Page 89 of Embrace

“You big idiot.”

Thirty

Scarlett

Sometimes I forgethe’s a big dumb hockey player.

“And then I swooped in and knocked their d-man to the floor.”

We’re halfway to their house, and my grip on the steering wheel tightens with every retelling of the fight from his teammates.

They insisted, especially Kian, that he could drive, with his bruised knuckles and beer-stained shirt. But the second I reminded the three of them about the drinks they had, he handed over the keys without a fight.

You didn’t come.

Kian’s words hit me hard. But I stood outside that arena just as the first buzzer sounded, urging myself to go inside, but I couldn’t make it past the double doors. All I could think about was having to explain to my dad why this is the first game I’ve attended.

So I walked away from the arena and straight into Porter’s to watch it on their massive TVs. The first half was disappointing, and a guy at the bar didn’t hesitate before sharing that opinion.

It irritated me, so when I told him to shut his trap and go play if he knew so much, he turned to glare. However, that look died pretty quickly when he seemed to recognize me. I was flipping through the Rolodex in my head when he said, “You’re Ishida’s friend, right?”

I hesitated before saying, “I—y-yeah. I am.”

“Cool.” And that was it. He turned back to the screen. But my heart was beating so fast I wanted to text Kian,It’s working!

But I focused on the TV, watching him there instead. Every time the camera panned to him talking to my dad, I got a weird feeling in my gut. That’s when something came over Kian in the last period. He was more intense, determined, and devastatingly handsome as he zipped across the ice. Whenever the camera showed him on the bench, spraying water on his face, I felt myself getting hot, crossing and uncrossing my legs as inconspicuously as possible.

What I didn’t expect was the team showing up at Porter’s when there’s a party on campus. So just as the last flash of the photo booth captured my first time watching a game in a bar, I heard the chants for the team. There was no way to sneak out undetected, and that much was confirmed when Kian caught my arm.

Now Cole and Sebastian laugh loudly in the back seat, patting Kian’s shoulder.

Kian pokes my arm. “I am sorry, you know?”

I give him a sidelong glance, fluttering my lashes. “Whatever for?”

His sheepish smile drops. “Scar.”

“Can we just not talk about this right now?” I fix my gaze back on the road. The last thing I want to overanalyze is why he did it. There’s a much lighter, nicer part of my brain that tells me he did it because he cares about me, because no one can talk about me that way. Then another says that my past must bother him enough tomake him angry. Those thoughts are fighting to the death, and I’m scared of which one will win.

He sighs, shifting the ice pack on his knuckles again. “He had a hard fucking face.”

“News flash: Bones are hard,” I mutter.

Kian’s gaze burns the side of my face for the rest of the ride home. I park in their driveway, and as soon as I pull the key from the ignition, I toss it to him and hop out.

I’m already halfway to the sidewalk when he calls my name.

“Seriously? You won’t even come inside?”

Cole and Sebastian watch us, and when I glance at them, Kian gestures for them to head inside. He approaches me slowly, like you would a deer blocking the path of a highway.

“Let me apologize.”

“I didn’t ask you to. You can do whatever you want.”

“You didn’t need to see that. I’m sorry.”

I scoff. “Why not? Don’t make me out to be some damsel, Ishida.”