Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
JANE
“What the hell was that?” Matt demanded as Drew finished the obstacle course in the trees behind the camp’s central building and dropped to his knees.
Drew glared up at him. “I fucking slipped off the wall because Delacrue left mud all over the top.”
I watched from a distance, cringing as I noticed Coach Dunn doing the same.
This obstacle course relay was supposed to be part of a team building exercise where the players worked together in two teams—one led by Austin and the other by Matt—in an attempt to get the fastest total time through the course.
“And you wouldn’t have lost much time if you’d just picked yourself up and kept going like Delacrue did when he fell in the mud pit,” Matt snapped. “Instead, you lost your shit and cost us time that we couldn’t afford to lose.”
Drew opened his mouth but then seemed to realize that Coach Dunn was observing them rather than the players who were currently on the course. He closed it again, mumbled something, picked himself up, and lumbered away.
I returned my focus to Jesse and Brown, who were currently rushing through the course.
Jesse was grinning wildly and Brown kept darting looks at him and pushing himself to go faster.
Jesse was too quick, though, and he beat Brown to the finish and tapped Nick’s hand, passing the metaphorical baton to him.
The tension between Matt and Drew didn’t dissipate.
Drew’s poor performance seemed to have ruined Matt’s previously good mood.
Meanwhile, Drew clearly resented the fact that Matt blamed him, even if he didn’t say so out loud.
It was in the way his eyes narrowed whenever Matt mentioned the fact they’d fallen behind.
Austin’s team won, and they were rewarded with individually wrapped squares of dark chocolate.
“Do we get chocolate for supporting the winning team?” Maribel asked from beside me.
I laughed. “I don’t think it counts.”
Coach Dunn gathered everyone in the parking lot beside the camp and motioned them closer. “The next exercise is a three-legged race.”
There were groans all around.
“Come on, Coach,” someone complained.
Coach’s gaze sharpened. “The race will run from the camp to the end of the access road and back. I’ll choose the pairings. I expect you to take it seriously and for you to stop letting petty differences come between you. You’re a team.”
A few people ducked their heads, as if ashamed of their behavior.
“The winners will be exempt from the team run tomorrow morning,” Coach Dunn added.
That was enough to make the players perk up. Some of them enjoyed running, but the team outing was scheduled for not long after dawn, so being exempt would mean enjoying a brief sleep in.
“Matthews and McKinley,” Coach called, his lips curled smugly. “You’re team one.”
They shot glares at each other.
“Coach,” Matt began.
“No arguments.” Coach’s tone made it clear that his mind couldn’t be changed. “Harris and Delacrue. Young and Gadot.”
As he continued, it became obvious that he was pairing together people who either didn’t get along or didn’t often work together.
I crossed my arms as I watched Assistant Coach Willets hand out lengths of rope for them to tie their legs together.
I couldn’t decide if Coach Dunn’s plan was brilliant or bound to end in disaster.
I knew Austin didn’t like Delacrue, but I also knew that, provided Delacrue did his part, they wouldn’t have any problems. Austin could look past his personal feelings to focus on achieving the goal. I wasn’t sure if Drew and Matt could do the same.
The pairs lined up facing the access road and when Coach Dunn whistled, they took off.
Austin and Delacrue moved awkwardly at first but got into a rhythm reasonably quickly, since they were a similar height. On the other hand, it took less than ten steps for Drew to stumble and for him and Matt to crash to the ground.
Drew swore and started to curse, but then visibly paused, inhaled slowly, and offered Matt his hand.
Matt stared at it as if the hand were a viper but then took it, and together, they scrambled to their feet.
Arms around each other, they lumbered awkwardly forward before finding a pace that worked for them.
I raised my eyebrow. “That was unexpected.”
“But good,” Maribel said. “Coach Dunn is losing his patience.”
I couldn’t help but agree.
The first pair to return was Young and Gadot—hardly surprising, considering they were both known for being fast on the ice.
Austin and Delacrue were third, and Matt and Drew were, to everyone’s surprise, not last. Coach Dunn smiled to himself as they arrived back, but he hid it before acknowledging either one of them.
Several hours later, we gathered around a fire pit to keep warm before dinner. The coaches had left us to our own devices, perhaps to give the players the illusion of freedom.
“Here. Have a blanket.”
I cocked my head, caught off guard when Drew thrust a woolen blanket at me.
“It’s cold out,” he said gruffly as I took it. “Even with the fire.”
My heart softened, and I laid the blanket over my lap. “Thank you, Drew.”
He grunted and his cheeks flushed a little as he dropped into a chair on the opposite side of the fire pit.
Austin snuggled close. “If any more of my teammates flirt with you, we might have a problem.”
I giggled. “He wasn’t flirting. He was just being nice.”
“Drew is never ‘nice.’”
“Yes, he is, but you guys all fall for that grumpy, sweary act of his, so you don’t notice.”
Before Austin could reply, Jesse spoke loudly enough for us all to hear. “I challenge you all to a s’more-off.”
The campfire crackled and sent a plume of smoke into the air.
Rasmussen whooped. “You’re on. I am the s’more king.”
I breathed in the smoky scent and smiled.
I loved campfires, but I hadn’t been camping in years.
A wave of nostalgia washed over me, reminding me of the trips I’d taken with my parents and brother as a child.
We used to toast marshmallows and argue about who did it best. Dad always loved his marshmallows to be burnt to a crisp on the outside, whereas the rest of us preferred different levels of gold and brown.
A pang of loneliness stirred in my gut. I missed them. I was proud of myself for forging my own path, but sometimes, it would be nice to be wrapped up in a mom hug and forget the need to be an adult for a little while.
Drew scoffed. “As if any of you could beat me.”
Beside me, Austin reached for a marshmallow, skewered it, and held it over the fire, rotating the skewer as each side became a golden brown. When it was done, he sandwiched it in a s’more and held it out to me. I moved to take it from him, but he shook his head and touched it to my lips.
My breath caught. Was he trying to hand feed me?
My lips parted, and he eased the s’more between them. I bit it and moaned as the gooey marshmallow and chocolate coated my tongue. His eyes darkened and his gaze held mine. Tension crackled between us.
“Have some more,” he rasped, his tongue darting out to wet his lips.
I opened my mouth again and let him feed it to me. His fingers brushed my skin and heat shot through me. I couldn’t look away from him as I accepted the treat and sucked on the tips of his fingers before he eased them away. He tasted of sugar and man.
“You like it?” he asked, his voice practically a growl.
“It’s the best I’ve ever tasted,” I murmured in response.
Honestly, I had no idea what was going on. He’d been attentive every time he had a chance during this trip, and it was becoming difficult to believe it was only for the sake of the act.
Something had been different between us since we’d danced at Rinkside the other night. The way he looked at me felt more raw, more real. Every time I felt his eyes on me, I longed for the attraction to be true, but I had no idea if it was.
What if he was working hard to convince everyone around us that we really were together? Or worse, what if he’d decided that he’d gained so much from pretending to date me that he might as well seduce me properly and lock down a permanent connection to the Wright hockey dynasty?
“Try mine!” Jesse thrust his hand between us, and I flinched as the movement yanked me out of my thoughts. “You might like it better.”
Austin batted his hand away. “Get your own s’more taster. This one is mine.” He said it playfully, but there was something in his eyes that made me think he was completely serious.
His intense gaze scorched me to my core and created a quiver of need deep within me. I could hardly breathe, but I forced myself to chew and swallow.
What on earth was he up to?
Jesse fanned himself. “Do you two need a moment alone?”
“Actually, I need to grab my scarf from my room,” I said, seizing the opportunity for a few minutes to myself. I needed to remember that this was just pretend or else I was in danger of falling for the ruse.
The last thing I needed was a broken heart.
“Need me to come with you?” Austin asked.
“No, I’m fine.” I got up and picked my way out of the cluster of chairs and long-legged hockey players sprawled around us, but instead of heading straight for the wing to the left of the rustic wooden building that served as the camp’s hub, where our small room for the night was, I wandered toward the woods.
I paused at the edge, gazing into the trees, listening for any nocturnal wildlife that might be moving about.
Get a hold of yourself.
You are in control of your own emotions.
Austin is just your boss. No matter how sweet he is, or how possessively he behaves, or how good of an act he puts on when it comes to looking at you like he wants to eat you, none of it is real.
A twig snapped behind me, and I spun around, my heart racing. I immediately exhaled, relieved, as Austin emerged from the shadows, although the gleam of his eyes in the darkness was doing nothing to help me remember that this was fake, fake, fake.
He moved closer. The air stirred as he erased the distance between us and placed his hands on my hips.