Page 28 of Slapshot Obsession
Running in front of me is as good as turning around.
A few feet away from the door, I’m convinced that my stalker is not here or they’re behind me because I can’t see anyone in front of me when each overhead light comes on.
A loud noise, similar to a thunderclap, echoes in the hallway, making me jump out of my own skin.
I’m almost at the door when the lights right above it come on and a tall figure in black pants and a hoodie that covers their entire face appears right at the door.
A piercing scream sounds in the hallway as I freeze again, and I realize it’s coming from me.
When the hooded figure begins coming toward me, I turn around and run for my life.
I hope I can get to the other end before they catch me, but they’re taller and faster than me. I’m not even halfway down the hallway when a hand lands on my shoulder and I’m forced to turn around. The lights go out one second later, and I scream.
CHAPTER NINE
FEAR AND LOVING
NASH
Ineed some peace and quiet.
The game against UCLA was good, but it’s obvious that we’re in preseason from how beat I feel.
Hockey is always hard on the body, but it gets easier as the season progresses. It’s why Coach Harrison is very strict when it comes to conditioning. We need to get to the point where a game makes us tired but not feel like our limbs are made of wet noodles.
The proof is in the fact that I fall asleep the second my ass sits down on the mattress.
Usually after a game, I’m still buzzing with unspent energy for several hours, but not tonight.
I’m glad I didn’t let my teammates convince me to join them at that stupid party. Aside from the potential trouble of being caught socializing with the very cheerleaders who are supposed to be off-limits, I really don’t think that booze and noise are what I need right now.
That must be the last coherent thought because sleep takes me under.
What wakes me up is a shiver. I fell asleep on top of mycomforter, with my hair still damp from the shower I took right before leaving the locker room.
I’m cold as fuck when I open my eyes and check the time on my phone. It’s a quarter past eleven and I might be in danger of hypothermia, but I’m now wide awake.
If I tried to get to sleep again, I probably would end up tossing and turning for hours. It probably sounds counterintuitive, but what I need is some fresh air, maybe even a run to loosen up my sore muscles.
Despite being summer, the nights can get quite chilly if the breeze that comes from the sea blows a little stronger, so I add a hoodie to the sweatpants and t-shirt I fell asleep in.
As I step out of our wing into the building’s main lobby, I can hear the faint noise of the party at Vaughn’s. It’s mostly chatter and laughter; I’m glad they’re being smart enough to avoid loud music.
While the training center is on the outer edge of town and we don’t have any residential neighbors, the building that houses the coaching staff is closer to the main building. They aren’t close enough to hear a party as long as there isn’t very loud music.
I wonder what they’re doing. Are they playing party games, like truth or dare?
I leave the building from the main entrance and walk around to the back, taking the narrow path that leads to the beach that’s otherwise accessible from the decks of the ground floor units.
Rather than going toward the voices and the laughter, I walk down the beach in the opposite direction.
The memory of the kiss between me and Taryn and of how I followed her into a bathroom when Gen upset her isas vivid as if it had just happened. Her soft lips, her perfect body, her tight, wet heat.
She’ll be hanging out with Tucker and Colsen. Will they look for a private spot like they did at the club on Tucker’s birthday?
I hate that thought, and I wonder if she’s thinking about me for even one second. Does she really miss me like Tucker said, even though she has two boyfriends who aren’t letting the rules in her contract deter them from being with her?
“Come to the party, let’s hang out. We don’t have to do anything crazy, just hang out with her and us.”
