Page 6 of Final Score

It had been five years since I had last heard anyone use my full name. Katherine.

Just hearing it made my skin itch. The little hairs on the back of my neck prickling with those two syllables. No one on campus knew my real name. Not Fallon, not my teachers. Hell, even my mother respected my wishes and used my self-proclaimed nickname as the truth. So how the hell, did a handsome stranger know my name?

The alcohol running through my veins did nothing to ease the embarrassed blush across my cheeks as I recovered from the fall. Muscles I didn’t know existed clung to the fabric of his black t-shirt as my eyes zeroing in on the hint of a tattoo peeking through the fabric of his left shoulder. Jet black hair fell into his eyes as he leaned forward to get a better look. His expression shifting between confusion and something I didn’t recognize. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. Maybe he had.

Those eyes. Bright emerald, green with flecks of gold around the iris. Those I could never forget. They had been watching me at my father’s funeral and again as my mother and I packed a U-Haul, never looking back.

Until today of all days. Karma was a bitch.

The three vodka cranberries I had downed upon arrival threatened to make their way back to the surface as my fight-or-flight mode kicked into overdrive. The chokehold my anxiety held against my throat made words impossible as I stared, unabashedly, at Jenner Blackwell. Damn him for aging well and damn me for caring.

It was Fallon who broke the silence first. “Who’s Katherine?” She asked, her words muffled against the loud bass rattling the speakers to our right.

Jenner stood at his full height, running a shaky hand through his tousled hair. “Let’s go somewhere quieter.” Nodding in the general direction of the kitchen, he exited the dance floor. No longer waiting for us to follow.

Fallon turning, raising her eyebrows as she beckoned me to follow him.

“Fuck.” I hissed. There was no going back now.

Fallon had handled the news better than I expected. She already knew select pieces of my past, and she understood why I kept some things private. She was, however, annoyed I hadn’t mentioned I knew an ‘extremely hot’ man. Not caring that he belonged in the past.

Jenner poured a large glass of tequila lime on the rocks into a crystal glass before sliding it across the marble countertop in front of me.

“You know her favorite drink order?” Fallon asked.

“I know a lot of things.” Jenner answered, one eyebrow arched, as he waited to see if I would accept the drink. This was not a peace offering.

“Whatever you think you know is in the past. That girl died a long time ago.” I fire back defiantly. This entire day was far more than I had been prepared to deal with when I woke up this morning.

“I don’t know.” Jenner answered, matching my passive aggressive tone. “She looks alive to me.”

I welcomed the smooth burn of alcohol that coated my throat, as I took a sip from the fancy glass. Jenner turned, a smile forming on his face, as he walked back to the poker table, without another word. Where the same group of guys sat now watching our interaction.

Asshole. If he thought this drink fixed anything, it didn’t. It just meant my taste in alcohol hadn’t changed. Or your taste in men. I thought.

A while later, we found ourselves in the basement; the boys having abandoned their card game for a quieter atmosphere. Oliver, Fallon, and I were crammed onto a small leather loveseat while Jenner sat in a large wingback chair across from us.

Oliver St. James looked like he could have been the Hemsworth brothers’ long lost British cousin. Having explained his family history, we learned Oliver had moved to London when he was seven. His father was American, and his mother was British. Giving him the gift of dual citizenship and a love of hockey at an early age. To his mother’s dismay, Oliver had left behind a full ride at Cambridge. Choosing instead to come back to the states to chase his dream of playing in the NHL.

For the past hour, he has been recounting stories of his and Jenner’s wild adventures at NU. Much like Fallon and I, you’d never guess they’d only known each other a short time.

“So, tell me, Katherine. What made you decide to join our little party tonight?” Oliver asked. When he spoke, he gave you his full attention and a warm, welcoming smile.

Though I hated the use of my full name, I didn’t hate the way it sounded with his accent. “It’s Kat, please, and Fallon heard about it before I did.” I answered

“Oh?” Oliver moved on the couch to get a better view of my best friend.

“She needed a night out.” Fallon was bordering past tipsy as she answered. Which meant she had even less of a filter than normal.

“Really, how come?” Oliver asked.

I interrupted Fallon before she could speak. I didn’t need her spilling the entire day’s events with her horrible bias towards Noah. “My ex plays for the Saints, and we broke up.”

“You mean you found out he cheated on you with some random puck bunny.” Fallon interjected. “You’re much better off without that asshole.” Great. That was the one detail I didn’t want to get out.

A knowing look flashed across Oliver’s face before he responded. “Tell me, did you, find that out this afternoon after the game?”

Damn it. He had been standing in the hallway…which probably meant that Jenner has been as well. “Yes, why?”