had tried to recruit Tanner, but not that it had come with a side of a full scholarship. Tanner had to have a good reason for turning that down. Guys scrambled to play under Coach. And guys scrambled harder when they didn’t have to pay a penny for their education.
My eyebrows lowered. “Out of curiosity, why did you turn it down?”
Tanner wasn’t stacking up. He hadn’t declared, but he was interested in playing professionally. He loved hockey, but he’d turned down a scholarship to a school with a renown hockey program and Coach.
Tanner shrugged indifferently. “Not a fan of your coach’s style I guess.”
Eric snickered. “I remember Bryce Hall well. He’s the perfect example of a player who never got the balance right.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
I really have no clue
RILEY
I slowed to a stop, my hands resting behind my head as I exhaled deeply. A few moments later Brooklyn and Marnie came up behind me, their breaths as haggard as mine.
“Jesus Riley,” Marnie breathily said. “Are you on performance drugs or something? That was insane.”
Was it? It felt like a normal pace. Checking my watch, I noticed I had just clocked my best time for a seven-mile run. I’d beaten it by almost two minutes, which was huge. Usually Marnie and Brooklyn gave me a run for my money given they were on Allentown’s track and field team. I guess I hadn’t noticed them lagging, or more or less me pulling ahead.
Marnie rested her hands on her hips. “Spill. What the hell is going on?”
Stupid psych major.
While we worked through our stretches, I disclosed all the details of my clusterfuck situation, starting from the scary movie night all the way through to last night. I left nothing out.
