Chapter 20 #2
What the? I glanced at Hailey but I found no solidarity there as she wouldn’t even look at me. Gina, on the other hand, was trying to suppress a smile. Damn it, these girls were brutal. Were they cool with me or not? I couldn’t tell!
So, I went with my default: charm. “I thought I was 5% less of a jerk now?” I drawled with my best charming smile and Dani scoffed.
“Yeah, you dumbass,” she said, “It means you’re still 95% a jerk. All you have is a pretty face. Shame.” And the other Blizzard Belles peppered the air with snorts and ‘coughs’ that sounded very much like laughter.
Ah, shit. I just couldn’t win, could I? “I can live with that, as long as you think my face is pretty.” I ended with a wink, and all the Blizzard Belles proceeded to make gagging noises.
Man, they really knew how to mess with a man’s ego, that was for sure.
Dani was shaking her head at me with a pitying look before she asked, “Are you okay?”, her gaze flicking briefly to where I'd unconsciously pressed a hand against my lower back.
I shrugged, trying not to wince at the movement. My eyes involuntarily drifted back to Hailey, who was still watching our exchange, but now, I couldn’t read the expression on her face at all. I wanted her to be the one asking that question. I was desperate for it.
“Yeah, I'm fine,” I replied nonetheless, dragging my attention back to Dani. “It really was no big deal. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
She looked like she didn't quite believe me, but she didn't push it. “Well... thanks again. And make sure to get that checked out.” She said, gesturing at my body before rejoining her teammates who had begun to slowly make their way down the hall.
Gina Whitehall shot me a narrow-eyed glare as she passed, but there was something different in it this time. Before I could decide exactly what, she grudgingly mouthed, “Thanks,” the word almost painful for her to form, if her expression was any indication.
Heh.
It looked like I’d really been transported to an alternate dimension where the Blizzard Belles didn't collectively want me dead. Or maybe I'd hit my head harder than I thought when I slammed into those boards.
Soon, only Hailey remained, still rooted to the spot, her hands twisted in the hem of her practice jersey. Something tense and unreadable flickered across her face as she stared at me, her brown eyes wide and unsure.
Zoe paused at the end of the hall. “You coming, Captain?" she called back, her curious gaze flicking between us.
Hailey didn't break eye contact with me as she answered, “Go ahead. I'll catch up.”
My heartbeat stuttered, then accelerated to a pace that couldn't possibly be healthy. She was staying. To talk to me. Willingly . Holy shit.
We stood in silence for a moment after the other Belles had disappeared around the corner, their voices fading into the distance.
She looked like she didn’t know what to say, or where to start and, normally, this should have allowed me all the leeway I needed to mess with her.
But I didn't want to do that right now—there was something in her eyes that told me that doing that would be a bad idea.
“So,” she finally said, the word awkward and stilted. Her expression was carefully blank, but there was a rosy pinkness creeping into her cheeks that sent warmth flooding through my body.
I was so distracted by the flush spreading across her face that I forgot to respond, my brain momentarily shorting out at the sight.
She cleared her throat, a small, annoyed sound that somehow still managed to be endearing. “You win,” she said flatly.
What? I frowned, confusion cutting through my Hailey-induced haze. “What?”
The pink in her cheeks deepened gradually, as she rushed to clarify. “I mean, the prank tanked this time, too, right? That means you win, right?” The words were tumbling out on the heels of each other, lacking their usual sharpness.
My confusion must have been painted all over my face because she groaned, rubbing at the bridge of her nose before letting out a soft curse.
“Shit. That's not... I mean… That's not what I wanted to say…” She trailed off, frustration evident in every line of her body.
I blinked, understanding dawning as the seconds stretched.
Hailey Baleman didn’t know what to do with me now that she had to be civil with me…
.now that she had to thank me. Oh, she wanted to, but I couldn’t blame her for finding it so damn difficult.
It was simply because it was not how we communicated with each other.
I didn’t think she realized it, either; that we had a dynamic, but I wasn’t going to tell her yet. I wanted to savor this for as long as I possibly could. It was so cute. But I didn’t have to tell her to help her out right now, did I?
“Hey,” I said then, infusing all the cockiness I could into my voice, and her head snapped up, those whiskey-brown eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made my skin go tight. “Are you feeling bad for me right now?” This was a drawl engineered specifically to piss her off.
And it totally worked .
The blush that had been simmering on her cheeks exploded into full bloom, a deep, vibrant red that spread from her collarbones all the way to the roots of her hair. At the same time, her eyes sparked with indignation, that familiar icy flame igniting in their depths.
“What the hell, you asshole, I'm totally not ,” she retorted with a vehemence that made my pulse kick. There she is . “Why would I feel bad for the jerk who tried to take credit for my idea? What are you, a martyr?”
But now, I was barely listening, too caught up in the realization that was dawning across my consciousness like the first light of day; Hailey Baleman was worried about me.
She actually felt bad that I'd gotten hurt because of her prank.
It was the closest thing to actual concern I'd ever gotten from her, the first crack in that icy facade that suggested she might— just might —care about the pest-like existence that was me, in her orbit.
The thought sent heat coursing through my veins, pooling low in my abdomen.
Oh hell. I could feel my cock stirring to life in my pants—which was totally wrong timing, no doubt about it.
I frantically tried to redirect my blood flow through sheer force of will.
The last thing I needed was to spring a boner in the middle of my Hailstorm wrestling with the obviously foreign concept of worrying for me.
I was not going to let anything ruin this moment.
Desperate to keep her attention from straying downward, I slashed a grin across my face, wide and probably goofy as all get out.
Hailey's eyes narrowed dangerously. “Stop smiling like that, fuckface,” she growled, her gaze sharp enough to cut glass.
Then she sucked in a deep breath, obviously trying to center herself.
“Damn it. What am I even doing right now,” she muttered, more to herself than to me, before looking back up with steely resolve in her eyes.
“Thank you,” she said, her expression curdled like she'd just bitten into something sour, even as her cheeks blossomed a light pink again. “For saving Dani. That was all my fault, and you still helped her. So, thank you.”
Damn it, but she was so cute. If I died right now, I knew for a fact that I'd die the happiest man on earth. But I was also too goddamn greedy to go just yet. Not when my Hailstorm was finally letting her guard down, even if it was just the tiniest bit.
“So, like,” she ventured again, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, “Are you okay?” The question was gruff, reluctant, but she’d said it all the same, and it was real, and heck, it was totally not helping the situation I had down south.
“No,” I answered immediately, unable to resist the opportunity she’d just given me on a bejeweled platter of gold.
Her eyes flew wide with alarm. “Hey, you jerk, I heard you tell Dani you were okay!” she protested, indignation flaring in her voice.
I leaned down slightly, bringing our faces closer, that goofy grin still plastered across my face. “Well, that’s because,” I said, “ She's not the one I want taking care of me, Hailstorm.”
Hailey's face went beet red so that it seemed to radiate heat. “I knew it! You're messing with me!” she accused, her voice icing with each word.
I couldn't help it. I laughed, the sound bubbling up from somewhere deep in my chest, genuine and unfiltered. But the motion sent a sharp twinge of pain through my lower back, and I winced, one hand flying to press against my side.
“Ouch, it hurts!” I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut. “Don't make me laugh. It'll hurt.”
When silence greeted my dramatic display, I cracked one eye open to find Hailey staring at me with the flattest, most unimpressed expression I'd ever seen on a human face.
“You little…” she growled, the sound low and dangerous, but there was something else there, something that might have been the ghost of amusement if I squinted hard enough.
She sighed, a deep, soul-weary exhale that suggested dealing with me was testing the very limits of her patience. “Goddamn it. Fine. What do you want?” she asked reluctantly, like she was agreeing to have a tooth pulled rather than spend time with me.
My face lit up immediately, hope surging through my chest. “How about ice cream?” I suggested, trying to sound casual despite the rapid-fire beating of my heart.
I was pressing my damn luck, I knew that, but I was also 99% sure I had the upper hand this time, i.e, my hurting back.
I wasn’t ashamed to milk it for all it was worth.
Hailey's expression curdled anew, her eyes narrowing to slits, and the silence between us stretched until it went taut and rebounded.
“You little shit,” she finally hissed.
But she didn't say no.