31. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Steven
A soft ding sounds from the nightstand and I scoop up my phone. A grin pulls at my mouth when I see an email from PinesAndPossibility.
Clicking on the alert, the app opens Scarlett’s email, and my smile widens.
It’s so…her.
If I didn’t know she was the one I’m matched with, I’d know once I finished reading her message.
Immediately I hit reply.
From: [email protected]: [email protected]
Hey Pines.
It’s nice to hear from you.
Fingers crossed, huh? You’re putting a lot of trust in Emma without even knowing me yet.
But I like your confidence. Fingers crossed indeed.
Looks like we live in the same town. I moved here with my family when I was eight. Moved away a few years ago for work, and recently came back for work.
My job can take me anywhere, so I have no clue how long I’ll be in Maple Ridge. But I can definitely see myself settling here eventually. Especially since my mother and stepfather are pillars of the community.
Do you have any siblings?
I have two older brothers.
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
PerfectAssist
The moment my finger hits send, a tinge of excitement shoots through me. It’s almost immediately followed by a sinking feeling. Guilt at this whole plan weighs on me.
Running a hand through my hair, I flop down on my bed and close my eyes.
Sleep is a long time coming.
The music blares through the speakers, and the fans roar as the Penguins and Wolverines make their way back to the ice for the second period. Blades slash the ice, and sticks slap the biscuit as players from both teams loosen up after the break.
Glancing over by the net, my gaze finds Scarlett just as she throws her head back and laughs at something her brother says. Behind her sits my entire family.
Mom sees me and waves her hand back and forth excitedly. I can’t help the grin that slides across my face. With how she’s acting, you’d think she’s never seen me at a game before. I raise my stick in her direction.
“Let’s go, Bennett!” The voice I hear in my dreams shouts, and my eyes flit to Scarlett. My smile widens at the double thumbs up she’s flashing my way. “You’ve got this.”
Dipping my chin, I turn my attention back to the task at hand, but not before one of my teammates notices.
“Yeah, Bennett.” Graham slides up next to me. “Let’s get our heads in the game, shall we?”
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed your focus meandering to a completely different woman in the stands.” I throw an elbow in his direction. Millie is here, watching.
“Did you notice my use of ‘our’ and ‘we’?” He playfully smacks me on the helmet. “We need to focus. Being down two scores doesn’t look good for your first home game.”
I nod as Coach calls us back to the bench for a quick huddle up before the ref blows the whistle.
“Okay, boys. That first period was your warm-up. Let’s show them what you’re really made of during these next twenty minutes.”
The starters head to our place on the ice while the rest of the team takes their place on the bench.
Cap shouts something to Declan and the others before skating over and grabbing my arm. “Bennett, the guy covering you has a horrible breakout route; use it to your advantage when you can.”
I salute in acknowledgment and move to the right side of him and set up.
Memories of the past flood me. I worked on this exact same thing with Jacob. Drills that I ran over and over again. So many times that I could do them in my sleep. I know exactly what to look for, and how to beat him every time.
It’s time for me to remind myself, and every person here, why the Wolverines traded for me.
The whistle blows, setting play into motion; our center comes away with the puck and passes it to the left side. Declan grabs the puck and easily gets it past the defenseman covering him, leaving an open lane. Dec shoots.
It’s blocked.
The crowd lets out a collective groan, but I keep my eye on the biscuit. The Penguins winger picks it up and takes it behind the net. But he runs into Eli, who bats it away, before passing it to Declan.
Dec catches it before sending it my way. Moving left, then right, I get clear of my defender before heading back toward the net. But rather than take the shot, I pass it to Cap on my left. He’s completely open and has the best angle.
Cap grabs it and shoots.
The buzzer sounds, and the arena shakes as fifty thousand fans celebrate.
Just like when I was an observer in the stands, I can feel the building move down here on the ice.
My gaze finds Scarlett’s, and a silent exchange passes, one that has the past flashing like a slideshow at top speed.
Dad holding up his orange sponge finger. Mom jumping up and down next to him. Scarlett high-fiving my brothers.
Before my body has time to react to the images, or Scarlett with her hand pressed against her chest, my teammates pull me back to the present celebration.
The remainder of the game passes in a blur, except for the final goal.
Declan was all net with an assist from me.
Something I couldn’t have seen happening six months ago was the perfect way to end my first home game. My chest puffs out at the knowledge that my father would’ve been proud.
Proud that I was able to put the past behind me and be the bigger man.
My eyes burn, and I blink hard, wishing my father could’ve been here.
A body slams into me, followed by every other Wolverine. Each one of them whooping it up. My face splits, and the sadness of the past is replaced by joy in the present.
The vibration of the stands is still going as we skate off the ice into the locker room.
Showers and the press conference finished, I head to the section where my family is waiting.
“Steven!” Mom’s voice is shaking as she throws her arms around my neck. Squeezing her tight, she laughs, then whispers. “Your dad would’ve been so very proud.”
For the second time tonight, pressure builds behind my eyes, and I just nod. She places a kiss on my cheek, and I set her down on her feet.
I look up to find my brothers and stepfather, Jacob, closing in on me. Their shouts of congratulations are met halfheartedly as I’m looking for the one person I want to see more than anyone else.
My eyes dart back and forth before finally landing on Scarlett. She’s standing off to the side, looking uncertain. When her gaze meets mine, my mouth curves up. Her eyes light up, and she beams at me.
“Thanks,” I say, slapping my brothers on the shoulders, and briskly shake Jacob's offered hand before moving to Scarlett. “Where’s Owen?”
I look around for her brother before my eyes meet hers again. I grab her hand and interlace her fingers with mine.
“He left during the third period with his friend’s parents.” She takes a step toward me. Vanilla and cinnamon envelop me, making my breath hitch. “You probably have a text from him.”
I grin. Owen always texts me the silliest things after my games, win or lose. “I’ll make sure to look later.”
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been messaging ‘PinesAndPossibility’ but neither one of us has talked about meeting up yet.
Meanwhile Scarlett and I are still ‘pretending to date’, but this is the first time we’ve been in front of either of our families in all that time.
Her eyes bounce between mine, before they drop to my lips. I catch her chest rise and fall. Without a second thought, I drop my duffel to the floor. My hand cups her cheek, letting my thumb brush against her soft skin.
Her eyelashes flutter, and a sigh escapes as she moves her face closer.
Thanking my lucky stars that the guidelines are finally working in my favor, I lean down and softly press my lips to hers.
Her hand slides against my ribcage before making its way to my back, tugging me closer. Her lips press more insistently against mine.
My heart slams against my chest. Moving my hand from her cheek to the back of her head, my fingers entangle in her hair.
Scarlett’s fingers dig into my back, and just as I go to deepen the kiss, Miles clears his throat. “We’re going to head to Moretti’s. We'll save two seats if you decide to join us.”
We freeze. Remembering where we are and who we’re with.
My family’s voices slowly fade as they walk away.
Releasing a jagged chuckle, I rest my head against hers.
Even though my eyes are closed, I can feel the heat from her face. I know she’s beet red.
But I don’t regret one second of it. Well, except maybe the interruption.
“Do you want to go to dinner?”
She nods. “I’d like that.”
I press her hand to my lips and smile. I had an irrational fear she would say no.
Opening my eyes, I find her watching me intently.
Gently removing my other hand from her hair, I bend down and pick up my duffel bag. When meeting her gaze, she still has that same expression on her face.
“What are you thinking about so intently over there?” I ask, tugging her hand still entwined with mine behind me as I follow the path my family just took.
When she doesn’t say anything, I glance over my shoulder, and she squeezes my hand. “Just how proud your dad would’ve been of you tonight.”
Stopping in place, my head whips toward her. She may have been thinking that, but I know her well enough to know that wasn’t all she was thinking.
“Come on.” Scarlett tugs me. Her face is masked so that whatever she was thinking is now unreadable.
I ignore her tugging.
The walls that all of this pretending has built between us have me wanting to come clean.
“Are you okay?” She asks, stepping back toward me.
Huffing out a heavy breath, I nod. Her hand loosens its grip around mine, and for a second I think she’s going to let go. But when she wraps her fingers around mine again, I let out the breath I was holding.
“Let’s go meet up with your family.” She nudges me, and then starts walking.
I’m following her lead because of a promise. But I’m beginning to wonder how much longer I’ll be able to play a role that I so desperately want to be real.