Page 69 of The Draft

She was fucking mine, and I vowed that I wouldn’t let her attend another game without her wearing my jersey because everyone needed to know that fact.

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

Pulling my gloves off, I gripped the fabric before tossing them into my locker because that was the only way I could vent my frustration.

Scotty walked into the room and stopped in surprise when he saw me. With his hair slicked back, in his casual gear, he looked ready to celebrate or go on a date.

“What are you still doing here?” I’d ask him the same thing, but that would make him think I cared, and I didn’t. I really didn’t.

I turned my attention back to my locker, looking at the pile of pads as though they’d somehow give me the meaning of life.

Scotty took a few steps toward me. “Dude, don’t beat yourself up over those goals you let in. It’s just one game. You’ll bounce back,” Scotty said with a pat on my shoulder. When I looked up at him, he backed away and laughed nervously. “Umm. I’m guessing this has nothing to do with the game if your face is anything to go by.”

“I missed a few pucks, but we still won, didn’t we?” I griped before turning and sitting on the bench so I could take the shin pads off.

Scotty raised his hands. “Okay. Well, sorry I asked.”

“Where’s Cade?” I looked around the locker room for that asshole. I needed to talk to him because he was still blissfully unaware that I was so infatuated with his sister that I was thinking of all the ways I could claim her as mine in the rink. Most were indecent and had broken a resolve in me. It was high time I let her brother know what my intentions were because this feeling wasn’t going away anytime soon.

“Oh. Is this still about Baby Bright?”

I pinned him with a glare because he was loud enough for anyone to hear if they were walking in. He winced, looking around before mouthing, “sorry.” My facial expression was enough of an answer for him.

“Dammit. I’m a bad friend. I guess I assumed she’d gotten bored with your brooding and dumped your ass in favor of the brooding asshole onthe football team. I thought that’s why you were annoyed today.”

“Madison’s still mine.”

“Might want to tell her that,” he mumbled before wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “In fact, maybe you should come to Covey’s tonight and tell her. Pretty sure that’s where she’s heading with Aiden and Adam.”

“I’m not going there.”

“Why not?”

“I hate going out, and I hate people.”

“Oh, we’re back to that again. Angry and menacing under your curtains.”

“They aren’t curtains.” I threw the rest of my pads in my locker. I needed to get out of here. I needed to think, and it wasn’t happening in this place. The rink had too many memories associated with Madison, and it was making my brain fry. “And I’m not going to the bar because if I see anyone on the football team, I’m going to punch their lights out.”

Scotty drew in a sharp breath. “Yeah, please don’t do that. That will get you at least a semester suspension, and you’re the best goaltender we got. Save for the last few games, but we all have a few off streaks.”

I quickly shoved on my clothes, not caring that I stunk because I hadn’t showered yet. I needed to get out of here. Stuffing everything except my phone and wallet in my locker, I slammed it shut and locked it before pushing past Scotty.

“Where are you going?”

I glared at my friend, pinning him with a look that surely made it obvious. “To find Madison. I need to talk to her.”

Scotty threw his head back, barking out a laugh. “Good luck with that. I hope you catch her before you find her making out with a football player.”

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

I had a one track mind when it came to Madison, and I bit my tongue, tasting blood at the mere thought of Madison kissing one of those guys. I sunk my teeth in further when I thought about them touching.

Madison wasn’t going to be with anyone but me. That girl was so mine. She knew it. I knew it. I’d just been fooling myself, thinking that I could get over her by telling her I wasn’t interested and ignoring her. That was a mistake. That just made her push me harder.

“Just remember, we’re getting on a bus at four a.m. for the airporttomorrow. Hockeyfest waits for no one.”

I waved him off but didn’t look back because I only had one thing on my mind. Find Madison. Pulling out my phone, I opened the same app I used before to check her location. It was the app Cade forced me to download when we were in high school that let me know exactly where she was at any moment. I wasn’t sure how I’d gained permission to have Madison’s location, but I assumed it had something to do with Cade granting me access just in case Madison blocked him or her parents. Like she’d ever do that. She loved her family and had nothing to hide.