Page 115 of Catch
I bend over, my face between my knees as I try to suck in air. I feel a hand on my back, and I look back and nod at Iggy.
“I’m good,” I pant. “Overwhelmed, but good.”
“No shit,” Iggy chuckles. “We upset U Conn again. We’re college champions!”
A half hour later, on dry land, we accept our medals and take a ton of photos, including selfies. I send a few pictures to my grandparents and to Ethan even though I know he won’t see them until later. Glancing at the time, I realize that hishockey game should be finishing up soon. I quickly slip on Ethan’s jersey and join Jackson as we say goodbye to our crew. We’re all meeting up tonight at the closing concert, so we’ll celebrate as a team later.
By the time Jackson and I make it to the rink, the third period is winding down.
The Cougars are playing Boston U, and the game is tied 3–3, with less than ten minutes remaining.
It’s still anyone’s game.
There’s a scrum near Boston’s goalie, and several players, including Ethan, hit the boards with a reverberating crunch. My stomach knots as I wait to see if he’s okay and shit, I’m more nervous now than I was for my own race.
“Does it ever get any easier?” I ask Jackson.
“Watching your boyfriend play in a contact sport?” Jackson shakes his head, his curls bouncing. “Nope. It still makes me anxious, and I’ve been going to Dane’s games since he and I were in high school.”
All the seats are taken, but since I’m one of the event ambassadors, we get to stand behind the boards and watch from there.
Coach Banning calls for a time out, and my eyes scan the ice for number sixteen. I spot Ethan with Dane and Axel; I can’t help but smile when I notice my boyfriend talking a mile a minute and gesturing wildly. Despite the hit, he’s fine.
I don’t call out his name, though, because I don’t want to distract him.
Then I don’t need to.
Ethan looks around, and when he spots me in the crowd, he breaks into a wide grin. I smile back and hold up my medal. Ethan raises both arms in the air and offers a loud cheer that has his teammates glancing our way. I nudge Jackson, who holds up his medal too.
I swallow past the huge lump in my throat and blink away the tears that threaten. I’ve celebrated my wins with friendsand family, but now with Ethan, it means even more. He’s an athlete so he gets it; he getsme. We both have a need to be the best at what we do, to take risks, to push ourselves to our limits and then some. We’ve made sacrifices to get to where we are, but it’s worth it.
And I know in my heart thatwe’reworth it.
I think back to Renner and how he hated sports, hell, I’m pretty sure he hated me. I don’t have any clue as to why I wanted him or why he wanted me. Maybe it was loneliness on my part. I wanted a relationship, and he seemed eager at first to give me that. I ignored the fact that we had nothing in common, but I guess it was a lesson I needed to learn.
“Jett?”
I turn around to find Hailey, Renner’s former hookup, standing behind us. Talk about timing. I notice she’s accompanied by another student, a woman I don’t recognize.
“Hey.”
Hailey steps forward.
“I figured you’d be here given Ethan’s game.”
Word of our relationship traveled fast around campus. And if the gossip didn’t confirm it, me wearing his jersey would.
“Hey, Jackson.”
He nods at Hailey.
“Jett, do you have a moment to talk?” Hailey asks.
“Um, sure, what’s up?”
“This is my friend, Willow. Can we talk to you in private?”
Willow… the name sounds familiar, and I rack my brain as to why.
