He disappears into the bedroom on the left side. 揇o you want something to drink? We have Powerade or beer.?
He comes back with one of each.
揘o thanks.?
He sets the Powerade on the coffee table anyway and opens the beer. He moves his backpack out of the other chair and takes a seat.
揥hat抯 that??he asks, nodding to the fliers in my hand.
I shove the forgotten fliers into my bag. 揘othing. What time did you say Liam would be back??
揑抦 not sure.?He shrugs. 揑 could pass on a message if you want.?
揑抎 really rather just ask him myself.?
揙kay.?He leans back and extends one long leg. 揚hysics and art, huh? How does that happen??
揗y parents are physicists, and art makes me feel beautiful.?
Jordan stays quiet as he studies me. My answer feels too heavy. It抯 definitely more than he bargained for. It抯 the truth, but not something I usually tell people.
I fidget with my hands in my lap. 揥hat about you? Why did you choose civil engineering??
揇o you really want to talk about our majors??
揧ou brought it up.?
He抯 quiet a beat and then says, 揑 like being outside, and engineers make decent money. It抯 a good fallback plan.?
揊all back from what??
He takes a drink of his beer. 揑 was drafted by the Kings over the summer.?
I don抰 immediately put it together until he adds, 揟hey抮e a pro hockey team.?
揙h. Wow. Congrats.?
揟hanks.?
Silence falls between us again. He taps his finger on the side of his beer can. 揂re you sure I can抰 pass on the message? I could write it down and everything.?
Standing, I start to move past him. 揑 should get out of your hair. I抣l just send him an email or something.?
He grabs my hand to stop me. The pads of his fingers are warm and calloused, and an unexpected thrill shoots up my arm. He smells like soap and beer.
I pull away first.
Jordan brings his hands together, gliding his palms together slowly in front of him. 揇on抰 go. Stay, have a drink. I抣l text Liam and see if he抯 on his way yet.?
6
JORDAN
揌e抯 leaving the rink now.?
Daisy抯 blonde head bobs, eyes downcast. 揟hank you.?
Her fingers wrap around the red bottle. She hasn抰 taken a drink, but she looks maybe the slightest bit more at ease. What the hell am I doing, letting her get comfortable and practically rolling out the red carpet for her to ask out Liam?
The last thing he needs is another distraction. The past week he抯 gone from bad to worse. And if it were only impacting him, that抎 be one thing, but the whole team is suffering.
Besides, the more time I spend with him and Daisy in class, the less I can see them together. I mean, the guy spent the entire two hours of class moping while sitting next to a girl who just wanted him to pay attention to her. He抯 too caught up in his own shit to see how much she likes him.
揥hat did you mean today??Daisy asks with the slightest edge to her voice.
When I look at her, she抯 no longer staring at her feet but right at me. She has these big blue eyes and dark lashes that are hard to look away from when she has them trained on me.
揥hen you said that you wouldn抰 expect me to understand about Liam and hockey,?she clarifies.
揙h, uh, nothing. He had a rough day. Practice was awful, and Coach was on his case. I wouldn抰 take anything he did or said today personally.?
揟he only thing I took personally was you implying I couldn抰 possibly understand. Is that some sort of dig at my intelligence??
A chuckle escapes, but the look she cuts me has me reining it back. 揘o, of course not.?
揑抦 a straight-A student.?
揑抦 not surprised.?
揝o??
She抯 pretty cute all wound up. In class, she seems all timid, but I like the fire in her eyes now.
揌ave you ever been on a sports team??
揘o.?Her shoulders stiffen.
揟hen you don抰 know what it抯 like to be a part of something, have people depend on you, and then fail them.?
揕iam feels like he抯 failing the team. Why??
揇o you follow the games at all? Never mind, it doesn抰 matter. Liam is in a funk. As our captain, he needs to lead us even when he抯 not playing well. He抯 still figuring it out.?
揧ou抮e right. I don抰 get it. I mean, I understand, but that doesn抰 sound fair. Because he抯 not playing well, the team blames him for the losses? Isn抰 the whole point of a team that you抮e stronger together? If he were playing well, you wouldn抰 say he won you the game. Why should a loss be blamed on a single guy??
I mull that over. It isn抰 exactly the way I抎 put it, but she isn抰 wrong either. No one is blaming Liam for us losing. We just know we can be a hell of a lot better with him playing well.
Before I can respond, the door opens, and Liam walks in.
揌ey.?His gaze goes straight for Daisy and his face breaks out into a wide smile. 揥hat are you doing here??
She stands and pink dots her cheekbones. 揌i.?
An awkward beat passes before she blurts out, 揑抦 sorry to drop in like this. I have sort of a favor to ask.?
揝ounds interesting.?Liam continues to smile at her. 揕et me just toss my stuff in my room.?
I guess that抯 my cue. Liam comes back out and sits next to her on the couch. That抯 the last thing I see before I stand and start toward my room to give them some privacy.
Sitting at my desk, I open my laptop to do homework. Liam抯 voice carries through the thin wall, but I can抰 make out Daisy抯 quieter words. Adrenaline vibrates under my skin. What are they talking about out there?
揧eah,?Liam says so enthusiastically that a pit forms in my stomach.
She did it. I can抰 believe she did it. She actually asked him out. Damn, I knew I shouldn抰 have invited her up. Fuck.
Daisy抯 voice climbs as she thanks him. I stare at the screen of my laptop, then snap the lid closed. Their voices move closer, and the door to the hallway opens. Leaning back in my chair, I can see Liam standing with the door held open and the slightest sliver of her dark blonde hair in front of him. I push back a little more until I can see her through the crack in the door. She has a nice smile. Full lips hide straight, white teeth. When the corners of her mouth pull high enough, she gets a cute little smile wrinkle on the left side of her cheek.
Balancing on the back two legs of the chair, I tilt back another inch to watch as Liam steps closer. It抎 be a bold and uncharacteristic move for him to kiss her, but my heart stops as I wait to see how far he抣l go. His arms lift at the same time my legs go over my head, and I抦 unceremoniously dropped on my head.
I curse the chair and groan as I pick myself up. She抯 gone by the time I glance toward the door again.
揈verything okay in here??Liam steps into my room and eyes the chair overturned in front of my desk.
揊ine.?I right the chair and rub my elbow. 揇aisy left already??
揚lease.?He sits on the end of my bed. 揕ike you weren抰 in here eavesdropping.?
Sitting back at my desk chair, I smile. 揝he talks too damn quiet. I assume you said yes??
A deep laugh leaves my buddy. 揧eah, it抯 no problem. It抣l only take an hour or two.?
His shrug is so blas?I struggle to find the words. 揙nly take an hour or two? I抦 confused. That抯 a good thing??
He tilts his head to the side. 揥hat is it you think she asked me to do for her??
揟o go out on a date. What else??
His shoulders and chest shake with laughter before I hear it.
I toss a pencil at him. 揥hat the hell is so funny? She抯 obviously into you.?