Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen

“I am not staying out and having fun while you go home alone.” Mackenzie frowned at her sister, not liking the stubborn look in her eyes. Maddy was usually so easygoing, but when she got an idea stuck in her head she was impossible to talk down. “Seriously. You can’t ask me to do that.”

“I just did.” Maddy took a sip of her green tea smoothie, her gaze level, if a little tired. “We both know Daddy will finish early. I won’t be alone for long. You have a hot guy all into you and I demand you do this for the both of us.”

“What exactly is ‘this’?”

“Heath wanted to kiss you while we were out shopping.”

“Probably because he was bored while you and Braxton were looking at scarves.”

“He could’ve played on his phone like the other guy. But he couldn’t look away from you.” Maddy let out a dreamy sigh. “It was so—”

“Don’t say it.”

“—romantic.” Maddy grinned as Mackenzie’s cheeks heated. “You’ve never been this into a boy. Give him a chance.”

Rolling her eyes, Mackenzie pulled her sister away from where she’d slowed in front of the forum. They’d met some school friends at a small café and hung out for a bit, hoping that wouldn’t tire Maddy out too much. But even the quiet conversation seemed to drain Maddy after a couple hours. They’d canceled their plans to all go back to their place. Unlike the friends they’d had in Toronto, no one was weird about Maddy needing surgery, or treated her any different. They’d taken Mackenzie’s lead, avoiding the topic of hospitals and doctors, focusing instead on Maddy’s favorite books and movies, the latest scary stories from YouTubers like Hailey Reese and Kendall Rae, genuinely sharing her interests.

The girls from school weren’t the type of people Mackenzie usually hung out with, but they were good to her sister and that was all that mattered. They’d still be around after the surgery, not too ‘overwhelmed’ by what Maddy had gone through to even talk to her.

But Maddy would still worry about burdening them. She was worried now, as she’d lost the energy to talk and laugh. As far as Mackenzie was concerned, taking a cab home and chilling for the rest of the night was the only plan.

Unfortunately, Maddy didn’t agree. “You’ll be fussing over me enough after the surgery. Hell, probably all weekend too, even though I’m perfectly fine. Just tired. Take today for you.” Maddy gave her those puppy-dog-eyes that never got to Mackenzie when the pleading was about borrowing her favorite shirt or spending a day shopping. But with what she was going through now? Saying ‘no’ was getting damn hard. “Please?”

Mackenzie groaned. “What if something happens to you in the cab on the way home?”

“O.M.G. Stop it, Dad.” Maddy gave her a little shove. “I’ll be fine. I really want you to do this. Live for both of us.”

Throat tightening, Mackenzie put her hand on her twin’s shoulder and gave her a hard look. “It scares me when you talk like that. The doctor said you have to be all positive and you’ll be fine and—”

“I know.” Maddy’s tone quieted, but there was strength behind her words. “I’ll be doing all kinds of fun things when I’m better. But that will take time. I told you not to put your life on hold. Prove to me you won’t.”

Damn it, why does she have to be so good at this? Mackenzie couldn’t think of another argument. She wanted to see Heath. She wanted to tell Maddy all about him tonight. Wanted a moment for herself, which seemed so selfish.

But to Maddy, it would be worse if she didn’t do her own thing. Maddy hated pity. She hated how her illness had affected everyone around her. She didn’t even resent the friends who’d abandoned her. She wanted them to be happy.

Mackenzie wasn’t that nice. She hated those bitches.

But she didn’t want to be yet another person Maddy worried about protecting from her illness. That wasn’t fair.

“Fine, I’ll go see him.” She wrinkled her nose. “But what are you gonna say to Dad? You suck at lying.”

Maddy’s lips quirked. “I’ll be sleeping. I won’t have to lie.”

If Mackenzie was home and Maddy had to sleep because she was sick, she’d be watching over her sister like a hawk. Which wouldn’t make Maddy feel any better, so she kept her mouth shut.

“Don’t give me that look. You forget, I can practically read your mind.” Maddy tapped her temple, then snickered. “Help me find a cab, then get.”

“Fine.” Mackenzie’s throat kept getting tighter and tighter, but she walked Maddy to a cab stand, got a good look at the female driver to make sure she wasn’t a serial killer, then stepped back to let her sister climb in and watch the cab drive away.

This sucked so much. She shouldn’t be here thinking about a boy. She should be with her sister, giving her positive energy or something so she’d suddenly be better and not need surgery. Be talking to Dad and make sure the doctor was the absolute best. That there wasn’t someone better.

She needed her whole life to be about Maddy. Which wasn’t what Maddy wanted. Which was hard to stomach.

How could she pretend anything was normal when half of her was broken?

Maddy isn’t broken. She’s…she’s going in for repairs.

Stupid way to think of it, but it was the only way she could wrap her head around doing anything other than obsessing. Maddy was gonna get better. They’d go back to doing all kinds of fun things together. To arguing without Mackenzie feeling like kicking a puppy wearing a cast. Back to the days where she could look at Maddy and say she hated the shade of pink she was wearing, and being grumpy when Maddy wore the shirt, or the dress, anyway.

Retreating from the curb, Mackenzie weaved through the small, early afternoon crowd, and slipped into the forum. It was closed to the public, but one of the security guards recognized her from the last time and waved her in without comment. The player’s lounge wasn’t hard to find, it was down a hall with all kinds of signs saying ‘Restricted Access’ in English and French. Still, no one stopped her.

Her name, her face now that people knew who she was, gave her the green light. Something she’d never experienced before because Daddy kept her away from his businesses, from the press and all the stuff that got kids of the rich and famous on the front page.

She’d never really cared before, but now she was torn. She liked being here. Getting access to everything.

But having her whole life on display? Having paparazzi follow her, shouting questions and taking her picture everywhere she went, like she saw happen to famous people on TV? Hell no. She didn’t want that life. And she appreciated her father protecting her from it.

Even if he was a bit too paranoid. She was being careful. Only the people he’d hired even knew she was here, and she wasn’t doing anything interesting.

Still, she hesitated before stepping into the lounge. The girls at school would think her spending time with a real-life NHL player was pretty interesting. Hell, she still couldn’t believe Heath even wanted to see her. What if he didn’t? What if him being all sweet and giving her that look had been a one-time thing?

He was only eighteen, but he might as well be older. He’d experienced so much. Even told her about playing in Russia. About traveling the world. About helping raise his siblings. When they’d talked she couldn’t think of much to say that would interest him. Her life was…boring.

He’d still listened. Proved he was paying attention when he asked about how much she wanted to stay in Dartmouth. If she thought her father would change his mind if she asked him to reconsider. No one else had ever asked her that. She was supposed to behave, and smile, and go wherever he wanted.

Everyone connected to Dad treated her like a kid, but not Heath. Maybe because he had Dominik Mason in his life, acting like a father, keeping him out of trouble. Heath appreciated everything Dominik did for him and his siblings, so much he was afraid of making decisions that would reflect badly on the man. But he’d admitted something to Mackenzie she had a feeling he’d never told anyone else.

For the first time, he felt free to live his life. Without being judged. To be a teen and not always do what was expected.

Was she part of it? She didn’t know. But…she really wanted to find out.

Commotion from the locker room had her holding her breath, trying to gather the nerve to face Heath and come up with a good excuse for why she was even here. Just because she could get into the player’s lounge didn’t mean they’d want her to. What if Heath thought she was being pushy and weird?

“I don’t know why you’re worried about gaining weight, Hunt. Most of it’s muscle.” Braxton’s playful tone carried and she bit her lip as she heard the men coming closer. “And the rest… Well, I don’t want to say anything that’ll make you uncomfortable.”

A deep sigh, then Dave replied. “Just say it.”

“That ass. I mean—”

“You shouldn’t be looking at my ass while you have a boyfriend.” Dave’s tone was dry, but Mackenzie could picture him blushing. Trying to act all cool, but still self-conscious.

Going out with the guys had completely changed her opinion of professional athletes. Or these ones, anyway. They weren’t arrogant, weren’t larger than life. They were just…people.

Dave was freakin’ hot, but he didn’t enjoy attention and didn’t seem to care what anyone thought about him. He was hard on himself. Acted like nothing he did was good enough. When he’d talked about the game, he mentioned Landon Bower, the starting goaltender, a lot. Like he admired the man.

And like he was damn scared he’d never fit in the role of his backup, never mind take his place one day. Not that he’d opened up a whole lot, but she and Maddy had gone over every word he’d said and filled in the blanks. Kinda like writing fanfiction based on a glance between characters. Maddy was better at it than she was, but Mackenzie still came up with impressive theories when she put her mind to it.

The conversation Braxton and Dave were having now? Made them totally shippable. Who was Braxton’s boyfriend? Was he as sweet as Dave?

Probably not.

A rough sound from Heath pulled her away from her imaginary matchmaking. She hugged herself as she waited for the door to open.

It opened a crack and she spotted Dave, hesitating before stepping into the lounge. He glanced back at Heath. “What?”

“Teasing pisses you off.”

“Used to. It’s just us, so no big deal, right?” Dave shoved through the door, his face red, jaw hard. “Things have changed.”

“Have they?”

Dave stopped, his brow furrowing. “I don’t know…” He rubbed his jaw, his expression softening. “Does it bother you?”

Heath looked away from him, lifting his shoulders. “Why would it?”

“Ugh, whatever. You ready to go?”

“Yeah. But…” Heath met Dave’s eyes for a moment, his lips curving slightly. “He’s right.”

Groaning, Dave tipped his head back, raked his fingers over his closely-shaved hair, then headed for the lockers. He started when Mackenzie stepped out from the edge of the sitting area. “Hey, I didn’t know you were here.”

“Sorry, I was just in the area…” She motioned vaguely, heat spreading across her cheeks as Braxton gave her a curious look. But Heath simply smiled, like he was happy to see her. She inhaled roughly. “You texted and said we should hang out sometime. You busy?”

“No. Let’s go.” Heath opened his locker, grabbed his suit jacket and shoes, and quickly put both on. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.” She grinned as he stepped up to her side, waving at Dave and Braxton before slipping into the hall. She’d eaten plenty of pastries at the café, so she wasn’t really hungry, but she wanted to be alone with Heath. Away from the other guys.

Mostly Dave.

If this was an anime, and she wasn’t the girl crushing on the sexy guy, she’d be shipping Heath and Dave even more than Dave and Richards. There was…something between them. Maybe they were close friends. Maybe they were forced to get along to play the game, which would explain the underlying tension. She couldn’t quite figure it out, but she couldn’t ignore it either.

They headed out through the underground parking exit, Heath quiet as usual, though he glanced over at her a few times as though he wanted to say something.

Since she wasn’t a quiet person, she finally held up her hand, faced him, and took a second to gather her thoughts. Then she lifted her chin. “Is there something going on between you and Dave?”

Heath frowned at her. “What?”

“Are you…do you like him?”

“Yes. He’s getting better at being a friend.” Heath shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “He used to hate me.”

“I mean like-like him, Heath.” She rolled her eyes when Heath simply stared at her. “Are you gay?”

“I play in Russia.”

Blinking at him, she took a deep breath. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I…I’d rather not discuss it. No, I’m not gay. I like girls.” He reached out, lightly stroking her cheek with his fingertips. “I like you.”

Her heart stuttered and she fought not to lean into his touch. If he was gay, would it feel this nice to have him close to her? Would he look at her like he wanted to kiss her? This was the real world, not an anime. Shipping two guys together didn’t mean they’d end up a couple in her favorite fanfic. She wouldn’t find artist’s drawing romantic—or sexy—pictures of him and Dave to save on her laptop and sigh over.

All right, she might, but she didn’t go for real people ships. Those were often intrusive and gross.

And she didn’t want to think about Heath being into his friend.

Not when he said he was into her.

“This is so weird. You’re…famous.” The sun was setting as they hit the streets. She wasn’t sure where they were going, but she needed to wrap her head around him actually being with her. “I’m sure your friends warned you how overprotective my dad is. And what if we’re seen together? Your career could be—”

Heath pulled her close, leaning her against the wall of a small café that smelled like fresh croissants. He brought his lips to hers, kissing her slowly, his hand in her hair and the other on her back to protect her from the cement wall.

She whimpered against his lips, so overwhelmed by the heat, by the pressure, that her head spun. She clung to his shoulders, shivering as she closed her eyes, not ready for him to stop.

The only kiss she’d ever gotten from a boy, Donny Parker, had been sloppy and kinda gross. They were outside during lunch, flirting before he pinned her against the wall. She hadn’t stopped him at first, she thought he was cool and cute and wanted him to like her.

Then he’d put his hand up her shirt, right under her bra, and she’d punched him in the nose. When she got home, she tried to pretend everything was normal, but her father spotted a few drops of blood on her shirt and made her tell him everything.

Next thing she knew, Donny had been suspended from school. And then transferred to another one…after moving to a city outside Toronto.

Her father was like some kind of mega-power when he wanted to be, which was awesome and frustrating. She’d found out later that he had invested in the company Donny’s father worked for and had ‘suggested’ a position in another branch would be beneficial. Since the man had gotten a promotion, she tried not to feel too bad, but the girls at school who’d crushed on Donny told her she’d ruined his life because of her ‘rich father’.

When Heath kissed her, she didn’t want him to stop. And he didn’t press for more. He kissed her like he’d be happy with this, like he was telling her all the things he couldn’t say with words. He brushed her hair away from her cheek as he eased away and she inhaled roughly, letting the wall support her.

“Wow.” She ducked her head at his soft smile. “That was… Forget I asked if you like girls. I was being a headcase.”

“It’s okay.” He took her hand as they continued walking. “I wanted to do that last time, but we never got a minute alone.”

“I wanted you to do it then, but this…this was perfect.”

Heath looked down, clearing his throat. “I shouldn’t be…this isn’t fair to you. If the team moves—”

“They won’t.” She hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to her dad yet, but she would. Until then, she could help Heath not worry so much. “It takes a long time for something like that to get approved by the league, right? And Dad’s gotta talk to all his businesspeople. Before he does, I’m gonna tell him all the reasons he should keep the Cobras in Dartmouth. But not until Madison’s better. He won’t be thinking about the move until then anyway.”

“Your sister seems really nice.” Heath glanced over at her. “Is she doing okay?”

“She will be, after the surgery.” Mackenzie’s cheeks heated. “She’s kinda the reason I came today. I wasn’t sure about leaving her alone, but she thought it was cool you wanted to hang out.”

“Do you feel bad about not being with her?”

How was he so awesome at saying exactly what she needed to hear? She rested her head on his shoulder as they continued aimlessly toward the pier. One of her favorite places to be.

“I did, but she was right. If I didn’t get out, I’d be hovering over her. Making this harder.” She faced him as they reached the edge of the water, the setting sun glowing off the bay and making his hair glisten with the fading golden light. “You’re the perfect distraction, so thank you.”

Heath pressed his forehead to hers, speaking softly. “Don’t thank me. Anything but that.”

She grinned, lifting her head to steal a kiss, loving how she felt like she could. “You gonna hate it if I say you’re a nice guy too?”

Wincing, Heath nodded. “Yes.”

“Tough. Because you are.” Mackenzie met his troubled gaze. “Don’t worry about my dad. He doesn’t have to know yet. And when I do tell him, he’s gonna have to accept I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“He’ll have trouble with that.”

“Maybe.” She looked down at her hand in his, a fluttery warmth in her stomach, the whole world suddenly a lot less grim than it had been before. Maddy would be okay. Heath really liked her. Maybe things would be good with her dad too. “Or maybe he’ll just be happy for me.”