: Chapter 14

“

id I see you with Chase Lovett?” Tally whispers as she moves her backpack from the seat next to her. Her long blonde hair is pulled back in a ponytail. Her eyes are rimmed with black liner that makes her blue eyes pop, and her lips are glossy and pink. She’s super pretty but a little edgy, which I appreciate.

I make a cringey face as I sink down in my seat, glancing around to make sure no one is paying attention to us. “Maybe.”

She raises a perfectly tweezed eyebrow, keeping her voice low. “He’s kind of hot shit around here.”

“I know. I’ll fill you in after class.”

The professor steps up to the podium and begins the lecture on the themes in the book we’re currently reading. I scribble notes on my tablet, trying to stay engaged, but my mind is on Chase and whatever is going on with him.

At the end of class, I pack up and Tally and I leave the building together. The hailstorm-tornado has long passed, and while it’s cold, it’s not the bone-chilling blustery kind that’s coming for us in December. “Okay, I need the details on this whole Chase Lovett-walking-you-to-class business.”

I fill her in on the residence building fiasco and the sprinklers going off.

“Oh my God, that’s the worst. You could have messaged. I would have given you my room and stayed at my boyfriend’s,” she says.

“It was one in the morning, and it all happened kind of fast. Plus, we were in the middle of a storm and the hotel was down the street as opposed to across campus,” I explain. Tally lives in apartment-style residences. They have their own kitchen and living room. We’ve only been sitting beside each other for a couple of weeks. We’ve gone for coffee a few times and a study-lunch twice. Of my two friends, I think she’s the one Essie would like the most.

“That’s fair.” She adjusts her backpack. “So how did that lead to you and Chase becoming a thing?”

I explain the rest of the story, but gloss over the details for reasons.

“Holy shit. That is like…wow.”

“I know. Like what is even happening? How did I manage to catch Chase’s attention, right?”

Tally’s brows pull together. “You’re like, super cool, and freaking beautiful.”

I laugh. “I’m weird. Trust me, my sister is the cool, pretty one. I’m more like the gremlin that only ventures out of the cave for ramen or hot elves.”

“Oh my God, stop.” Tally laughs. “Imagining you as a gremlin will give me nightmares. And everyone is weird. I like salty black licorice, and I’ve watched the movie Step Up probably two hundred times. I know every single dance routine by heart.”

“Okay, I’ll give you the salty black licorice. But I’ve probably watched the LotR trilogy just as many times.”

“Point made then; everyone is a little weird.” Her lips pull to the side. “So what’s the deal with you and Chase? Are you a thing?”

“Um…I don’t know?”

“He walked you to class, though?”

“Yeah. And yesterday he sat beside me in our bio class, and then walked me back to the dorms, asked me for my number, and kissed me good night. And then today he bought me a coffee, and he asked me to come to his game tonight.” It does sound a lot like maybe we’re seeing each other.

“Guys don’t normally do all those things if they’re not super interested,” Tally says helpfully.

I tug on the string of my hoodie. “I said I had an assignment tonight and couldn’t come to his game. Was that the wrong thing to do?”

“Do you actually have an assignment, or were you making an excuse?”

“Uhhhhh…I mean I always have an assignment to work on.”

She arches a brow.

“It’s not that I don’t want to see him play. I do. I mean, it’s probably pretty fun to watch a live game.” Essie’s gone to a few with Rix and says it’s a blast.

Tally purses her lips, does a little hip-shimmy thing, and twitches her nose. “I’m going to tell you something.”

She exhales what seems like a slightly stressed breath. Mostly when we hang out we talk about assignments and what it’s like to live on campus.

My spine straightens. “Okay.” I hope it’s not something bad about Chase.

“My dad is the head coach for the Terror.” She whispers it like she’s expecting a death knell to follow.

“Like for the pro hockey team?” I whisper back.

“Yeah.” She swallows thickly. This revelation seems to make her super uncomfortable.

“My sister’s best friend is engaged to Tristan Stiles?” I don’t know why that comes out like a question.

Tally’s eyebrows shoot up. “Do you mean Rix Madden?”

“Yeah.” This is so fucking weird.

“Wait, Essie is your sister?” Tally asks.

“You know Essie?” What the fuck is happening?

“Yeah. She’s like an honorary member of the Badass Babe Brigade,” Tally replies.

“Of course she is,” I mutter. “I don’t even know what the Badass Babe Brigade is but that tracks with Essie.” And it sounds cool. Like something I wish I was part of.

“It’s our girl group. This is so wild. Like what are the actual chances? Rix goes to school here, too.” She’s all excited now.

“Ess mentioned that she was taking classes again, but I figured she’s off campus, right?” Me not wanting Essie to connect me with her friends ends up with me being friends with her friends anyway. Not to mention Brody living on my floor makes me feel like I should just accept being forever known as Essie’s little sister.

“For the most part, but we have lunch once a week.” Her eyes light up and she bounces on the balls of her feet. “You should come next time!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude.” I haven’t seen Rix in a long time—like since I was fourteen. She was always nice to me, but I was a hard-core hobbiter even back then.

“You wouldn’t be! She’d be so happy to see you!” Tally seems very big on being inclusive. “Anyway, back to Chase inviting you to his game and you saying you have an assignment. Why don’t you want to go?”

“We always seem to run into one of his former hookups. I end up just standing there awkwardly like I don’t belong. Then to make it less fun, there are these girls who are always hanging around them who are sort of…” I try to find a word to describe them that isn’t steeped in negativity. It’s not easy.

“Bitches?” Tally supplies.

“They’re not super warm.”

Tally rolls her eyes. “They’re puck bunnies. They chase after the players. Some puck bunnies are legit super nice, but other ones—it’s like a game to them to bag a player. Ignore them.”

“I’d like to, but two of them live on my floor.” And I’m a thousand percent sure they go to all the games. “And I don’t know a ton about hockey.” Other than the little I’ve caught in the common room while making ramen.

“I can give you a crash course. I can’t go to tonight’s game, but I can probably go to the next one with you,” Tally offers.

“Do you actually want to go to a university hockey game? Does it pale in comparison to the pro games?” I have no idea. “Wouldn’t it be annoying for you? Like won’t people know who you are and be all like super friendly with you like they are with Brody?”

“He’s a nice kid.”

I want to mention that we’re all the same age, but I feel like her life experiences and mine probably differ significantly. She’s grown up around professional hockey players. What a weird life.

“Can’t be easy with his brother being way more visible than my dad.” Tally twirls a lock of hair around her finger, expression pensive. “And yeah, it’s sort of the same. It’s more like when the players find out who my dad is, suddenly they want to take me on dates.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Ew.”

“Having a boyfriend has helped with that, though.” She shrugs. “Anyway, the offer stands. If you want company at a game, I’d be your wingwoman.”

“Cool. Okay. I appreciate that.”

“I have dance practice soon, so I have to go, but I’ll message you later!”

I accept a hug and she flits off.

Essie would be so proud. It seems I’ve made myself a real friend, even if my sister was friends with her first.

And I’m seeing a guy. The hottest guy.

What a week.