Page 204 of So This Is War
And the one thing that comes to mind is Levi.
This is happening because he believed in me.
He’s the reason, and I can’t wait to thank him.
LEVI
Levi:At the arena, got an extra leg workout in. Can’t wait to hear from you. Love you.
I set my phone down and lean against the bench, nervous as fuck to hear from Wylie. We kept missing each other yesterday so I haven’t talked to her. I tried texting her a few times, but she’s been quiet, which makes me feel ill. Her distance leads me to believe that things didn’t go the way she wanted them to.
And if that’s the case, I need to be ready. Thankfully, we’re on a long home stretch, so I’ll have time to be with her, and I’ll even fly her out to our next away trip if need be.
“What are you doing?” Halsey asks as he comes into the locker room, straight from the showers. When I sent a text to the boys saying I was going in for another leg workout, Halsey offered to join me.
“Just thinking,” I say.
“Thinking about what?” He sits down and runs another towel through his hair, drying off the short strands.
“Nothing I think I can share right now.”
He sets the towel on the bench next to him and slides a pair of briefs under his towel. Not sure why he’s being shy. The man has a fucking monster of a cock. He should be flapping that thing around every chance he gets.
“You’re in a relationship, aren’t you?”
“Why do you think that?” I ask.
“Because,” he says, his voice even, no joking or teasing anywhere in sight. “You’ve been happy. Genuinely happy. You’ve looked smooth on the ice. And you haven’t been around a lot, which I completely understand. The only reason I’m here is because Blakely is having a girls’ night with her roommate from college.” He stands and straightens out his briefs. “Seriously, dude, just tell me. I swear I won’t say anything.”
I need to talk to someone about this.And if I’m honest, I know I can trust Halsey with this. Sighing, I stare up at the ceiling and say, “In all seriousness, I’m in love, dude. And she’sin love with me. We’ve been seeing each other for a while now and well . . .”
“It’s Coach Wood’s daughter, isn’t it?” he asks, keeping his voice low.
I look over at him and nod.
He takes a seat on the bench and whispers, “Christ.”
“Tell me about it. I’m in way over my goddamn head, and even though on paper, I made a huge mistake, I don’t feel bad, not one goddamn second because she’s . . . fuck, Halsey, she’s everything I want. She’s?—”
“Are you the only two left?” Coach Wood says, popping his head in the locker room and making my entire body seize. Christ, how long has he been here? Did he hear anything?
“We are,” Halsey says, acting normal, thank God. I feel like I would squeak out a response if I was left to it.
Coach Wood looks at us, then knocks on and pats the doorjamb. “Good work getting extra reps in. See you tomorrow.” Then he takes off.
After a few seconds, I turn to Halsey and whisper, “He terrifies me.”
“He terrifies everyone,” Halsey says and puts on his sweatpants, then his sweatshirt. “What are you going to do about it?”
“No fucking clue,” I say. “But I sure as shit don’t want to talk about it here.”
“Understandable.” He slides his shoes on and picks up his phone, wallet, and keys. “Let’s have breakfast tomorrow or meet up somewhere else so we can talk about it.”
“Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks, man.”
“Hey, you helped me with Blakely. I might as well return the favor.”
I press my hand to my heart and say, “Jesus, fuck, I think that’s the first time you’ve ever admitted that.”
