Page 65 of Tough Score

She squeals and then starts giggling the second she glances quickly over her shoulder to find me chasing after her.

The cool evening air fills my lungs.

For a moment, I forget about my injury,about the pressure of returning to the ice. It's just me and Keely, running and laughing under the darkening sky.

Finally, I manage to catch up to her, my arm wrapping around her waist.

She squeals again right before she loses to footing and we both tumble to the ground.

We land in a tangled heap, breathless and laughing. I find myself hovering over her, my face just inches from hers. Our laughter fades as we lock eyes.

My heart races, and I know that my self-control is wavering.

"Keely," I say softly, "I'm about to kiss you."

Her eyes widen slightly, but she doesn't pull away. Instead, her eyes dip down to my lips, and she licks her tongue and darts out to wet her bottom lip.

I start to lean in, giving her a second to deny me, but instead, she wraps her hand around the back of my neck and pulls me against her mouth.

My heart pounds against my chest as Keely pulls me closer, her lips meeting mine with unexpected intensity. The kiss deepens quickly, weeks of pent-up tension pouring out between us. Her fingers thread through my hair as my hand cups her cheek, holding her close.

I want this kiss to last longer—all night, if I had a choice, but we're in the middle of a soccer field and once we break away, I know I won't have a shot at reproducing this moment back at the apartment.

When we finally break apart, we're both breathless. I rest my forehead against hers, not wanting to put any distance between us.

"Reeve," she whispers. "It's starting to rain."

Then I feel it, a drop against the bare skin at the back of my neck. Then droplets begin to fall all around us, disappearing into the surrounding grass.

I sit up and then stand to my feet, giving Keely my hand to pull her up.

She and I stand there staring at each other for just a second and I can already see in her eyes that she knows she let down her guard. The guard she's putting back up between us.

That was it.

That was the last time I’ll ever kiss Keely.

Chapter Twenty-One

Keely

It's been a few days since Reeve and I kissed on the soccer field, and next week, I'll be moving back out of the apartment since the Hawkeyes only rented the space for me for six weeks.

It seems like things are starting to wrap up from the agreement I made with Sam, Coach Bex, and Reeve. And I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I'm happy, of course, that Reeve will be back out on the ice in no time.

Having that little bit of separation might be good for us. Not living down the hall anymore will give me a reason to cut off our dinner and docu-series routine that we've fallen into. If I'm going to date Jaxson, I can't keep spending as much time with Reeve. And now that Reeve is healed up, he doesn't need me around for dinner prep or delivery.

I'm looking for a new place, but for now, I'll go back to living in my uncle's garage. Seattle's rent prices are ridiculous, and the studio apartment at my uncle's would rent for an ungodly amount, so I'm grateful to have it.

But what I need today is to hear a familiar voice. I need to talk to someone who knows all my family's dark secrets. Someone I can truly be myself with and not worry about my past coming out to ruin their lives.

I lean back in my chair, holding my phone to my ear as Paula's voice comes through. "So, tell me about this cute doctor you're going on a date with next week," she says, her tone light and teasing.

I can't help but smile, even as a twinge of guilt tugs at my heart. "His name is Jaxson. He's a surgeon at the hospital where Reeve had his surgery."

"Ooh, a surgeon. Impressive," Paula says. "And he got my girl back on the soccer field. I like him already."