Page 47 of Crease Collision

“I don’t want to fucking sit. I want answers.”

He’s going to combust if I don’t get him feeling safe.

“Please sit down, Kai.”

He glares at me but drops into the chair anyway. Letting out a harsh breath, he starts tapping a rhythm on the table. I claim the seat next to him so I can shield him from the door, then picture my parents’ summer house at Lake Hjälmaren. The tension in my chest eases.

“I know you were surprised to see me tonight,” I begin, keeping my voice even.

Kai gives a mighty scoff and swivels his chair away, staring at a crack in the wall to avoid my eyes. “Surprised?” he says. “Try blindsided. You lied to me, and I find out like this? In front of thousands of people?”

I want to say that if I lied, he did too. But I hold back. This cannot become a shouting match. “I understand why it feels that way, but I did not lie.”

“Bullshit.”

“You never asked me what my new job was.”

He looks over long enough for me to see a crack of vulnerability. “You sure played fast and loose with the truth,” he grumbles.

“Yes. We both held things back, but that is not why you walked away.”

His fingers tap faster as he turns his chair around to face me. “I was scared, Oskar. I still am.” His jaw tightens as soon as the words are out. “That doesn’t make this okay.”

“I know. I like you, and…” When the words catch in my throat, I pause and try again. “I did not want to risk ruining it before I understood what it was.”

“How would telling me have ruined anything?”

“Because I knew you were afraid, and I did not want to make it worse. Remember that I did not know you were a goalie.”

His expression softens a degree or two, and he drags a hand through his damp hair. “Still doesn’t mean you get to decide what I can handle.”

I let a moment pass. “Why did you not tell me about what you do?”

“Because I…” He looks at the ceiling, moving his mouth without saying anything.

“Because what?” I ask.

He lets out a shaky breath. “It was a hookup. I only do hookups, and I don’t tell people about myself. I don’t want…” He shakes his head and drums on the table faster.

“You do not want to get involved,” I finish for him.

“Or let them think it’s more than it is. I’m not a total jerk.”

“I never thought you were. You were frightened. And when I learned who you are, I understood more about why.”

His fingers stop tapping on the table. For the first time since we entered the room, he meets my eyes. “When did you find out? The way you strutted onto the ice, you obviously knew.”

“I did not mean to strut. I only wanted to see you better.”

“Get fucking serious,” he snaps. “You staged it like we were in a goddamn opera.”

“I did not stage anything.” My voice has gotten sharper. “I saw you, and I reacted.”

He lowers his gaze to the table and stays quiet.

Afraid he might get up and leave, I brace myself, knowing I have to get us past this. “I knew who you were because I found you on the web. After you went away, when you were telling me nothing, and I was trying to understand what happened.”

His head snaps up, his eyes dark and stormy. “Fuck you. Too bad I didn’t think of that.”