MARA
After we ate, Tasmin rejoined us and pulled me outside.
“What?” I laughed as she brought out a gift-wrapped piece of clothing. It was big and bulky, and wrapped in brown tissue paper, a light pink ribbon tied around it. “What is this?”
“Something I special ordered for here because I couldn’t get it to arrive earlier than today. I fully planned to squirrel it away until the day you and Cruz finally went official, and I’m so giddy that it finally happened.”
“What’s going on?” That was Zeke, joining our circle. He had a large plastic mug, and a full beer can open inside it. A bunch of guys I didn’t know joined him, so I was guessing they were some of his fraternity brothers. The rest of the circle were my roommates.
I ignored him, unwrapping the gift, and when the tissue paper fell away, I was speechless. A full old school hockey sweater with Cruz’s number and in Grant West’s colors. Purple and white. 71.
My mouth was on the floor.
“Look at the back.” Tasmin was gushing.
I turned it, shock spreading through me, and I saw the words embroidered in big and purple lettering was his last name, his number, two small hockey sticks crossing over each other, and beneath in smaller print was, “Property of Girlfriend.”
A choked sound came out of me.
I’d never… I covered my mouth with my hand.
This was a serious gift. She put thought and money into this, and planning, and now hearing she was going to hold onto it until we were official… “I can’t believe this,” I whispered, my voice hoarse.
She–no one had any idea, but with my mom, how she was, I wasn’t celebrated. Gifts were not something that happened in my life.
“Thank you so much, Taz.” She had no idea how much this meant to me.
But maybe she did because she was blinking back tears. “I just–with your mom and what you’ve been through–” Her cheeks were pinking. “I wanted you to know that I appreciate our friendship and yeah. You’re stuck with me.”
If I were a guy, I would’ve been on the floor in pain from the karmic kick in the balls. I shook my head, still whispering because I couldn’t get anything else out right now, “I’m so sorry for being such a bitch. I–I don’t deserve this jersey. I don’t deserve–”
“Oh, my gawd, shut up.” She hurled herself at me, hugging me tight. She whispered for just me to hear, “I’m happy you let Cruz in, and I’m happy you’re starting to let me in. Just know that people do care, and they don’t judge, and we’re here for you, and you’re wrong. You do deserve kindness.”
She was wrong. I didn’t. I really didn’t, but I hugged her so long.
Blocked calls （119）
We were in the aisle. The Cain students were in the section next to us. Zeke was smack dab front and center, and he enjoyed plastering himself against the plexiglass every time Cruz skated by, which was a lot. I’d gotten more than my normal amount of attention as we walked in, but this time it was mostly from girls. I’m sure some came from the jersey, but I was also sure some came from the blog article. I had no idea how popular that blogger was at our university.
Watching Cruz play was always fun. He scored right away, which set the rhythm for the rest of the game. Atwater scored the second goal. There were a lot of missed shots and back and forth in the second period, but the third is when Cruz got another goal, and he made an opening for Labrowski to sink in for their fourth.
Cain never got on the scoreboard, but judging by how loud Zeke was cheering for Cruz, I didn’t think they expected to win this game.
That night, I checked into a local hotel with Skylar and Zoe. The guys were in the next room.
Taz and Race were staying at her brother’s, and while they invited us to go there since they were having a small party, I elected to stay close to the hotel. It was the same one the hockey team was using, and since it was Friday night, they were given time off with a strict curfew.
Cruz: What room are you in?
Me: 807
Cruz: Heading up.
Skylar was in the bathroom. Zoe was in the other room, and I was suddenly hit with nerves. Like this was the first time seeing my boyfriend. Like I was sixteen, going on my first date.
My phone buzzed again, and I tensed but it wasn’t her.
Zeke: Daniels! Where are you? What are you doing?
Me: At the hotel. The team can’t leave tonight.
Zeke: For real? Okay. Let’s do breakfast? Or lunch. Where’s Miller? Noticed no Alpha Mu brothers came over.
I sighed, right as there was a knock on the door. When I opened it, Cruz was on the other side, and his eyes went big, upon seeing me, or maybe seeing the jersey. Until he noticed my expression. “What’s wrong?” He moved in, shutting the door behind him, but before I answered, he pulled me into his arms and gave me a tight hug. I was fast melting. He’d just showered, and his eyes had that fun and mischievous spark, which combined with his little knowing look because he knew what I wanted to do.
He still held me against him, his hand moving to my ass. He murmured against my neck, “I like your sweater. Looks hot on you.”
I moaned, pressing back against him, right as the bathroom door opened behind me.
“Oh, God. Oh–sorry!” Skylar came out.
Cruz cursed, but reacted in an instant, pulling me out into the hallway. I got a glimpse of a white towel before he was saying through the cracked door, “Take your time. Sorry about that.”
Skylar was laughing from inside, and I heard another click and then Zoe’s voice before Cruz pulled the door shut behind us. He moved down the hall, leaning against the wall. He spread his legs and pulled me to stand between them. His hands went back to my hips, playing with the bottom of my jersey. “You had this made?”
The nerves came back. I gave him a rueful grin. “No. Tasmin gave it to me as a gift. Surprised me with it when we got here.”
“You serious?” His hands went to the front of my hips, and he lifted me back just a little so he could see the front better. “That’s good material too. This is amazing.” He turned me around and whistled under his breath when he read the back. He tugged on the bottom of it. “I like this, a lot. You’re sleeping in this tomorrow night. No. Sleep in it tonight, and tomorrow so it smells more like you.”
My phone buzzed again, and feeling it, he took it out of my hands, flipping around to see the screen. He snorted, handing it back. “That Allen guy. He’s an odd friend of yours, huh?”
“You saw his sweatshirt?”
“Everyone saw his sweatshirt. He was on the news. I got so many clips sent to me already. Fucking hilarious, though. He’s a true friend?”
I nodded, somewhat distracted as I read his most recent text.
Zeke: Whoa. I just called Miller and he told me to fuck off. Wth? You guys have a falling out?
I showed Cruz the text.
He leaned back, his hands returning to my hips, and he shrugged. “He doesn’t have to know.”
“You don’t know Zeke.” And as if on command, my phone began ringing. I declined his first call, and knew I had ten seconds before he’d be calling again. My voice message was a click, that was it. I didn’t have a message for people to wait through. “He is like a starving dog after a bone. He knows something is up and he won’t leave it until he knows. He’ll either get our version or he’ll go to Gavin and get his. Then he’ll come back and badger me until he finds out the truth.”