Page 38 of Heart Check
“I saw Harper leave the couch this morning.” Noah raises an eyebrow, and I feel weirdly like my captain’s calling me out for a mistake on the ice. “Harper Braedon, public enemy number one? Why’d you even bring her, after everything she’s said about Coach?” He shakes his head. “Not just bring her. Yousnuggledwith her?”
I pour my mug full to the brim. Noah may be my captain, but he goes a little too far sometimes. Suddenly I’m really glad he was too busy showing off his slapshot outside to pay much attention to Harper. “Yeah, well, she’s not bad when you get to know her.” I do my best to keep my voice level even though my cheeks are burning with defensiveness.
“Damn.” Noah whistles, face twisting in disgust. “Don’t you have better options to hook up with?”
“Oh, we didn’t,” I hurry to clarify, my face hotter than ever. “We just crashed. We’re not a thing.”
It’s the truth—all that happened was a long conversation, one I never wanted to end—but it doesn’tfeellike the truth. Harper and I connected last night. Telling Noah there’s nothing going on and letting his dig slide by unchallenged almost feels… disloyal. I take a long gulp of coffee. When did Harper get so in my head?
Noah holds up his hands in the universal signal forokay, back off. “Whatever you say. You sure don’t need her bullshit.” I frown, about to argue more, but Noah’s already turning to grab ingredients from the fridge. “I’m gonna make protein shakes. I’ll save you some.”
And let the blender wake Ryan and whoever else crashed upstairs? But sure, whatever. I’m too distracted to rein Noah back in this morning.
“Yeah, thanks. Back in a minute.”
I slip on my shoes and coat and step outside. It’s freeze-your-ass-to-the-bench cold, but I barely notice. I’m too busy swiping open my phone and scrolling through my contacts until I find Harper’s name. I could just text her—that would be the chill, normal option—but for some reason I need to hear her voice.
I need to know she’s doing okay. She was pretty drunk last night, and I want to be sure she’s all right and got home safe and—
Just dial, Dawson.
I press call before I can chicken out, holding my breath as the phone rings.
And rings. And rings.
Eventually, it clicks over to voicemail. “You’ve reached Harper Braedon,” her crisp, no-nonsense voice rings out. So different from the one that came out last night.
I hang up before leaving a message, head spinning. Was that version of Harper real? Maybe she was just tipsy and I was the only one around and she said more than she wanted to. Maybe she was horrified to wake up next to anentitled, egotistical jock. Maybe she regrets everything that happened last night and wishes I’d leave her alone.
A few days ago, I would’ve wanted nothing more. But today the idea puts a pit deep in my stomach. The sky is gray and overcast, pressing down on me with a kind of oppressive hopelessness.
My fingers are losing feeling from clutching my phone and staring at its dark screen. What, am I gonna stand out here all day in the vague hope she’ll call me back? It’s freezing.Get yourself together, Dawson.I don’t get involved with girls during the season, so what am I so upset about? If anything, she’s doing me a favor by making it easier for me to stay focused today. I should be grateful.
Yeah. Grateful.
I head back in, tucking my phone in my pocket. Alex and Ryan are both up by now—maybe thanks to a blender as their alarm clock—and I join them in downing the moat-green shakes Noah’s lined up on the kitchen counter. I don’t even taste mine.
“All right, I gotta bounce,” Noah says, putting his glass down and heading for the door without a backward glance. “I have a call with my coach.”
I blink. “Dan?”
“Nah, with the Gamblers. A guy who actually knows the game.” He smirks. “See you guys at practice.”
My stomach turns, and it’s not just from the smoothie. When the door closes behind Noah, Alex turns to me with a frown. “You’re going to end up somewhere with a great coach too, Dawson. Don’t worry, okay? It would be criminal to waste your talent.”
For once, I wish Alex weren’t so damned perceptive.
“Yeah. I hope so.” I grab Noah’s glass and carry it to the sink along with my own so I don’t have to meet Alex’s eyes.
Before I can come up with a conversational distraction, though, Ryan’s waggling his eyebrows at me. “How did things go with you and Harper last night?”
The glass I’m holding almost shatters all over the kitchen floor. I grip it tighter just in time. “What do you mean?”
“We were just wondering… you know, you brought her… and last time we saw you, you were having a pretty intense conversation?” Alex is trying really, really hard to be casual, but he’s cracking his knuckles like he does when failing at sneakiness.
“Yeah. It’s whatever.” I turn on the faucet. “She’s cool.”But that’s probably the last I’ll see of her.The thought brings me pretty close to hurling up that smoothie.
I turn back around just in time to catch them shooting each other raised-eyebrow looks. “Anyway. You guys want to hit the gym? I gotta get back on track.”
