Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Excitement crackles in the air as we step inside Slap Shotz. With the Wildcats riding high from their win this evening, there’s a heightened exuberance to the atmosphere that feels infectious. I’ve been pinned to Maverick’s side ever since he walked out of the locker room, kissed me in front of everyone, then introduced me to his family.

They were all so warm and welcoming. Even though I only spent a short period of time around them, it’s easy to see that he, his parents, and Juliette are tight knit. They offered to take us out to eat, but Maverick declined, wanting to celebrate their win tonight with his teammates.

Britt and Fallyn can’t stop beaming at me. The rest of the girls I’ve gotten to know this evening are just as warm and friendly. After the game, I tried cajoling Holland into sticking around, but she declined the offer.

She refuses to come within a fifty-foot radius of Bridger. I wish those two would just bury the hatchet and move on with their lives. But it’s doubtful that will happen anytime soon.

Once we settle at a table with all the other players and their girlfriends, he says, “I’m going to grab something at the bar. What can I get you?”

“Just a water.”

With a tilt of his head, he studies me carefully. “Do you mind if I have something? If you do, I won’t. It’s not a big deal.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

“Okay.” He rises to his feet before slipping his fingers beneath my chin and pressing his lips to mine for a quick kiss. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

And then he’s gone, navigating his way through the thick crowd. People reach out to pat his shoulder as he saunters past. A few girls jump in his path and attempt to flirt. Giddiness explodes inside me when he doesn’t give them the time of day.

“I’m going to be completely honest here—I’ve never seen my brother like this before.”

My gaze slices to Juliette. I was so intent on Maverick that I didn’t realize she’d dropped down beside me.

Warmth spreads throughout my chest at the admittance. “Really?”

“Nope.” Her smile intensifies, as if she’s truly thrilled by the prospect.

“He doesn’t normally date?”

Her brow furrows as she shifts before leaning closer. “There was a girl in high school, but…”

I bite down on my tongue to keep everything trapped inside. I hate that he and my brother have this contentious past that sits between them.

It only makes it more imperative that I tell Maverick the truth about who I am as soon as possible. It sickens me that I’m keeping all these secrets when he’s been nothing but upfront and honest.

“Did he really like her?” As much as I don’t want to pry, I need to know.

Juliette nibbles at her lower lip as her gaze slices to her brother, who’s laughing with a few teammates near the bar. I can’t help but follow her line of sight. As soon as my attention lands on him, I’m slammed by the emotions that have taken root inside me.

How did I ever think that spending one night with him and walking away in the morning would be enough to satiate me?

He’s opened my eyes to so much. There’s no way to move forward and pretend that what I’ve experienced at his skilled hands doesn’t exist or never happened.

“Yeah, he did.”

I press my lips together, not wanting to ask for more details.

Little does she realize that I had a front-row seat to the fallout from the other side of things.

River was with Sabrina for more than twelve months. They broke up freshman year of college when they couldn’t make their long-distance relationship work. Even though she hurt Maverick, I liked her a lot. She’d sit with me when I wasn’t feeling well and we became friends. She didn’t mention Maverick very often, but even then, I was curious. At the time, her love story with River seemed romantic and meant to be.

In the end, it didn’t work out.

We still keep in touch through social media.

I can’t imagine what Maverick’s reaction would be if he knew that we were friends.

Nausea blooms in the pit of my belly when I think about confessing all of this.

It very well could be the end of us.

When I remain silent, lost in thoughts of the past, she blurts, “But that was a long time ago. Mav’s moved on. It’s all water under the bridge.”

That remains to be seen.

When the last notes of the song currently pulsing through the speakers vibrate through the air, a large man hefts himself onto the makeshift stage and raises his arms in an effort to capture everyone’s attention.

I glance around, surprised at how quickly the rowdy crowd has quieted.

“Looks like it’s that time of the evening,” Juliette says.

My brows pinch as my gaze moves to her again. “What do you mean?”

She nods toward the man. “You’ve never been here after a Wildcats win?”

I shake my head, intrigued by what’s about to happen as a sense of expectation buzzes in the air.

“Any chance you like to sing?” she asks with a smile.

“Only in the shower. Does that count?”

She chuckles. “Sure.”

The questions that have gathered on the tip of my tongue are cut off when the man’s voice booms through the microphone. “Our boys brought home another win tonight, and you know what that means!”

I squeak in surprise when the crowd bellows back in unison, “Karaoke!”

“You got it!” He points to the drunken college kids with a grin. “Now, who’s going to start us off tonight?”

That’s all the encouragement three hockey players need to jump onto the stage. They spend a minute or two picking out a song before belting out Bruno Mars’s “Grenade.”

Color me impressed.

They’re not half bad.

“Babe?” Ryder materializes next to Juliette before holding out his hand for her to take. “Are we going to sing our song?”

She pops to her feet before pressing a kiss against his lips. “Would you let me leave tonight without doing it?”

A smile breaks out across his face. “Nope.”

With that, he wraps a brawny arm around her shoulders before steering her toward the stage. I’m curious as to what their song is.

Maverick drops down into the chair his sister just vacated before passing me a bottle of sparkling water.

“Thanks.”

“Not a problem.”

Once the first few notes float on the air, I recognize it.

“Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence.

If I was impressed by the three hockey players, I’m blown away by Juliette. “Wow, your sister has an amazing voice.”

Maverick flashes a smile as pride lights up his eyes. “She took choir all through high school. And this has always been one of her favorites.”

Her big, blond boyfriend is no slouch in the karaoke department either. All that brawny muscle and the man can actually carry a tune.

I can’t help but be drawn into their performance. They stare at one another as if they’re unaware of the crowd watching them.

“They’re really good together.”

Maverick nods before admitting almost grudgingly, “They are. I’m still getting used to thinking of them as a couple, but it’s getting easier.”

“It’ll just take time for your relationship with Ryder to settle into something new.” I nudge his shoulder with my own. “I still think you should mention it to him.”

He jerks his shoulders. “Maybe. We’ll see. It’s doubtful they’ll be breaking up anytime soon. I think this has been a long time in coming. Plus, he’d be a fool to let her go.”

I glance at the couple on stage. The love between them is obvious. It’s difficult not to be envious of it. I hope for Maverick’s sake that they can find the closeness they once shared. It would be a shame if he allowed his sister’s relationship to get between him and his friend.

Applause rings throughout the bar as the final notes of the song reverberate on the air.

The blonde I met at the game takes her place on the makeshift stage.

She sings “Criminal” by Fiona Apple. It’s slow and erotic. There’s a handsome guy sitting a couple chairs away from me who leans his elbows on the table and smiles, all the while watching her.

I glance at Carina again.

She moves her body as if she knows exactly how to command a crowd. Even I’m entranced by her performance.

It doesn’t take long to realize that she’s serenading him.

And he is totally here for it.

Fire leaps to life in his eyes. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he jumped up, stormed the stage, and threw her over his shoulder before stalking out of the bar.

The heat these two generate is combustible and off the charts.

I lean closer to Maverick before pointing toward Carina and the hunky hockey player who’s way too good looking for his own good. With those chiseled cheekbones, he could be a model.

“I assume those two are together?”

“Yup. Ford had been not-so-secretly pining for his ex-stepsister ever since I met him.” He snorts. “You should have seen the way he’d trail after her like a puppy dog.”

I blink, uncertain if I heard him correctly. “Did you say ex-stepsister?”

He chuckles. “Sure did.”

“Huh. That sounds like an interesting story.”

“If you ask Carina, I’m sure she’d be happy to share all the gory details with you.”

I consider the idea. “I might just have to do that.”

My earlier suspicions were correct.

As soon as Carina wraps up the song, Ford leaps to his feet and stalks to the stage. He nabs her fingers before towing her to him and laying one on her. The crowd goes even more nuts than before. Whistles and shouts for them to get a room echo throughout the dark bar.

Ford grins at his teammates before throwing Carina over his shoulder and carting her through the thick crowd and out the back door.

My guess is that we won’t be seeing them anytime soon.

Maverick shakes his head as a smile simmers at the corners of his lips. “That guy is such a caveman.”

Maybe that’s true.

But what girl wouldn’t want to be whisked away like that?

A few more couples and groups of people make their way to the stage. Some are pretty amazing, although not nearly as good as Juliette or Carina. Juliette knows how to project her voice, and Carina can captivate and command the crowd with sexy moves.

The man who owns the bar and kicked off karaoke returns with the microphone. “Last song of the night. Who’s it going to be?”

It’s a surprise when Maverick pops to his feet and drags me up with him. “Come on, sunshine.”

“What?” I squeak, unable to believe he didn’t discuss the situation with me first.

He pulls me closer before pressing his lips against mine. “Let’s sing together. You and me.”

I groan, indecision spiraling through me. I’ve been to a couple of bars and watched karaoke, but not once have I ever been tempted to do it myself. I’ve always been way too shy. The idea of getting up there in front of all these people and embarrassing myself is almost paralyzing.

“It’ll be fun,” Maverick says, interrupting the whirl of my thoughts. “I promise.”

I search his mahogany-colored eyes for a long, silent heartbeat before reluctantly giving in. “All right.”

He flashes a grin before pulling me to the stage where Sully waits. “First time up here, McKinnon.”

Maverick glances at me before winking. “Guess I was waiting to find the perfect partner first.”

That’s all it takes for my heart to skip a painful beat.

“Have something in mind?” Sully asks. “I’ll cue it up.”

Maverick’s gaze turns speculative as it slides back to me. “Actually, I do.” He leans closer to the bar owner before murmuring something I can’t quite catch.

Sully glances at me with twinkling eyes before spinning away. After a minute or two, he shoots a look over his shoulder. “All set.”

“This won’t go well if you don’t tell me what we’re about to sing.”

“As soon as you hear the first few notes, I promise you’ll know. And if you don’t, or freeze up, I’ll do the heavy lifting and carry us. Sound good?”

I suck in an unsteady breath, holding it captive in my lungs before forcing it out again. “Okay.”

My gaze reluctantly scans the crowd, who have quieted and are watching us with interest. The realization that every eye in the house is staring at us is nerve racking. It’s tempting to toss the microphone to Sully and race off the stage and out the door into the cool night air.

As soon as the guitar riff opens with the pulsating beat, recognition slams into me.

It’s the one I played on repeat during chemo. The positive and upbeat melody never failed to make me feel invincible. As if I could fight my way through whatever obstacles stood in my path.

It was my own personal anthem that helped me battle leukemia.

As silly as it sounds, once I was officially in remission, I emailed Natasha Beddingfield and shared with her just how meaningful “Pocketful of Sunshine” was to me.

Maverick’s lips quirk as he croons the first verse.

I blink, surprised to find that, like his sister, his vocals are impressive.

When I continue to stare, he raises his brows.

I force out the second verse as we harmonize together. I’ve sung this song more than a thousand times and listened to it on repeat for hours. It’s not necessary to look at the screen. With my gaze locked on Maverick’s, I belt out the lyrics, giving every ounce of energy that I have to them.

Midway through, I realize that I’m smiling so hard that my cheeks hurt. When I sing the chorus for a final time, Maverick repeats it. I throw my hands up and close my eyes as the last notes vibrate in the air. Thunderous applause breaks out as Maverick sweeps me off my feet and spins us in a tight circle. Pure joy bursts inside me like an overinflated balloon as my laughter rings throughout the space.

“You were amazing,” he says, smacking a kiss against my lips.

I pull back just enough to meet his gaze. “So were you! You’re a man of many talents, Maverick McKinnon.”

He smirks. “You haven’t seen anything yet, sunshine. Trust me, there’s more where that came from.”

My body slides down his harder one before my toes touch the stage. That’s exactly the way it feels when we’re together.

Like my feet don’t quite touch the ground.

Being with him is like living in a technicolor dream. One I don’t ever want to wake from. I’m so afraid that once I reveal the truth, everything will change, and I’ll end up losing what I’ve only just found.

“You ready to get out of here?”

I jerk my head in a nod, knowing exactly what I need to do.