Page 19 of The Draft
Was Madison smiling because she could finally see me? Was she snarling at me because I hadn’t responded to her text?
I needed to know everything that was going on in her head, so I tried to subtly flick my gaze to her. Even if it was for only a second.
With her hands stuffed in her sweatshirt to keep her warm, she was jumping on the spot, wearing her Carolina Catfish baseball hat so low that I couldn’t see her facial expression. I could tell she was looking in Cade’s direction, though, acting like nothing happened between us and we were all good.
She hadn’t told him if their interaction was anything to go by. But when I really thought about it, why would it be different for them? Cade would never blame his sweet, innocent little sister for trying to seduce me. Itwould be all my fault because, despite my best efforts, I would have clearly led her on.
Thwack!
“Dammit.”
I dropped my stick and threw my hand up to the sharp pain radiating from the side of my head. Pulling my helmet off, I checked to see if Cade’s puck had done any damage and then with my other hand; I pulled one glove off with my teeth.
When my hand was free, I flicked back my sweat-soaked hair, annoyed that I still hadn’t cut it, and patted my head, making sure I wasn’t bleeding. It was unlikely, but I needed a minute before I got back in the net anyway, so I might as well check. My ears were ringing, and I knew I’d have a throbbing headache in the morning, but that pain was only temporary. The need to look at Madison and gauge her reaction seemed to be a permanent fixture, however. Would she be concerned about me? Maybe she’d revel in my pain? Or worse, she might be completely unaffected by my injury, because the only thing worse than hate is indifference.
“I told you to keep your eyes on the puck, Bridges.” Cade’s tone combined with the hit made it sound like a threat. Eyes on the puck, not his sister. I got it.
“Are you okay?” Brooks asked as he skated over to me. Although he was an excellent skater, he always had this tiny bit of clunkiness about him, which was one of his only faults. I was told the strange skate gait had something to do with how he unintentionally walked on his tiptoes- something he didn’t like to talk about.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Scotty, Alex, and Erik joined, creating a barrier around me and blocking Madison’s view. Great. I’d made a scene. Something I’d been doing a lot of recently.
“Not sure why the defense is getting so many shots in today,” I griped under my breath, glaring at my best friend as he sprinted toward me.
Cade was by my side in an instant, pulling me into a side hug and squeezed. “This is exactly why.” There was a lilt of humor in his voice, and I just couldn’t work him the fuck out. “You’ve got to be ready for the unexpected. Clearly, you weren’t, and it’s better you found that out againstme than some angry guy from an opposing team. They would have knocked you unconscious, and that dream of us signing our contracts with Atlanta together would have flown right out the window.” He hit my back so hard, I balked forward. “Luckily, I went easy on you.”
“You still hit him in the head, though.” Alex pointed at me with his hockey stick.
“Yes, but I aimed for the top side, knowing it would only skim him instead of directly at his face so he could see it coming. That’s called being a good friend.”
I rolled my eyes, lifting my shoulder enough to shunt him away from me. “Thank you, oh, so powerful Cade,” I replied sarcastically. Pushing my hair back, I shoved my helmet and gloves on and then took my position back in the net. While the rest of the team slowly went back to their practice routines, I took a moment to glance over at Madison and was not prepared for what I saw.
Flat-lipped with furrowed brows, Madison was watching me. Thankfully, she couldn’t see I was looking at her with my helmet on, but when she bit down on her bottom lip with concern, I noticed her lip gloss shimmer under the rink lights.
Did it taste like Cherry Garcia?
I shifted on my skates, thankful that I looked like a marshmallow in my padding because it made it hard for anyone to see the half-mast erection I got from just thinking about kissing her again.
Focus.
I closed my eyes and forced myself to look back at the ice. I was met with the hard faces of my teammates—a sight that was nowhere near as interesting as Madison’s bouncing form. The girl was like a walking distraction, making it hard to concentrate. I couldn’t help it. Those big blue eyes, that unmistakable pout. She was by far the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, and it was getting harder to stop myself from looking.
Beep.
What the?
A puck hit the back of my net, drawing my attention to the hockey player in front.
“You need to concentrate, D,” Scotty warned, lining up his next puck,ready to attack me again.
Right. Concentrate.
It wasn’t like playing hockey in front of Madison was new to me. She’d watched us for years, so this should be no different. Except now it was because all those other times she’d watched before, I hadn’t known what it felt like to kiss her. What it felt like to have her clawing at my shirt because she wanted more from me. What it felt like to have her body leaning into mine.
“Shit,” I whispered sharply. “Get it together, Bridges.”
Shaking my head, I squatted back into position and focused all my attention on Scotty’s puck. Dancing it around with his stick, he was doing his best to distract me, and I was determined to prove I could remain focused.