Page 39 of Puck You
“Did he say something that bothered you?”
I assured Caroline that Sebastian hadn’t said anything untoward, and I found myself unintentionally smiling as I recalled the night.If anything, I’d sensed his concern—concern forme.The more I thought about it, the less it made sense.
“Do you remember calling him handsome?”Caroline asked, and Lydia practically spit up her hangover cure.
My head fell into my hands as I let out a groan of shame.The last thing Sebastian needed was an ego boost.He was already much too full of himself.“Vividly, yes, and I’m sure he’ll be eager to remind me the next time we meet.”
>> > <<
Sebastian
My insides seemed to vibrate at the sight of Grace blushing frombehind the bars of her cage.I hadn’t known what to expect for the first shared practice, especially after our bizarre interaction on Halloween, but it definitely wasn’t this, whateverthiswas.It felt like there was a rope connecting us, one that grew tauter with every shared glance.I was simultaneously scared and excited to know what would happen if—no, when—it snapped.
For the remainder of practice, I kept her within my sights at all times.Everyone here had a certain level of expertise that set them apart from the average hockey player, but Grace stood out amongst them all.Being on the ice was second nature to her, and I wondered if her introduction to hockey had been anything like mine—at the hands of someone she loved during the earliest years of her life.Each time I felt the heat of her stare, I pushed myself to work a little harder, knowing that after today, Grace wouldn’t be able to deny that I had every right to be cocky.
At some point, our watchful fascination with each other shifted into something more like a game.It was clear we were trying to show the other up by way of fancy footwork and deceptive puck handling.Everyone around us had caught on to our little contest—even the coaches, who seemed just fine with a healthy dose of competition.Our final battle took form as a series of sprinting drills.The entire time we remained neck and neck, one of us pushing to the lead just to be overtaken by the other.When the coaches finally dismissed the teams, we both ended up on our backs, splayed out across the ice, chests heaving as we tried to catch our breath.We weren’t the only ones unable to move.There were several other forms sprawled out like dead bodies.
“So,” Grace said as she pulled herself up to a sitting position and removed her helmet.“Do you still think the men are moredeserving of this facility?Have we sullied this good ice with our terrible female ways?”
Beside her, Caroline let out a snort of laughter.Both were pink-cheeked and covered in a thin layer of sweat.Lydia was there too, but she was still lying on her back sucking large gulps of air into her lungs.Grace had wedged her way into their best friend dynamic.I’d rarely seen the pair around campus without her.
“I never said the men are more deserving.But I do think we’d wipe the floor with you ladies.No offense.”
“Being bigger or stronger doesn’t mean better,” she quipped.
