Page 28 of Rule Breaker

I headed for the rink, and spotted Silas. Another player looking for early ice time. But then I realized that he wasn’t alone. Coach was standing on the other side of the boards, gesturing at him. Silas said something that had Banning throwing his hands up in the air before stalking off. I was too far away to hear the exchange. When Silas slid onto the rink and skated away, he slammed his stick on the ice.

Tempers were running hot, so this was going to be an interesting fucking practice.

Soon, the rest of the team joined us, including Kayden. He looked like his usual self, smiling and joking with Dane, Ethan, Julian, Finn, and Sean. The other goalie started laughing at something Kayden said, and Kayden playfully shoved him. Fine. He could bug Sean from now on.

Suddenly, Axel skated by and nearly collided with Jace.

“Watch it, Rowland,” Axel grumbled. “Maybe if you pay more attention to what you’re doing, we’ll win next time.”

“I’ve had enough of your shit attitude and your stupid comments,” Jace snapped back. “Back off and leave me alone.”

“You’re good at that, right? Using people and then leaving,” Axel bit out and took off down the ice.

What the hell was that about?

Coach Banning re-appeared and skated to center ice. “Okay, let’s go! Get warmed up and then get ready for new drills!”

Kayden completely ignored me, skating past without saying a word. I should’ve been elated. This was what I wanted. I askedhim to leave me alone and now he finally was. So why did I feel like total shit? And why was I thinking about him at all?

“Melnyk, Moss, Hudak, Baran,” Banning shouted. “Over here.”

I watched as Kayden skated away, and a strange lump lodged in my throat. I reached for my water bottle and took a sip, but that didn’t help matters at all.

“You think we’re going to work out the kinks by the next game?” Sean asked me.

“We better.”

The next two hours were nothing but drills, more drills, and sweat. Lots and lots of sweat. I was exhausted by the end of it. Probably because I forced myselfnotto be snarky for once. I made eye contact with the guys, I said a few encouraging words, and I kept my resting bitch face to a minimum. Much as I loved to do my own thing, Kayden was right. This was a team sport and if I wanted to succeed, I had to be all in.

We’d all loosened up, and it looked to me like Silas and Kayden finally found a rhythm together. And the rest of the guys, like Axel and Jace, put their attitudes and tension aside and worked hard.

Once practice was called to an end, I watched as player after player left the ice. Kayden was hanging with Dane, joking around. But the defenseman still hadn’t acknowledged me. I didn’t know what burned worse, that, or his overeager friendliness.

Enough.

I couldn’t take it anymore.When Dane took off down the ice, and Kayden skated around my net, I caved.

“Why did you leave the library?” I asked him.

“What’s it to you? I thought you wanted me to leave you alone.”

“I did,” I replied. “I do.”

“And?” Kayden asked without looking at me.

“And, nothing. Fine,” I bit back. “Fuck off.”

“Why don’t you save your breath and getthatprinted on your jersey instead of your number?” Kayden snapped and skated away.

Normally, I don’t leave my net until I’m good and ready, but my temper ran hot. I needed an answer and not a bullshit runaround.

Not one to let anyone have the last word, I followed him.

“Hey!” I called out. “I want to know what’s going on. Are you playing a game with me?”

Kayden turned around and this time, he was the one with angry fire in his eyes. I was shocked, my heart racing, my pulse pounding in my ears, drowning out any other noise around me.

He shook his head. “The real question is, are you?”