Page 24 of In His Skates

“I have no memory of that. I’d never start a rumor, even if I thought it was true.”

“It isn’t true, not that you care.”

“Wait. What? For real?”

I turn to him, hoping he sees my glower. “Why would you assume he was gay?”

“Uh… I never saw him with a girl besides you, and he was way into Lady Gaga.”

“Wow.” I shake my head. “Way to put people in stereotypical boxes.”

“Give me a break. We all do that to a certain degree. Everyone assumed I was dumb because I played hockey.”

I smirk. “But you were dumb. You had to cheat to pass your math test, and you got caught.”

I sense Keanu’s death glare burning a hole through my face. “My other grades were fine, and I only got caught because you ratted me out.”

I jerk back. “What are you talking about? I never told a soul I saw you cheating. I didn’t even tell your sister.”

“You’re such a liar, Leigh.”

That makes my blood boil. We’re on the freeway but in the right lane, so I pull over and press on the brake hard, burning rubber.

“What are you doing?” Keanu asks.

I turn to him, angry beyond measure. My pulse is pounding in my ears. “Don’t you dare call me a liar!”

Keanu’s eyes widen, and he leans away from me. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

I see fear shining from my own eyes, and it’s like a slap to the face. I look away and take deep breaths. “I’m sorry, okay? What you said… it just triggered bad memories.”

“I’ll say. Come on. Let’s get out of here before we draw the attention of cops.”

The rage is gone, but it left me exhausted. I don’t even have the will to reply to Keanu. I get back on the freeway and don’t say a word until we get home.

11 KEANU

Leigh freaked me out in the car. It was scary to see her angry at me while wearing my face. I don’t usually lose my temper, unless I’m playing hockey and it’s aimed at assholes who deserve my wrath. This is a living nightmare, and we have to find a way to get back to normal. This can’t be our lives. I’ll go insane if I have to be stuck in her body for another day. Plus, she’s right. My hockey career will be over if we don’t fix this.

We stop by her house first so she can get her skates and clothes for me to wear at the rink, and then we make a pit stop at my apartment for my equipment. But I’m done letting her drive me around. She clearly doesn’t handle stress well, and at this rate, we’ll end up in a wreck.

“I’m driving, and we’re taking my SUV.”

She puts her hands on her hips, and it’s a pose so Leigh that her doing it as me is utterly ridiculous. “Then we should drive in separate cars. I don’t want to leave mine here.”

“Honestly, I’d love nothing more than to take a break from you, but while we’re switched up, we should stick together.”

“Ugh! Okay, then let’s go. I need to prep you for the interview with the witch, in any case.”

“Who?

“Trina Tucker.”

“It sounds like you don’t want to do the interview. Why bother?”

“Because I have to. She’s a big deal in Hollywood and can help my career tremendously. After the fiasco with…” She looks away. “Well, I need the media on my side.”

“Are you talking about the drama with your ex?”