Page 80 of Heart Check
He’s wearing a stack of my bracelets.
Maybe there’s hope for us after all.
I can catch only a glimpse of his face from the stands, and most of it is obscured by his helmet, but I know there’s a huge grin spreading across it.
That dimple is definitely peeking out.
When I land back on Earth, sights and sounds crash in with a tsunami of sensation. Everyone around me is cheering, hands in the air, and I realize—Dawson’s goal clinched the game.
I turn to Marissa and Sabrina, eyes wide. “They won? They really won?”
Sabrina nods knowledgeably. “That was one of the sickest breakaways I’ve ever seen. Your guy is even better than I thought.”
I want to sayhe’s not my guy, but I really, really hope he still might be. I’m flushed, and trembling, and all I can say is, “He’s been practicing those this year.”
“You’re such a WAG,” Marissa says with an eye roll.
I elbow her hard, but she’s grinning good-naturedly. “Let’s just say I’ve developed a newfound appreciation for hockey.”
“Mmm.” Marissa smirks. “Something like that.” I swear she mutters under her breath, “More like an appreciation for hockeybutts.”
“That was an insane final period.” Sabrina bounces up and down in her seat, and once again I’m reminded why she’s the perfect person to head the Spirit Committee. All that energy has to gosomewhere. “A shorthanded goal is a phenomenal achievement, and they gottwo. And that sudden death shot from Dawson? Holy shit, whatever this new coach is doing? It’sworking.”
I can’t stop grinning. I know what this means for Dawson and the team. I’m so ridiculously proud of their hard work.
Marissa frowns. “But can we talk about thatfight? What the hell happened between Dawson and Noah?”
I can only shake my head. The two of them have clashed a few times this season, but what could make Dawson go after Noah unprovoked like that?
It had kinda seemed like Dawson was looking up at the stands a lot after he and Noah had their altercation. Surely it wasn’t about… me?
The idea makes the butterflies in my stomach kick up into a full-fledged hurricane.
“Who cares what happened?” Sabrina shrugs. “That washot.”
They both look at me to confirm, and my cheeks burn. “Can we not praise the aggression of this game more than necessary? It looked like that punch hurt. I hope he’s okay.”
Marissa pats my arm. “Want to kiss him and make it all better?”
I roll my eyes, but my blush deepens at the thought of Dawson’s arms around my waist, his hands in my hair. And for the first time in a week, there might be a chance to make that fantasy come true. “Can we—”
“Only players allowed in the locker room,” Sabrina says with a sympathetic smile, like she can read my mind as transparently as a teleprompter. “But he’ll be out soon.”
I take a deep breath. I’ve waited this long. I can wait ten more minutes.
Right?
“Come on.” I stand up and do my best to look unbothered. “We have merch to sell.”
We hurry back to our table in the lobby, where students are already lining up for celebratory purchases. This is like the Small Business Santa Fair on steroids. It doesn’t matter that my inventory will be wiped out; I’ve already blown past my earnings goal for the semester. I never dreamed I’d get back on track likethis.
If anything, the win only stirred up the fervor for more bracelets. The air’s full of cheering and cellys as elaborate as the ones on the ice.
Even I can’t stop smiling.
“We take PayPal and Venmo!” I cry as I slip behind the table and start taking orders alongside Sabrina. She hip checks me and slides over to make room.
The next few minutes pass in a flood of customers. It’s the battle of my life to stay focused on the students in front of me, smiling and pulling up my Venmo QR code, quoting accurate prices. I keep craning my neck to see if the team has emerged from the locker room yet. Something constrictsaround my chest as I wait for his head and shoulders to rise over the crowd. I’ve never wanted to glimpse those messy, dark curls so badly.
