Page 21 of Slapshot Obsession
Nash shakes his head. “I seriously don’t understand you two. Isn’t sharing the same woman between the two of you weird enough without adding me into the mix?”
“It would be if Taryn didn’t get this sad look on her face every time she sees you or you’re even mentioned. For some reason I don’t fully understand, she really likes you.” I glare at him.
He looks at me for a long moment. “I like her too. But between that stupid clause and the two of you pursuing her like it’s a national sport, I don’t know. Even if I wanted to risk my career and Taryn’s spot on the team, I don’t think I can share the way the two of you do. I would want her all to myself.”
“You’re looking at it the wrong way.” Tucker argues. “You shouldn’t focus on the fact that she likes us, but that she likes you. That’s all that matters. Come to the party, let’s hang out. We don’t have to do anything crazy, just hang out with her and us.”
Nash doesn’t even consider it. “Hard pass. I’m tired and I really need to get some rest to be able to face whatever punishment Coach will dish out tomorrow after your party gets busted.”
“Suit yourself.” I bite out, opening my locker to get my own shower supplies.
CHAPTER SEVEN
SAFETY IN NUMBERS
TARYN
Dance is my salvation.
At least for the few minutes of our performance, my mind was blissfully blank.
If Carole and Lexi’s smiles are anything to go by, we did a good job both on the platform and in the stands.
Like we killed it with our show, the Cove Knights wiped the floor with UCLA. Tucker is absolutely on fire, making save after save and denying the opposing team even one goal to save their dignity.
Nash and Davis, one of the younger guys on the team, protect the crease with tough efficiency.
Mack and Colsen are a duo to fear with a hat trick and a ton of assists. Even the second and third lines do a great job and score some goals. To be truly unbeatable, however, the Cove Knights need to cover the right wing better. It’s their weakest spot hands down. And while tonight it wasn’t a huge problem against a slower UCLA, who’s obviously behind in their training schedule, it could become a definite Achilles heel later in the season.
But despite how fast-paced and riveting the game is, I don’t give the action on the ice my full attention.
The words of the latest text message keep playing in my head on an endless loop, distracting me from the game.
What would the thousands of people watching you perform think if they knew they were watching a murderer and a slut? Would they lose their heads like your latest victim? I told you to break it off with them. The clock is ticking, bitch.
The person who sent the text knows how Tim died and knows that I’m dancing here in Star Cove.
In theory, it could be anyone who went to school with me and saw me with Tim at that party. Knowing that I’m here is easy because of how popular the reality show has become since the first episode.
It could be someone who isn’t even in the state but all the way back in South Carolina or anywhere in the country.
But on second thought, they demanded that I break up with my guys. To know that I’m dating Colsen and Tucker, my mysterious blackmailer must have seen me with them. Could it be someone who saw me with them in town but not connected with the cheer or hockey team? It’s possible. I was out with Tucker and Colsen at the pier the night of the county fair, and the whole town was out.
Then that photo of me and Tucker dancing and kissing at Starstruck went viral. Could someone be basing their threats on seeing me with them around town?
But then how would they know about Tim?
My head is spinning as I keep trying to figure out who could know the information in these text messages and hates me enough to threaten me.
Genevieve is the first person who comes to mind. She obviously knows about me and Tucker. I’m pretty sure she was the one who forwarded the photo of me and Tucker toCarole. And if I recall correctly, she mentioned a murder at my previous school.
Gen hates me because she sees me as her biggest rival on the team, and she’s also convinced that there’s something between me and Mack. Maybe the “them” in the text doesn’t refer to Tucker and Colsen but to Tucker and Mack.
The details of how Tim was murdered are public, so she could have just tried to put two and two together knowing that Hemlock Beach isn’t a huge school. It makes sense because Gen already tried to sabotage me once and even physically hurt me when she kicked me.
I mean, the accusation isn’t realistic unless one knew that I was with Tim on the night he died, but Gen doesn’t care about accuracy when she throws accusations at people. The proof is in the fact that she keeps accusing me of being more than friends with Mack, when we have both been telling her that she’s wrong until we were blue in the face.
There’s someone else who could be sending those texts.
