Page 85 of Risking the Pucking Defense

“You said we’d talk,” he reminds me.

“I know, but⁠—”

“No buts, Hails,” he argues.

“You should be with the guys,” I try again.

“I don’t want to be with them.”

“But Rett, what if he⁠—”

“We can trust Rett. And anyway, he thinks I’m spending time with my parents. We’re safe, Hails. No one knows. And no one will know. Not if you don’t want them to.”

I squeeze my eyes closed.

It’s not about not wanting people to know. They can’t know.

If this were to come out…

I press my palm against my desk to steady myself.

It can’t. None of this can. If management were to find out, I’d be done.

“Hayden, we can’t⁠—”

“I just want to talk, Hails.”

A laugh of disbelief spills from me.

“Huh, so you didn’t believe that either,” he mutters.

“You're hard, Hayden,” I whisper.

“I can’t help it.” His hand squeezes my hip. “When I’m close to you, I’m…powerless.”

Fuck.

I spin around and face him. It’s a huge fucking mistake, because the second my gaze lands on his lips, all I can think about is feeling them against mine again.

“We’ll have to go to my place. We can’t get caught together anywhere.”

“You make the rules, remember? I’ll follow your lead. Just tell me what to do.”

“You shouldn’t be this willing to get into this kind of trouble,” I warn him.

“I’ve never been in trouble in my life, Hails. I figure if I’m going to go to the wild side, then I might as well do it properly.”

My lips part to tell him that I’ve always done as I was told as well. But it would be a lie, because the day I decided to walk away from my old life was the day I defied everything.

And I will never, ever look back at that decision with regret. It was hands down the best thing I’ve ever done.

What if this is the same…

What if⁠—

“I’ll meet you down in the parking garage in ten minutes. If you see a single person, message me, and I’ll walk a few blocks and you can⁠—”

“Everyone has left. I won’t do anything to hurt you, Hails. I promise.”