Chapter 10 From Hot to Not #2
We finished another pool game, and finally I glanced up at the TV. There was a basketball game on. Professional basketball. What? I shifted my gaze to the tables where his friends had been sitting, and they were almost empty.
“What time is it?” I asked Dallas.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed me. Half past midnight.
Shoot. I’d wanted to be back at the dorm before the others got home, so I wouldn’t have to make up more lies. But the game must have ended over two hours ago. Now what was I going to do?
I hung up the pool stick and scurried to my purse to check my phone. It was filled with new text messages from Priya. Where was I? When was I coming home? Did she and Luke need to come get me wherever I was?
“Do you have to go?” Dallas came up behind me.
“Yeah.” I pulled on my coat. “It’s my roommate. She’s worried about me.”
“Does she do that a lot?”
“Sometimes.”
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”
“No, you can stay. It isn’t a big deal.”
He was already putting on his jacket. “I’ve got no reason to stay. I’ll walk you home.”
Outside, snow was coming down in big, wet flakes and building up on the sidewalk.
A continuous blanket silencing the streets.
As we waited at a corner for the light, he brushed the top of my hair, sending a clump of snow to the ground.
Then he pulled my hood up before he stuffed his hands back into his pockets.
“Charlie said you know a lot about hockey.” He kept close to me but not touching. “Do you play?”
My toes curled, but I forced them to relax, to stretch out in my boots. I wasn’t going to be able to avoid the topic of hockey for long, especially if it was something we had in common.
The light turned green, and we set out.
“I did when I was younger,” I said, “but it didn’t last.”
“What happened?”
I hesitated to answer, but then I remembered I was trying to be honest with him. “My dad.”
“What do you mean your dad?”
“Hockey was his life, and I was never good enough at it for him.”
“Hmm.” He clasped his hands together to push his gloves on better. “I’m sure he was just disappointed when you quit.”
“I doubt it, but he was definitely angry when I switched to figure skating.”
“You figure skate?”
“Yes. I’ve passed all my skating skill tests and many of my singles tests, but I haven’t done much of it this year.”
“Are you good enough to be one of those hockey cheerleaders? Do the jumps and spins on the ice between periods?”
An image of my dad flashed in my brain. Early last spring, before the scandal broke, he’d written an email to the hockey cheer coach, trying to throw his influence around to get me on the cheer team.
I hadn’t even wanted to try out. I might love figure skating, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be a cheerleader.
Yet somehow he’d gotten it in his mind that I wanted to do it and wasn’t good enough to make it without his help. How embarrassing. How irritating.
“Do I look like one of those perky girls who have all that rah-rah-rah going on?” I asked Dallas.
“No…” His voice wavered. “No, you don’t. I didn’t mean to imply…”
Ugh. I sounded horribly self-righteous. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Hockey cheerleaders need plenty of skill, athleticism, artistry, and determination. It’s just…sometimes when I’m thinking about my dad and the things he’s done or said to me, I get upset.”
“It’s okay.” He looked at me intently. “Your dad sounds like he has high expectations. Was he a hockey coach or something?”
Even though the temperature was cold, a flood of heat filled every crevice inside my body. I didn’t know what to say. The only thing I knew was I’d promised myself to try and be honest. As honest as I could be. “Yeah, he was.”
My answer hadn’t revealed much of anything, but an alarm started going off in my head and my heart sped up.
Maybe I should tell him. We’d had such a great night together.
He’d been kind and understanding. I really liked being with him, and if things kept going as they were, I might not be able to keep it secret.
No. No, I shouldn’t. It would be too much of a risk. No one at the dorm knew outside of Jay.
“What level?” he asked.
“College.” I held my breath. I shouldn’t have said that.
“Seriously? Maybe I know him. What’s his name?”
I put a hand to my forehead. This wasn’t a question I wanted to answer.
But it was right there. The truth begged to come out.
I wasn’t sure why, but I thought I wanted to set it free.
Get it off my shoulders and tell someone who wasn’t an intense Minnesota University hockey fan and could maybe understand my position.
“David Bianchini.”
Dallas stopped dead in his tracks. So did I. He stared long and hard at me. “Coach Bianchini is your dad.” His voice cracked.
I tried to read his face, but his expression was empty, maybe a bit dazed. “I know. He’s in a slew of trouble, but if you can, it would be most appreciated if you didn’t say anything to anyone. Especially here at school.”
“And…and Eric Bianchini is your brother?”
“Yes.”
“But I thought your last name was Blankin.”
“It is. I changed it. I mean, not officially. My driver’s license says Bianchini, but I was allowed to submit a preferred name request when I registered for school.”
He nodded, and that was it. He said nothing more.
We set out down the sidewalk again. All I heard was the crunch of snow under our shoes.
Crap. I’d read him all wrong. He must like the Minnesota University’s hockey team more than I thought. He did think my dad was despicable. The questions were, after he had the chance to fully digest my revelation, what was he going to do or say? Had I ruined everything?
With each step we took, we got closer to our dorm. To base camp. Where the answers would become apparent. Where I would know if the bond we’d been forming all night remained intact or if it was disintegrating. Like salt melting ice.
We reached the front entrance, and I rewrapped my scarf to cover more of my face. It was late, and the lobby might be empty, but that didn’t mean gossipy Sandra wasn’t working or lurking by the front desk. I didn’t want to chance it.
Dallas took out his wallet and flashed it against the panel. Inside, there was a guy working, and he was busy texting on his phone. We walked by and went down the deserted hallway to the stairwell. I undid my disguise.
On the second floor, he stopped, and I did too.
“This is me.” He brushed the floor with the sole of his shoe.
I looked past him. “I’m on four.”
“So.” He gave me a glassy look. “I guess I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah,” I said, moving closer to him, hoping we might kiss again.
“I had a good time tonight,” he said, but made no move.
“Me too.” I forced a smile. “Thanks for the food and the beer.”
“No problem.” He turned and left.
A knife went straight through my heart.
What.
The.
Hell.
It was all I could think as he walked away. Although I knew my night with him couldn’t continue, he’d left me with nothing. Not even a good-night kiss. What misery.
I finished going up the stairs and pulled out my phone to text Priya. I didn’t want to walk in on her and Luke.
I’m home. Can I come in?
PRIYA
Yes
The handle was unlocked, and I stepped inside. There sat Jay, Emma, Priya, and Luke, staring straight at me.
Seriously? All of them? I sighed and shut the door behind me.