Page 58 of Hot Shot
Didn’t immediately go down the tunnel to the locker room after it happened.
Intermission feels three hours long. Finally, both teams come back out onto the ice. I scan the Storm bench looking for Hunter, but he isn’t there. Now I’m really worried.
You distracted him and now he’s injured.
Why did I listen to the advice my father gave me?
My father.
That thought has me glancing over to where he’s standing behind the bench. Our eyes lock and he gives me a look I can’t quite place. He has to have seen Hunter saying hi to me before the game, right? He has to know.
Great.
I’ll never forgive myself if me being here caused Hunter to get hurt and jeopardized his position with the team. I hardly watch the rest of the game. I’m too focused on the Storm’s bench and hallway, hoping Hunter will come out of the locker room at some point.
But he doesn’t.
I barely register that the game is over. That the Storm won.
It’s not until the people sitting in front of me file out of their seats that I realize it’s time to go. I grab my phone to see if Hunter texted me, holding my breath when I see his message.
Hunter:Meet you at my apartment?
I want to walk away. Run away. I’m terrified that I was the cause of Hunter’s injury. That my being in the arena meant he wasn’t one-hundred-percent focused on the game. I take a breath, trying to calm my nerves, and respond.
Me:Heading that way now.
I’m equal parts nervous and excited. I can’t wait to put my arms around him and make sure he’s really okay, but I’m nervous that he’ll blame me for his injury.
That he’ll say I’m a distraction and he’s changed his mind about us.
Chapter twenty-three
Hunter
Isetmyphonedown and slump back against the couch. Madison is on her way.
There was a moment after I got hurt where I thought she would run. She seems to spook easily. I’m not sure why.
I thought she’d change her mind about dating a hockey player, about dating me, after watching me get hurt, but her text said she was on her way.
My stomach has been in knots since the trainer looked at my shoulder and told me I was out for the rest of the game. My palms start to sweat at the mere reminder of the conversation about how he’d reassess me after tomorrow’s game.
Which I won’t be playing in.
I rub my chest, trying to relieve the tightness that’s settled there. A knock at the door interrupts my thoughts, and I hop up to answer it.
Madison’s eyes widen when I open the door, and she steps inside.
“What?” I ask, rubbing my sweaty palms on my sweatpants.
“For fuck’s sake, Hunter. Even exhausted after a hockey game, where you played hard and got injured, you are hot as hell standing there shirtless in your gray sweatpants and bare feet.”
I shove a hand through my hair and wince at the pain in my shoulder.
“Are you alright?” she asks, concern evident on her face as she steps closer to me.
“I am, now that you’re here.” I pull her against my chest and wrap my arms around her.
