Chapter 25 #2
Just as I’m about to skate off again—because discussing my private life isn’t exactly my cup of tea—I spot Deveroux gliding onto the ice.
Derek Deveroux is our goalie. He joined the team after a trade from Montreal not long ago.
He’s good, solid in front of the net, but there’s something about him that has never clicked with us.
There’s more to his competitive spirit. Riley and he used to get into it often, but ever since Ri married Liora, he’s been way more chill and doesn’t let Derek provoke him as easily.
I guess Derek finds that boring, and the fights just stopped.
Like I always say, sometimes less talking is better.
Riley shoots me a look that says it all: great, this guy.
Sure, I’m not saying things between them are perfect, but compared to two seasons ago, Riley’s basically zen now.
“Hey,” Derek says—not to me, but to Riley. I just look at him with what most people would probably call my ice stare. “Can I ask you something?”
Riley narrows his whiskey-colored eyes. “Yeah, why?”
“It’s about… Priya. Can you maybe put in a good word for me?
” He drags a hand through his dark brown hair, and the thick mess of it somehow falls right back into place.
His cheekbones are sharp enough to qualify as structural hazards, made less dangerous only by the slight curve of his mouth.
His jaw is all clean lines and quiet arrogance, dusted with the kind of stubble that looks accidental but is absolutely not.
“Why should I do that?” The atmosphere shifts instantly. Riley’s face hardens.
Deveroux shrugs, trying to look casual but failing. “You know… she has to marry that guy her family chose for her, and I just can’t shrug it off.”
“She doesn’t want contact with you, man,” Riley snaps. When his posture tenses up, I rise to my feet.
It’s never a good sign when he gets like this.
Priya is practically family to Liora, and Riley guards her as if she were his own sister.
“She made that pretty clear after you wouldn’t stop texting her.”
“I sent her like three messages,” Deveroux protests.
“And you follow her around like a dog at every party. Derek, she’s not into you, okay? The sooner you get that, the easier it’ll be for all of us.”
I watch silently, knowing this has been brewing for a while.
Derek was smitten with Priya from the moment he laid eyes on her, but honestly, team drama isn’t usually my concern.
I prefer to keep to myself, stick with my best friends, and focus on hockey and Livy.
Yet, the tension in the air is thick enough to cut with a skate blade.
With Jay out, I’m the captain now, and I need to step in before this escalates further.
I’d love to skate away right now but damn… I guess I have to watch that shit.
“Just drop it,” Riley says. “She’s fine with the arrangement her parents made. I don’t understand it either, but we have to let her live her life.”
“Her family is marrying her off. We can’t let that happen.”
“She wants it. Period. Apparently she has this timeline in mind; if she doesn’t find a man by then, she’ll marry that family friend. Those are very wealthy families. Almost like royalty. We don’t understand their dynamics, and it’s better to leave her alone. Trust me.”
“She couldn’t find a man?” Derek asks as if this was a direct punch at him. Oh, what the hell…
“No,” Riley says.
“But we—” Then Deveroux suddenly stops mid-sentence, and I sense there’s more between him and Priya than we know. What do I care… Jesus Christ. I just want to go back to practice. I search for our coaches, but they are busy with some other players. No rescue in sight I guess.
“Just leave it, okay?” Riley says again.
“No. How can you be okay with this?” Deveroux demands. “Your wife is fine with her best friend being sold off like it’s the 1800s?”
“Careful,” I finally say, and that’s all it takes.
Derek looks up at me, narrowing his dark brown eyes. Thank God I have enough respect on the team because he simply mutters before skating off, “I can’t believe you call yourselves her friends.”
Riley slumps back onto the bench, sighing as if the weight of the world rests on his shoulders.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask.
Riley sighs deeply again. “He’s lost over Priya, man.
He annoys the hell out of her, and she’s blocked him everywhere now.
Liora didn’t tell me everything, or maybe I just missed some details but we need to keep him away from her.
I don’t know what he thinks he is to her.
Her fiancé moved to the States, and she’s trying to get to know him right now.
It seems fine. He seems fine. Man, those are billionaires—Derek doesn’t stand a chance. ”
“Well, I can’t exactly speak poorly about arranged marriages, can I?”
Riley chuckles. “No.”
I glance back at Derek. He’s practicing butterflies now.
I didn’t know he could be this soft. Usually, he’s got three girls hanging off each arm.
Kind of typical though that the one he wants is the one who isn’t interested in him.
“Guy’s got a hero complex, huh?” I say but then Coach’s whistle cuts through again, and thankfully we return to our positions.