Page 29 of Hockey Boy
Ava nods. “You need to do this so that you can prove you can.”
I smile. She gets me. I have no idea what her real story is, but there’s a pain lingering just below the surface. A seriousness that keeps her smiles small and her eyes dull. Like she’s living half a life—too afraid to step completely outside the lines someone else has drawn for her.
“But first I need to get contact information for Seven so I can woo them with my sparkling personality.”
“Didn’t they perform at Melina’s party?” Millie asks.
With a grin, I point to her. “That’s the one.”
“I got you, girl. I’ll work a little magic when this one goes down for her nap, and I’ll text you if I get anywhere.”
My stomach flutters. Is accepting her help considered cheating? Or would it be stupid of me not to, since she’s offering? With a deep breath in, I decide it’s the latter.
“Only if it’s not too much trouble.”
Millie shoos me as she stands and bounces Vivi. “Never. Now tell me more about this wedding you’re planning. I want to know everything.”
“This really isn’twhat I envisioned you’d want to practice,” Lennox whispers out the side of her mouth as we watch some of Boston’s finest fifteen-year-olds jam out to the Cha-Cha Slide.
A kid in the middle of the pack breaks out into the moonwalk mid-Cha-Cha.
This dance studio showed up on my FYP when I was scrolling TikTok, and I knew I needed to see it in person, so I canceled the lessons Lennox booked and brought her here instead. “That right there.” I nudge her arm and tilt my chin in the kid’s direction. “I’m telling you, the bride is going to love that.”
I’ve been extremely careful with my words when talking about the wedding. I have no interest in lying to Lennox, but I want to spend time with her. And I want to help her plan a wedding, since she apparently needs the win. So long as I word things right, I’m doing a fantastic job of keeping my word and being helpful to my brother.
My comment about the bride is the truth, anyway. Millie is going to laugh her ass off when we do the Cha-Cha Slide at her wedding. I’m sure of it.
“If you say so,” Lennox mutters.
I snag her arm and pull her toward the class. “Come on, it’s dancing time.”
The woman I spoke to when I called and asked if we could sneak in on a class was thrilled at the prospect of having the star center for Boston’s hockey team show up. I normally don’t like to use my status to my advantage, but I’ll do just about anything to win over Lennox.
From what I’ve seen in the last few days, the girl needs to remember how to smile again. She needs to loosen up.
What better way to do that than with some good old-fashioned dancing?
It doesn’t take long—after some deliciously sinful moves on my part—before Lennox is laughing. I glide across the room like I’m wearing a damn pair of skates, pulling her with me, and she’s lit up, her cheeks pink with pleasure.
“We’re bringing the team next time,” I tell the dance instructor at the end of class.
“You made the night of every kid in that room,” Lennox says when we’re on the sidewalk outside the studio. Her lips tip up in a smile as she assesses me.
For a moment, I’m sixteen again, sweaty after the homecoming dance and excited to get Lennox home. Anxious to feel her skin beneath my palms after having had to keep my hands off her while the chaperones watched on.
“You made mine,” I say, unable to resist cupping her cheek.
Her skin is soft and hot beneath my fingers as I brush my thumb back and forth. Her tongue slides across her lips in a way that has me biting my own. When her eyes flare, it takes everything in me not to lean forward and kiss her. But now is not the time. Not when we’re standing outside, surrounded by sweaty teenagers waiting for their rides. Not when she still doesn’t know that I’m free to kiss her.
“So what now?”
Lennox blinks, like maybe she was also lost in the moment. Like maybe all she could think about was what it would feel like to have my lips on hers.
God, one can hope.
“Um, I’ll probably—” Her phone rings, cutting her off. “Sorry, give me a second.” She pulls the device from her pocket and quickly answers. “Hey, Mills.” Her eyes dart in my direction. “Yeah, we just finished. What’s up?”
Despite my best effort to stay positive, a thread of disappointment works its way through me. She’s likely making plans with Millie, which means my time with her is coming to an end.