Eden squeezes my shoulder, her fingers digging into my back. “How about we go get a brownie sundae to take your mind off Tucker?”
I force a smile, my stomach rumbling at the thought of a brownie smothered in hot fudge and ice cream. “Sounds good.”
After spending the weekend without Tucker, I sit behind the long desk in front of the classroom desperate to see him, focusing on the door at the back of the room. I miss him so much my insides hurt. Every bone in my body aches from the loss. I’ve barely eaten since the breakup, depressed out of my mind and sick with guilt.
I wait an extra minute after for Tucker to enter the room. He still hasn’t shown for class.
What is he doing? I can’t believe he’s going to ruin the B he’s earned. How can he be this stupid?
Gripping the podium, Professor Frazier turns to look at me. “Are you forgetting something?”
I consider his question for a second and then realize he means I haven’t locked the door. He’s such a stickler when it comes to lateness. Tucker’s already broken the rule once. I will have to take points off his grade for missing class, which will only make him hate me more.
I rush up the aisle, ready to latch the door when someone tugs from the other side. The sheer force of their power knocks me back a few steps—it’s Tucker. His spiky blond hair is a mess, sticking up from sleep. He never looks this disheveled. Even his clothes are wrinkled as if he slept in them.
Our eyes meet for a split second. There’s so much pain and anger behind his watery blue irises. I contemplate allowing him into the room. He knows the drill. His eyes beg me, breaking my willpower down, but Professor Frazier isn’t having it.
“Shut the door, Samantha,” he booms from the front of the room. “No exceptions.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “Come by the office later, and I’ll see what I can do.”
He shakes his head. “That’s okay. I don’t want any special favors from you.”
The way he says you makes my skin crawl. There’s so much disdain in his tone I can’t believe this is the man who’d told me he loved me last week.
I sit through class, going through the motions, unable to function properly. My heart aches with regret. Tucker looked even angrier than when he first found out. Our time apart hasn’t thawed him one bit.
I missed his last big hockey game. From what I read online, Tucker and his team are about to play in the Frozen Four Semifinals. New York is close enough that I can take the train to watch him play. Our current situation calls for a grand gesture. I don’t know any other way to show him I care and that I’m sorry.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tucker
Preston is not only off the team but out of the league. After getting into an on-ice fight with Bex’s ex-boyfriend, Preston ruined his shot. Right before the Frozen Four, of all times. My luck has been shit all year. First, I find out the girl I love never gave a shit about me. And now, we’re down a man for the semifinals.
The team needs Preston. He’s the glue that holds us together. Our mojo is off without him. Everyone on my line feels it too. But we got this.
I’m up against the boards fighting for possession of the puck when a winger blocks my exit, sandwiching me against the Plexiglas. But with my puck-handling skills, I don’t need luck. I’m scrappy enough to create some space between me and the player on my right. Just enough time to tap the puck to Trent.
My brother sets off down the ice with the rest of us trailing behind, his only opposition the defenseman crossing his path. Trent switches from his dominant side, sweeping the puck to his left. And as he approaches the net, he swings it back to his right, the puck slipping right past the goaltender.
We did it.
Our team is advancing to the Frozen Four Finals.
My heart races, my pulse pounding loudly in my ears from the rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. The goal horn is like a dull hum as it blares through the packed rink. Everything around me becomes one giant blur.
Our teammates rush over to Trent and me, pulling us into a group hug. I knew we could do it. After losing Preston, I wasn’t so sure we could pull this off. But we did. Somehow, we managed to put this setback aside and win as a team.
We smack the gloves of our opponents, and afterward, I look into the crowd for Preston. He’s too busy high-fiving Bex to notice me. But what surprises me the most is seeing Sam sitting on the bench next to Jemma.