Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
My eyes grew wide in surprise as I sat down in front of him.
“Seriously? Because I have a test next week, and the unit we’re on is stumping me,” I told him.
“Need a tutor?” Mikael asked with a coy smile.
Maybe I did.
“If I get stuck on something, I’ll let you know,” I replied. Talking to him wasn’t actually all that bad. Maybe it was because hockey hadn’t been brought up yet.
“How will you do that?” he asked, tilting his head.
“I know where to find you,” I assured him. They were out on the ice as much as I was, which was all the time.
“Check late at night. I’m usually there from 8:00 to 9:00,” Mikael told me.
“That late?” I replied, giving him a surprised look.
Mikael shrugged.
“I gave up a lot to play this sport at this school,” he said. “So, I’m going to be the best I can be.”
Even if his love for the sport made him a bit rough at times, I could respect the fact that he was determined. I could relate to that on a number of levels.
“Did you have to move far away from home or something?” I asked. A lot of people came from all over the United States. Some even came from other countries, but I suspected that he was born here from Hungarian parents.
Mikael nodded.
“A good ways. But even if I read books full of romance, that doesn’t mean I’m a romantic, I suppose,” he murmured as he looked down at the grass between us.
“What makes you say that?” I asked. I hadn’t detected much romance from the guys’ hockey team, but they could still certainly be alluring and charming in twisted ways. Ways that put me under a spell that frustrated me in more ways than one.
“I left my girlfriend of four years to pursue my hockey career,” Mikael admitted. “Probably the hardest decision of my life, but… I don’t know what I’d do without hockey. It brings me more excitement than anything else.”
As I listened to him speak, my heart started to pick up its pace. He was single, disastrously handsome, and in love with the same sport as me. If only there wasn’t so much rivalry between our teams… maybe something could come out of the tension between me and him. Me and them.
But that was a raging joke on my part. Just because Jourdanne scored two amazing men who were both in love with her and willing to share her didn’t mean that I could experience the same passionate craziness. The guys on the hockey team caught the eyes of more people in a single day than I had in my entire life.
Just because they showed me a dash of kindness didn’t mean that they thought I was interesting or alluring in any way. It was probably just tiring to fight all the damn time.
“I’m sorry,” I said. And I meant that. It sucked having to give up so much or having to feel like we had to prove something to the world based off our circumstances. It was exhausting, but at least we were here.
Mikael shook his head.
“She deserves someone who will put her first,” he replied before a grin crossed his face. “Did you break some poor sucker’s heart too?”
I laughed as I shook my head.
“There wasn’t a poor sucker around to break his heart,” I told him, seeing a glint of surprise in his eyes. “I’m too focused on the upcoming season anyway.”
“Guess we’ll see how that goes,” Mikael said, our eyes locking.
That felt like a slight taunt, but it wasn’t as sharp as their words usually were when directed at me. It didn’t infuriate me. Honestly, it just motivated me to practice even harder to show everyone what the women’s team was all about.
“Best of luck. You guys will need it,” I quipped before getting to my feet, not missing the smirk on his face.
As I walked away from him, the corners of my mouth threatened to turn up in a slight smile. They could mess around with me all they wanted. They wouldn’t slow down my progress, and the harder they pushed me, the harder I was going to push back.
Chapter 8
Hugo
Discomfort twisted in my stomach as I adjusted my black tie, my suit jacket constricting my shoulders.
I would much rather be in full hockey gear than a suit, but my father was coming to the university for an alumni gathering today. That meant I had to be on my best behavior in my best clothes.
I was a reflection of my family, that’s what they always told me, and the last thing I wanted to do was embarrass my father while he talked to my coach and other important alumni today. Besides, my father helped fund the team, so I really didn’t want to step on his toes for the team’s sake.