Chapter 23
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
CHANCE
The scent of sweat, iron and wet mats fill my nostrils. I push the weights higher, holding the bar up until my face turns red. With an exhale, I bring it down to my chest and push up again.
My body’s burning.
Sweat leaks from my crown to my chin.
I flare my nostrils, breathing through the exercise.
“Chill out, man.” Max looks down at me with concern. “If you keep this up, your arms will be noodles. Forget getting on the ice, you won’t be able to hold your hockey stick.”
I grunt and push the iron bar up, ignoring him.
“Chance. Stop. ” Max’s firm command is followed by him grabbing the weights and forcing them into the cradle while I’m still holding on.
The urge to grab the weights back and push myself to the limit fills me. Working out is my go-to when I’m really stressed. Right now, I’m filled with the kind of anxiety my fidget spinner can’t handle.
“What’s going on?” Max demands, tossing me a clean towel.
I dab at the sweat on my face and arms. In the gym’s mirror, I see a man with dark, wet hair sticking to his forehead, cheeks a ruddy red and eyes a little wild and lost.
I look insane.
Pulling at my grey tank, I control my breathing so my chest stops pumping like it’s filling up a tire. Then I shake my hair so I look a little less like a wet dog.
Averting my eyes to my cell phone, I open the screen.
No new notifications.
Navigating to the message icon, I open to April’s number.
The messages I sent since last night blare up at me.
Me: Hey, April. I forgot to mention I’m back in town.
Me: Hey.
Me: Are you asleep?
Me: Morning, April.
Me: I stopped by the shop in case you were there and wanted tacos.
M: Are you at your dad’s?
Me: Don’t forget our date tonight after the game. I’m really looking forward to it.
“Ugh,” Max’s voice sounds close to my ear.
I look over and find him cringing at my texts.
“Hey!” I pull the phone to my chest.
“Why are you blowing up April’s phone?”
I glare at him, my mouth wired shut.
Max clips his nose. “Do you smell that? Smells like desperation in here.”
“You must be smelling your BO.”
He laughs loudly. “I never thought I’d see the Chance McLanely get ghosted. Is this karma for all the hearts you broke in college?”
“Ghosted means you won’t see them again. April’s right here in town. We have a date tonight.”
He smirks. “You don’t sound so sure.”
I open my mouth to disagree and then realize I don’t have a leg to stand on. April’s been ignoring my texts since I came back and that’s not a good sign.
Reaching for my water bottle, I chug all the contents and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.
“I wouldn’t be desperate if she was answering her phone,” I grumble.
Max makes the disgusted sound again.
I shove him.
“You do remember that you two aren’t real? ” Max hisses the last part of the sentence. “Why are you bothering the poor girl?”
“I’m not bothering her.”
“What do you call sending eighteen messages?”
“It was eight.”
“You should have stopped after she didn’t answer the first one. Instead, you stalked her shop?—”
“I brought her food.”
“That’s what all the stalkers say.”
I resist the urge to punch him.
Squeezing the towel until it screams for mercy, I ask, “You really think April’s ignoring me on purpose?”
“Everyone is glued to their phones these days.” Max points out. “In this era of technology, not texting back is a choice.”
I worry my bottom lip.
“Did you do something to offend her?”
“No, nothing.” I scratch my head. “I mean…”
Max leans in. “What?”
I think of that day at the nursing home. Trapping April against the wall. Testing the waters by admitting I like her freckles and her smile.
“Maybe…”
“Maybe?” Max urges.
Did I push too hard?
I close my eyes and think of that pretty flush spreading across her cheeks. Her calloused fingers digging into the wall behind her. Her pretty green eyes sparkling at me.
No, it wasn’t that.
Was it Derek’s stupid comments?
The first thing I did after that day was send April a text apologizing for my agent. But that was a week ago and April assured me that it didn’t bother her. Had she been lying? Was she just bottling up her true irritation all this time?
“What?” Max yells, startling me from my thoughts. “What did you do?”
“I don’t know for sure, but whatever it is… I’ll beg her to forgive me.”
Max snorts. “Then prepare to have your butt handed to you. Without the mascot head to hide behind this time.”
“I can’t fix it unless she tells me what I did wrong!”
“When in the history of womanhood has a lady ever come out and communicated what she’s feeling?”
“The least I can do is let her know I want to fix it. We should work out our issues like a real…I mean, a healthy, fake couple.” Eyebrows tightening, I growl, “I’m gonna call her.”
Max yanks my phone away.
I lunge for it.
He fakes a toss. “You want me to throw it out the window?”
Slowly, I lower my arm.
“Think clearly, Chance. When a woman is mad, the last thing you need to do is keep calling her.”
“I’ll show up at her place then.”
Max plants a hand on my shoulder and forcibly pushes me back into the bench. “Have you never been in the doghouse before?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Women tend to just,” I flash my warmest smile, “love me.”
“Okay, Romeo. Out here in the real world, you don’t harass your girlfriend into talking to you. Give her some space.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
Max rubs his chin in thought. “Show up with roses, not tacos. Or at least do a taco bouquet. Show some effort.”
I sigh, accepting defeat.
He slides the phone over to me. From the shift in his demeanor, I can tell he’s about to broach a serious topic.
“You think the team’s ready for tonight?”
“As ready as we’ll ever be.” I’m still thinking about April, so I don’t sugar coat the truth. “I made some progress with Gunner, but we still haven’t found a rhythm on the ice. It’s inevitable that we’ll get in each other’s way. Plus, the team is still divided between the two of us. We don’t have one, clear leader, and it’s confusing for everyone.”
Max flinches. “I was hoping you two would have worked things out at the bar yesterday.”
“How do you know we were at the bar yesterday?”
“This is a small town. Everyone saw you, but even if they didn’t, you think I wouldn’t know you invited a dance team to tour our stadium? Seriously?”
He has a point.
“I allowed it because I wanted you to get revenge out of your system.”
“Bobby said the same thing.” My eyes widen. “Did you tell him to cooperate with me?”
“Like I said, it’s my team, Chance.”
Huh.
Max checks his watch and then slaps me on the back. “Come on. I’ll get you a heat pack. After all those reps, your arms are going to kill you tonight.”
Max is half-right.
But it’s not my tired arms that try to murder me before the game.
I’m exercising on the ice, earbuds in my ears so I can tune out the noise from the crowd when someone nearly bulldozes me down.
“Sorry, sorry.” The opposing goalie says, eyes locked on something in the stands.
“Watch where you’re going.” I glare at the distracted, young player before continuing my reps.
It’s difficult enough to get in the zone with all the noise. It feels like the entire town is here tonight. If Max isn’t coded for a safety violation tomorrow, I’ll be surprised.
Someone skates up to me and a firm, insistent tap hits my shoulder. I whirl around, eyebrows tightening.
Theilan is behind me, wearing the blue and black hockey gear and a wry grin. Pointing up at the stands, he speaks with words that are muffled through his mouth guard, “McLanely, I think that’s your girlfriend.”
My first instinct is to dismiss him, but something prompts me to swing around.
That’s when my heart stops beating.
A woman in a bold red dress is floating down the stairs. Reporters are stampeding around her, trying to film her angelic descent. An awed silence falls on every row she passes by, a quiet wave rippling through the entire arena.
Even from this distance I can see the delicate jewelry sparkling on her wrist. When she reaches up to tuck a lock of her straight brown hair behind her ear, I get a glimpse of dazzling silver earrings.
There’s no way that’s April, is it?
I’ve always known April to wear baggy shirts and shorts or T-shirts under oil-stained jumpers. She would never wear a dress that showed so much of her beautiful, creamy skin.
Not only that, but April’s hair is full of gorgeous untamable curls.
This woman is…
Not my fake girlfriend.
I’m about to turn away when a pair of unmistakable, gemstone-green eyes collide into me.
I skate back like someone pushed me into the boards.
My heart stops again.
Forget seeing a cardiologist, there’s no escaping the truth.
April Brooks is here… to kill me.