Chapter 20 Callum
Chapter Twenty: Callum
Minnesota is fucking freezing.
I’m lacing up my skates when I notice Jax and Zephyr across the locker room, dead silent.
It’s not the usual pre-game silence where everyone’s focused and locked in. This looks different. Like they’re carrying something they don’t want to talk about.
I grab my helmet and walk over. I drop onto the bench next to them.
“What the hell kept you fuckers up all night?” I ask.
Jax glares at me and doesn’t answer.
Zephyr keeps taping his stick like I didn’t say anything.
Something’s off.
I lean back and grin. “Don’t tell me it was Tiger.”
They both freeze for half a second, then go back to gearing up.
My grin drops. “You’re shitting me. What happened?”
Zephyr shakes his head. Jax pulls his jersey over his pads without looking at me.
I stand up and pull out my phone. “I was texting her last night.”
“What?” Jax actually laughs. “No, you weren’t.”
I pull up my messages with Madison and hold the screen out. “See? All night.”
Zephyr leans in, reads the texts, then he chuckles. “That’s not Tiger.”
“Look,” I demand.
Zephyr laughs. “Tiger stayed the night at our place.”
Something sharp twists in my chest. My jaw locks before I can stop it.
“No fucking way,” I say. “She was with Madison.”
Jax shakes his head. “No. She stayed in the guest bedroom.”
I close my mouth, shoving the phone back in my pocket.
The tightness in my chest spreads down my arms into my hands. I yank my skate lace tighter than it needs to be. The pressure bites into my ankle.
“The fuck?” I scoff. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“Why the fuck would we call you?” Zephyr asks flatly.
“Maybe because my house is safer.”
They both shake their heads.
“Fuck heads,” I mutter. “I’m part of this.”
“Barely,” Jax says.
I finish lacing my skates and stand tall. “She likes me more than you two combined.”
They scoff, almost laughing.
“You wanna fucking bet?” I ask.
Jax snaps. “Shut it, Brix. Fuck.”
Zephyr just smiles. “I’m not betting shit when I already know you’re wrong.”
They walk off toward the tunnel, ready to stretch on the ice.
I’m left standing here, livid.
Madison led me on all night, thinking I was texting Tiger when she was probably laughing at me with her other fucking friends.
I pull out my phone and block Madison’s number, and then I shove it in my gear bag.
When I hit the ice, I’m focused.
Pissed actually.
I channel everything into speed and aggression.
Anders Kutcher wins the faceoff for Minnesota. Mason Brookfield picks it up on the right wing. I cut him off at center ice.
He tries to deke around me. I check him hard into the boards.
The ref lets it go.
Good.
We’re back and forth for the first period. No one scores. Asher’s playing out of his mind in net, blocking everything Minnesota throws at him.
Second period, Rowan wins a faceoff. Passes it back to Zephyr. Zephyr feeds it up to Jax on the right wing.
I’m open on the left. Wide open.
Jax has the puck, looking for me.
I see the pass coming. I see the opening.
But I also see the net across the rink. Wyatt Northline’s positioned wrong. Leaning too far left.
I don’t wait for the pass.
I cut toward the center. Take the puck off Jax’s stick before he can release it.
And I shoot.
Top corner. Glove side.
Goal!
The horn sounds, and our bench erupts.
Jax throws his hands up at me, yelling something I can’t hear over the crowd.
I don’t care. I point at my ear, telling him I can’t fucking hear him, and smile at him as I skate back to the bench. I tap gloves with Nolan as I slide onto the seat.
Rowan’s staring at me with that look, so I pucker my lips and blow him a kiss. He flips me off.
Third period, Eli Winterset gets aggressive. He tries to start something with me in the corner, so I shove him back. And he swings.
I drop my gloves.
The refs jump in before it escalates. Both of us get two minutes for roughing.
I sit in the penalty box and watch the clock tick down.
We’re up 2-1. Jax scored the second goal off a pass from Rowan. Clean. Textbook.
Not like mine.
In the end, we win the game.
On the flight home, Asher gets up to use the restroom, and Rowan takes his seat, uninvited.
“You played selfish tonight,” Rowan says.
I stare out the window, not giving a shit about what the captain’s got to say. “We won.”
“You stole the puck from Jax.”
“And I scored.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point, Captain?”
He leans back, crossing his arms. “You’re only thinking about yourself. There’s no I in team.”
I don’t respond as I pull out my phone and scroll.
He gets up after a few minutes and moves back to his seat.
Asher comes back. Nolan’s on the other side of me.
“Don’t listen to him,” Nolan says. “You played hard.”
“I know.”
“Rowan’s just pissed because you’re not kissing his ass like everyone else.”
Asher snorts. “Facts.”
I lean my head back and close my eyes.
But I don’t sleep.
When I get home, the house is dark. Empty. My ex, Sienna, runs across my mind for a split second, but I realize that I’m over it now. I have another person on my mind, and it sure isn’t fucking Madison. Jesus Christ, dude. She played me good.
I drop my bag by the door and stand for a minute in the silence.
I think about Tigerlily, and her cute face. Fuck, she’s cute. I think about her staying with Jax and Zephyr last night, and something possessive claws through me. Something ugly and sharp.
Zephyr said she doesn’t want me.
I’m going to test that theory.
I grab my keys and drive to Tiger’s house.
The black SUV isn’t in the driveway. Perfect.
I remember where the cameras are, so I park behind her house on the street out of sight.
I check the time, and it’s just past nine. She should be awake.
I walk across the neighbor’s yard, eyeing the house. Her bedroom light is on. I walk across the yard. Here goes nothing.
I look through the slit of the curtain and see her lying on the bed with her phone in her hands. Her black hair is loose around her shoulders.
I tap the glass lightly.
She sits up fast, looking at the window.
When she sees me, her face lights up. And something in my chest locks into place.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, surprised, but smiling like she’s happy to see me.
I pull the screen off. “I’m coming in.”
She laughs, watching me try to fit through the window.
I’m too tall for this. My shoulders barely squeeze through.
When I finally tumble onto her bed, she’s laughing harder.
“Hi,” I say, looking up at her. My legs still dangle a little out the window.
“Hi.” She’s blushing. That perfect shade of pink that makes me want to do stupid things.
I pull my legs through, and she closes the window behind me.
“You can’t be here,” she whispers once it closes.
When she turns, she’s smiling. Flushed. Not mad at all.
“How are you?” I ask. “I heard about last night.”
She shrugs. “It was fine this morning. Normal. I’m okay.”
I sit on the edge of her bed and pull her closer until she’s tucked under my arm.
“Are you sure?”
She nods against my shoulder. “Yeah.”
“What time will your dad be home?”
She shrugs, pulling back slightly. “Probably midnight.”
I check my phone for the time. “We have a lot of time.”
She smiles. Shy. Nervous.
Silence stretches between us.
“How was your game?” she asks.
I grin. “I kicked their asses.”
“You?”
“You need to come to our next game. How about this weekend? We’re playing Denver.”
She looks down at her hands.
“What?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I can’t.”
“What do you have going on?”
Her eyes flick to mine. She slowly leans in and whispers, “In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t get out much. I’m not allowed to go out.”
I look at her pink lips and lean in. “Then sneak out.”
She smiles, taking in my face. “I can’t.”
I smirk. “Come on, Tiger.”
She shakes her head.
I lean in again, and she pushes my shoulder playfully.
I grab her ribs, and her body jerks.
“Ticklish?” I smile, reaching for her again.
“Cal,” she laughs. “Please.”
I furrow my brow and say, “You don’t have to beg, Tiger.”
I start tickling her sides. Laughter rumbles from her chest as she jerks around. Then she falls onto the bed. Her hair splayed out behind her like a halo.
I lean over her, teasing my fingertips along her ribs.
She’s laughing. Breathless. Eyes bright.
I stop when my face hovers above hers.
Her laughter fades. She’s staring up at me now. Chest rising and falling.
I lean in closer.
Our noses brush.
Her breath hits my lips.
I close my eyes, feeling adrenaline surge through me.
This close to her, I can smell her shampoo, feel the heat coming off her skin, and see the way her pupils dilate when I shift closer.
She’s nothing like the girls I’ve been with before.
No games. No pretending. No performance.
Just her. Soft and real and looking at me like I’m the only person in the world.
This is how I know Sienna wasn’t the one. This moment with Tiger outweighs anything I had with Sienna.
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I want to kiss her so badly, so I pull back. Just enough to look into her eyes.
She wants me. I can see it written all over her face.
I look at her nose, the beauty mark on her cheek, her eyelashes. Everything about her is fucking pretty.
“You’re staring,” I whisper.
She blushes harder. “So are you.”
I reach out and tilt her chin back toward me.
“Don’t,” I say quietly.
“Don’t what?”
“Hide from me.”
She swallows and nods.
I look at her lips again.
Fuck.