Bracing the Blue Line (5 page)

“Hey, I need a little good luck sex before tonight. Think you could meet me in twenty minutes at my place?”

“Really?” The surprise seeps through her voice again. “I mean, yeah, of course. I'll be right over.”

“Good. See ya.”

I hang up and head to the house. By the time I get there, Ginger is pulling in behind me. There's no need to wait for her because she'll come on in anyway. Seconds after I've stepped inside, she's behind me. I grab her hand and tug her to my room. There, I take a moment to glance over her body. She's in tight jeans and a fitted shirt. Not for long.

“Good luck sex, huh?” she says as she shimmies out of her clothes as I do the same.

“Yep.”

“Never heard of that before.”

“That's because I've never called you for it before. Now, stop talking.” I move forward and lay us down on the bed.

She begins to stroke me as I reach for a condom off my nightstand. There's an entire box sitting on it. I push everything out of my mind with every kiss to her lips, jaw, neck, and shoulders, and then I fuck her until she's screaming my name.

When I show up before the game, I have a big ass grin on my face. Ginger was exactly what I needed. Bo shakes his head when he sees me because he knows what I just did. Not my problem. Coach said to relax, and Bo said to forget about it. That's all I did. On the ice, my happy mood gets mixed with my mood from earlier. It's not a bad mixture for hockey.

My head isn't in it though. Somehow, I manage to play well, but in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about Audra. She's the last person I want to think about. This whole thing has déjà vu written all over it, and I refuse to go within a hundred miles of it. That can't happen again. It seems like Audra has it all figured out anyway. She doesn't need me.

And I don't want her to.

SURE ENOUGH, NEIL is smiling when he shows up. His mood has changed entirely, which puts us all in a great mood. That mindset is fantastic going into a game. When we step out onto the ice for warm ups, determination is pulsing through each of us. The team we're playing tonight talks trash like no other. They love trying to get under our skin every chance they get. That's exactly why we try to dominate as much as possible.

Grant is on his A-game and Vincent and I do our part. The long, tough three periods are full of energy. Contagious energy that carries over to the entire team and our fans in the crowd. Without a doubt, there'll be a party afterwards to celebrate our win. College parties are the best. I don't drink, but I people-watch. I'm probably one of the few people at the party who won't take a sip of alcohol all night.

The only thing I drink is water with a soda here and there. I'm too much of a health nut for anything else. I want to be in the best shape possible, and that's the only way to do it. So I stand in the corner and watch the people around me. My shoulders sag when I see Maddie. What is she doing here? Is she following my every move now? No, that's ridiculous. It looks like one of her friends is here with one of my teammates, so that's probably why.

Maddie spots me, gives me a smile, but keeps going in the direction she was headed. Good. My eyes scan the room. There's a game of beer pong going on to my left, which is drawing quite the crowd. To my right, a couple people are flirting or making out. In the midst of all this, everyone is mingling. No one is particularly interesting tonight, but just as I decide to head back to the house, my eyes catch sight of Maddie again. It's been like two hours since she showed up, and I hadn't seen her since then.

I still don't understand how she could be so gorgeous after only three years. Maddie's eyes are focused on something across the room. She's slightly frowning with her arms crossed over her chest. As I follow her gaze, I see her crappy ex-boyfriend making out with some chick. What a jackass. But then, I sure am one to talk. Pushing off the wall I was leaning against, I walk over to Maddie.

“Hey,” I say as I come to a stop in her line of vision to her ex.

She tilts her head back a bit to look at me, granting me a small smile. “Hey, Winston. That was a great game. Are they always like that?”

“Like what?”

“Intense, fast-paced, fun, and filled with that crazy energy?”

“Pretty much. Does this mean you're becoming a fan?” I ask.

“I like watching you, if that's what you mean.” Maddie gives me a coy smile. Before I can question it, someone bumps into her, pushing her into me. I catch her stumble and wrap my arm around her to steady her. The top of her head just reaches the middle of my ribcage.

I glare at the apologizing guy who ran into her and rest my hands on her shoulders as she takes a step back. “You okay?” I question, looking down at her, noticing that her hand is still on my side.

“Yeah. He probably didn't even see me because I'm so short. He should have seen you with your freakish height, though.”

My laugh is cut off thanks to her former boyfriend grabbing her elbow and spinning her to face him.

“What are you doing?” he accuses her.

Maddie yanks her arm away from him. “I'm talking to someone, obviously.” She steps away, probably intending on leaving him, but he wraps his fingers around her arm and yanks her so hard back to him that she almost crashes into him.

“Hey, let her go.” I take a step closer to Maddie. He shouldn't be touching her like that, and I'm not about to watch him manhandle her.

“Winston, right?” he says as his fingers tighten around her arm.

This jackass is seriously about to piss me off. I take a step closer to him as Maddie tugs on her arm. From the corner of my eye, I see Neil stand, waiting to see if he needs to come break something up.

“You're being a jerk, Brad. Let me go.” Softer, she adds, “You're hurting me.”

He flicks his eyes to her and releases his hold. There may be hope for the bastard yet. Gently, I place my hand on her lower back. “C'mon, Maddie. Let's go.”

She lets me lead her away from him and outside. “Sorry, Winston. He's an idiot.”

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

Maddie laughs. “I don't know. Where are we going?”

“I was going to walk you to your dorm,” I answer, removing my hand from her back. She frowns. “What?”

“It's still pretty early. I don't want to go to my dorm, and you've taken me away from the party, so-”

“Do you want to go back?” I ask with an incredulous tone. Surely, she doesn't.

“No.” Maddie shakes her head. “I just don't want to go to my dorm either.” When I glance at her, she adds, “Don't worry. I don't need you to babysit me.” Maddie reaches into her back pocket. “I'll text one of my friends to meet me.”

Babysit her? Since when have I ever done that? “Aren't we supposed to be catching up? Getting to know one another again? Isn't that what you said? Why do you want that anyway?” I ask quietly. We walk up to a bench, and I sit down, reaching for her hand to make her sit next to me. Once we sit though, I release her hand. It feels too familiar.

Maddie crosses her legs, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets before she says anything. Her knee bounces. It's clear that she's nervous about something. She looks down the way we came, away from me. “I remembered how things used to be and spoke without thinking. I didn't want to always be seen as his little sister to you.”

“But you are,” I say, confused. It's the one thing that can't be changed.

She sighs in frustration. “Yeah, but that's not all I am, Winston.” She looks over at me. “I thought you knew that, but I guess not. You never saw
me
anyway, not without thinking about how I'm his sister.”

I hate that she's still hurting after all this time. I don't get the chance to say anything before my phone starts vibrating in my pocket with a FaceTime call from Dave. Damn it. I swipe the bar and his face appears.

“Where the fuck are you?” he says.

Maddie's face swivels towards his voice, and I lay my hand on her thigh, hoping she'll stay quiet. “I'm outside. Just left a party. Why are you so damn nosey?”

Dave laughs. “You look weird on my screen. How'd the game go?”

“We won, hence the party.”

“I hope y'all win when I come up. I'll be pissed if I came all that way for y'all to lose.” Dave chuckles at his comment. “Have you run into Maddie again? I doubt she'd be at a party, though.”

For some reason, I was hoping he wouldn't ask about her. “Well,” I trail.

Maddie leans over so her face is in view of the camera. “Hey, Dave.”

His mouth falls open with shock. “Maddie? What are you doing? Why are you with Winston? Were you at the party?”

“Do you have to know all that, Dave?” she smarts back. “Winston is being nice by walking me back to my dorm since it's so late at night. He'll call you later.” Maddie reaches out and ends our video call. “He's going to be pissed about that, isn't he?”

“Probably.”

“Why didn't you want him to know I was with you?” she asks softly.

“You saw his reaction. It would be easier if he didn't know. Less explaining, I guess.”

Maddie nods as she looks down at her knees. As her words run through my mind again, I feel a little bad because in a way, she's right. I never saw her quite the way she wanted. Dave has always been attached to her.

“I'm sorry-” I start, only to have her cut me off.

“Can we forget it, please? Once and for all?” She rests her elbows on her knees and covers her face with her hands.

I try to pull her hands away, but she won't budge. “Maddie, don't make me go to the extreme.” I need her to look at me.

“What extreme?” she mumbles through her hands.

I tug again and when she doesn't move, I grab her waist and move her tiny body into my lap, tickling her sides. When they were younger, Dave used to practically torture her by tickle attacks.

“Winston!” she screeches, wiggling in my lap. “Stop! Please,” she breathes through a fit of giggles. “Fine!” she adds.

My hands freeze, resting on her hips, as I watch her try to regain control of her breathing.

“I can't believe you would stoop so low, Winston.”

“I warned you.”

“Yeah, well, it's going to cost you a box of Gobstoppers.”

“Gobstoppers? You still eat those things?” I'm surprised the girl didn't get sick from all the candy she ate. Maddie was, and apparently still is, addicted to munching on those.

“I have five boxes in my dorm, so yeah, I still eat them, but only when I'm stressed. They help me focus when I'm studying or doing homework.” Maddie moves back to her seat next to me.

“I'm really sorry about everything, Maddie. I wish you would have talked to me, but I understand why you didn't. If I could go back and change it, I would in a heartbeat.”

She abruptly stands and looks down at me. I should have left it alone because she's closed me out now. Any hopes of fixing things go out the window as she says, “You know what, my dorm sounds pretty nice right about now.”

For a moment, I debate on if I should say anything or not to try to make her stay. Might as well walk her there, if that's what she wants. I stand, swinging my arm out for her to lead the way. Maddie gives me a fake glare, but starts walking.

“Just so you know, you were so much hotter when I didn't have your attention.”

I laugh, faintly noting that she thinks I'm hot. “Would you rather I ignore you?”

“No,” she answers softly. After a moment, she adds, “You know what I hated the most about us? You were this give-it-all kind of guy with everything and everyone but me.”

Maddie has been careful not to look over at me, which is okay because I keep glancing at her. “What do you mean a 'give-it-all' guy?” What the hell is that?

“Well, like hockey, for example. I never saw you play, but anyone with eyes and a brain could tell that you were dedicated, passionate, and you gave it everything you had to do your best and be your best. You do that with school, with Dave, and you love your parents like that too. That's the way you are and always have been with everything in your life that means something to you.”

That's the way she sees me? Wow. I try to process what she says, noting how the wording of her last sentence excluded herself. I want to say something, to reassure her that I was that way with her too, but I can't because she's right. There was one thing I could have done to prove that to her and I didn't do it. We come up to the door of her building before I can think of anything worth saying. Maddie turns towards me, that awkward goodbye air surrounding us. She lifts her head to look me in the eyes.