Chapter 11
Izzy
“Wait wait wait,” Victoria says from her perch on my bed, brandishing her chocolate milkshake. We beat Merrimack in a hard-fought
match earlier, and stopped for ice cream in downtown Moorbridge on the way to my house to do homework. “Back up.”
“Yeah,” Ellie says. She’s on the floor, textbook abandoned at her side, surrounded by several of my stuffed animals, including
my favorite, a worn pink rabbit very cleverly named Pinkie. Once Victoria asked about the “Russian Situation,” any pretense
of a post-game study session fell away. “This happened in the library ?”
“Sounds hot to me,” Shona says with a shrug, her thin, dark braids falling over her shoulder as she scratches Tangy behind
the ears. Of all my friends, she loves Shona the most; she’s barely given me half a glance in the past hour. I would be offended
if I weren’t secure in the knowledge that at least she loves me more than Sebastian. “Then again, he’s very hot. Like, I’m
gay as hell, but I can still appreciate him.”
“The scar is a game changer,” Victoria agrees.
I duck my head to hide my blush. The first time I worked up the courage to touch Nik’s scar, he startled and grabbed my wrist, but after a moment he nodded, giving permission. We were in my bed, awake past midnight, the sounds of the city providing a soundtrack to an otherwise quiet moment. He trembled when I brushed my lips to his cheek, and I felt victorious, even as my heart ached for him. A scar like that can’t have a funny story, after all.
“So, he dragged you into a library closet, Beauty and the Beast style—”
“Does that happen in the movie?” Ellie interrupts.
“—and had his way with you, but then he kicked you out—”
“Well, I did the dragging,” I say, my blush deepening.
“—can I not finish?” Victoria says with faux exasperation. “He kicked you out before he let you touch the goods. Did I get
that right?”
I make a face as I sip my cotton candy milkshake. “Technically speaking.”
Whatever was going on with Nik the other day, I enjoyed the outcome. I just wish he had let me touch him back, or at least
told me what was wrong. I should be glad that nothing else came of it—he didn’t text me after, even though I half expected
it—but the thought of that being the end of our connection makes me sad, not relieved.
“Technically speaking, you kissed him again first,” Ellie says. She leans her head against Shona’s shoulder. Shona turns and
kisses her. I smile at the sight; they’re so cute together.
“Ugh. Thanks for the reminder.”
She shrugs. “What do you want to happen?”
“She wants to bone him again, obviously,” Victoria says.
Shona snorts. “You should move on, Iz. Let the summer be the summer.”
“Why didn’t he just... let me return the favor?” I shake my head slightly. “Maybe he realized he isn’t into me anymore.”
“I don’t think that’s it,” Victoria says dryly.
There’s a knock on my bedroom door. “Izzy?”
I choke at the sound of Cooper’s voice. At least we weren’t screaming Nik’s name or something equally embarrassing.
I pull open the door. “What’s up?”
Cooper leans against the doorway, shooting my friends a grin. “Hello, ladies. Nice match.”
Victoria perks up. “Is Aaron with you?”
“In the living room.”
“Babe!” Victoria shouts as she runs down the stairs. “I thought you said you had practice!”
“Yeah, didn’t you have practice?” Cooper and Aaron came to the match earlier, to cheer us on, but they had to leave early
to get to the rink.
“Coach took pity on us and kept it short. Can I talk to you for a moment?”
I narrow my eyes at Ellie and Shona as I scoop up Tangerine. “If you make out, don’t mess up my stuffed animals. Especially
Pinkie.”
When we’re in the hallway, I hug the cat closer. “Everything okay?”
“You played really well today.” He gives me a half hug as he pats Tangy’s head. “You’ll be back to playing setter in no time.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.” He lets out a breath. “Look, I know he wasn’t around over the summer, but now that he’s here... you haven’t
seen Nikolai, right?”
The cotton candy taste in my mouth turns acrid. Hopefully he didn’t see us together and this is just him being overprotective.
It was reckless to kiss Nik right by the Purple Kettle. Even more so to go into that closet with him.
“Um, no? Why would I?”
He shrugs. “No reason.”
“Why, did he say something?” I hope I sound casual, even though my belly is doing somersaults. On one hand, I hope that Nik
never brings me up to Cooper, ever, in any capacity, but on the other...
“Not exactly,” he says. “Look, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with keeping things casual, but Nikolai makes it an art form. I’ve seen him with girls after games, and I’ve heard the stories. If he makes a pass at you, turn him down. You’ll just end up getting hurt.”
The other day, Nik said he hadn’t noticed any of the girls at McKee. Was that true, or just a lie? In the library, he seemed
desperate for me, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been that way for anyone else.
I glance away. I hate to lie, but it’s not like anything is going to come from this. “Cooper, come on. I doubt he even knows
who I am.”
He shoves his hands into his pockets, rocking on his heels. “It’s just—I remember how messed up you were about Chase.”
I redden. “Chance.”
“Stupid name,” he mutters.
“That was ages ago.”
“And I still wish I had the chance to defend you.” His voice strengthens. “He was a scumbag. Cheating on you was bad enough,
but breaking up with you on your birthday? I should have kicked his ass.”
I stiffen at the mention of that ruined seventeenth birthday. My excitement slipped into confusion the longer I waited for
Chance to pick me up, and then it became devastation when I realized what he was doing instead. Who he was doing instead. The mere thought twists my heart, yet I bristle at Cooper’s words. The wound Chance left was only exacerbated
by last year’s hookups, and my summer with Nik didn’t help the way I wanted, either. Doesn’t mean I want to admit that to
my brother.
“I can take care of myself, you know.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t. But I’m your brother, Iz. I want you to be happy.”
My indignation fades at the earnest look on his face. He’s always been overprotective, but it comes from a good place. He doesn’t have anything to worry about, anyway. I know that things could never go anywhere with Nik. Soon, he’ll get bored, and whenever we cross paths on campus, he’ll pretend he doesn’t know me. Same as the guys I hooked up with last year. Same as Chance, when he wasn’t parading his next conquests in front of me.
“I’m happy. Really.”
Mostly.