An involuntary jerking motion of my arm pushed the camera out of focus. I glanced at Lexi in alarm, and then back to the camera. Was she serious? Why was she bringing that up? I’d always disliked the Corrigan brothers. Just because I spent detention together with one of them didn’t change anything.
Even if I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
“Can we just focus on the game?” I asked, readjusting the camera. “Honestly, I’m just ready for this whole thing to be over. The tournament, this project. Catfishing Gabriel...or whatever it is that I’m doing. Within a week, I’ll have that tournament trophy in my hand and an A in anatomy and I’ll never have to think about a Corrigan brother again.”
“Right.” Lexi raised a sculpted eyebrow. “Because why would you want to think about a guy who’s ripped, into the same stuff as you, and totally tried to get you out of detention? Charlotte spilled the deets, Bethy. A guy doesn’t just do that for anyone. He must like you.”
I snorted, my eyes glued to the players on the rink. “Trust me, guys like that don’t like girls like me.”
“Girls like you?” She huffed and put her hand on her hip. “You mean, totally gorgeous and doesn’t even know it? Scary smart and not willing to take crap from anyone?”
I glanced down at her with amusement. “Okay, I’ll own the last two, but you’re missing the target on the first. Guys like that like girls like you. Small, feminine, doesn’t tower over them in heels.”
She harrumphed so loudly it almost made me laugh. She just didn’t understand.
“And besides all of that,” I added quickly, cutting her off from starting a new rant, “it doesn’t even matter because Gabriel and I will always be enemies. Just you wait. As soon as he finds out it’s me on the other side of that computer screen, he’ll show his true colors. The final round of the tournament is at the club. In person. I won’t be able to hide as CurrerBFighting anymore. He’ll hate me, just like Michael. That was always the plan.”
I set my jaw and stared hard at the players celebrating on the ice. Rock Valley had just made a goal and they were lining up to make a short victory lap. Number thirteen was right there in the middle of the pack, skating hard next to the plexiglass. His cheeks were red from the cold and he wore a heavy frown. He looked my way as they passed us and nodded slightly when our eyes met, before veering off to get ready for the next puck drop. That spark I’d been trying to bury in my gut sprang alive the second his gaze fell on me, filling my torso with liquid warmth.
“Yeah, he’s totally hating on you already.” Lexi leaned against the plexi and grinned at me. “I think there’s some potential here and you’re just too stubborn to admit that you could fall for a guy like that.”
Of all the wild and crazy ideas Lexi could come up with, this one took the cake. I rolled my eyes and moved the camera to film the next play. She was going to bug me until she won some kind of footing in this battle. I knew how Lexi fought. The only thing to do was give her an inch in the hopes that she’d run away satisfied.
“I will admit that he’s not what I expected.” I glanced sideways at her, considering my next comment carefully. “He’s not a carbon copy of Michael. They’re actually quite different.”
Her eyes twinkled as she leaned in closer. “So you’re saying Gabriel got the looks and the personality?”
I hesitated as I looked out at Gabriel skating, his white number thirteen jersey standing out boldly among the black jerseys from Silver Lake. Technically, Lexi was right. No one could deny that he was a shining example of everything a teenage girl wanted in an eighteen-year-old boy. He was athletic, confident, and practically a Greek statue come to life. And it seemed quite possible that he might actually not be a total and complete jerk after all.
“All right, I guess that’s true.” I smirked at her. “But that’s all you’re getting out of me. My lips are sealed. Satisfied?”
“Thoroughly.” She sucked her bottom lip in and bit it with a grin. “I’m heading back to my seat, but this conversation isn’t over.”
I groaned as she bounced away. I should’ve known that giving her a little leeway would mean she’d follow me everywhere with this. Where was Charlotte when I needed her to act as a buffer?
After another fifteen minutes of filming, the game was nearly over. I’d gotten enough footage to do ten projects for anatomy class. My job here was done. I’d better book it before Lexi came back and took it upon herself to start planning my future wedding. Shutting off the camera and stashing it in a bag with the tripod, I took one last look at the rink.
Gabriel had the puck and was moving in fast toward the goalie, Michael trailing him by seconds. It looked like he was going to put Rock Valley High back in the lead. My heart rate sped up as two Silver Lake players came flying up on him at once. It didn’t seem like they were going to stop. And sure enough, two seconds later, they both crashed hard into Gabriel.
My palms pressed hard into the plexiglass as I watched all three go down to the ice hard. The crowd around me groaned. Michael tripped over a hockey stick and was soon on top of the squirming pile. Helmets flew off and sticks were thrown. Michael threw a punch that landed squarely on a Silver Lake player’s jaw. And then, all pandemonium broke out.
Half of the players and the refs swooped in to either join the fight or break it up. The crowd cheered and I knew both Hunter and Zane had to be thrilled about seeing such a big brawl break out. They’d be talking about it all week. It took several seconds for the refs to get things back to order, but by the time the dust cleared, they had Gabriel by the jersey and were directing him toward a small box on the side of the rink.
It didn’t seem right that of all the kids in that pileup, Gabriel was the one they sent packing. He hadn’t thrown a single punch. I’d been watching him the whole time. I looked at the audience for some kind of clue as to what was happening. All I could tell from the looks on their faces was that they weren’t happy. Some jeered at the refs. Others booed. Someone near me threw his half-eaten pretzel onto the ice. And Gabriel went into the box, tossing his stick and sitting on a seat with his arms crossed tightly over his pads.
Really, I should’ve just left out the back doors, but I was too invested to just slink away. Shouldering the camera bag, I rounded the rink until I came up beside Gabriel. From the harsh set of his jaw and steel flashing in his eyes, I could tell he wasn’t happy. Something had gone wrong.
“Hey!” I knocked on the plexiglass until Gabriel looked over at me.
Immediately, his scowl dissolved. He slid closer to me and nodded. “Hey.”
“Are you in time-out or something?”
His lips quirked with the hint of a smile, which gave me a little relief. “It’s called the penalty box.”
“Oh.” I supposed that sounded more grown up than time-out box. “Why?”
He frowned and anger flashed in his eyes. “For throwing the first punch.”
“But that wasn’t you. That was Michael!”
“Happens more often than you’d think, even with these jerseys.” The slight smile was back. “It’s okay, though. It’s not the first time I’ve had to do time for someone else’s mistake.”
I laughed and ducked my head in embarrassment. Okay, he got me there. It seemed like Gabriel was used to trying to clean up other people’s messes. It was an interesting tidbit about him. I never would’ve suspected it.
Just like I wouldn’t have expected him to ever look at me the way he was right then, his eyes shining with laughter and maybe even a little bit of heat. I shifted my feet, feeling the silence stretch between us, even as he continued to smirk at me through the plexiglass. His hair was wet with sweat again and mussed from the fight. I kind of liked it that way. It was a good look on him.
“So...I got the footage.” I held up the camera bag lamely, looking for a way to end the awkwardness. “We just need to go through it together, now.”
“Cool.” He raked his hands through his hair in a way that was effortlessly cool and
made my knees quake a little. “Want to meet here at the ice rink tomorrow at 5? I get done with practice then.”
Meeting in a practical freezer for a homework assignment wasn’t exactly my first choice, but I wasn’t going to prolong the awkwardness of this conversation for anything. It wasn’t like I had anything going on Saturday, besides gaming and homework. Spending the evening doing homework with Gabriel really didn’t seem so bad.
“Yeah, sure.” I shrugged, doing my best to put an end to this conversation. “It’s a date.”
His mouth fell open a bit and he looked at me in surprise. Immediately, blood rushed to my face. Shoot! What did I say that for? I sputtered, backpedaling as I spread my hand on the glass.
“Not a date. I meant, like a date on my calendar. An appointment. Like going to the dentist for a cavity or something.”
Open mouth. Insert foot. I was having a hard time keeping control of my tongue.
Gabriel’s shock morphed into a wry smile as he blinked at me. “Right. Good to know where I rank on the list. Right next to dental cavities.”
Yep, I’d stepped in it, now. I’d insulted him, but I was too proud to take it back.
I shrugged with a confidence I didn’t feel inside. “See you, then. In the meantime, don’t get in the middle of any more trouble.”
“Right.” He looked unconvinced as he nodded slowly. “Like I can help it. I’m a Corrigan. It comes with the territory, remember?”
He was right, it did come with the territory. Whether it was Michael or Gabriel, the two of them were trouble. Trouble I didn’t want to get involved in. I repeated that mantra to myself over and over again as I slowly walked away from the penalty box. When I looked over my shoulder, I spotted Gabriel still watching me. Heat rushed to my face again and I ducked my head until I was out of the cold air and back into the heated lobby.
What had my brain been thinking? A date with a Corrigan? What a strange slip of the tongue. Apparently, I’d forgotten what this whole mission was about.
Justice. Sweet, sweet justice.
Not dates. Not boys. Not even a boy who looked like that.
I wondered how many times in history a woman’s achievements had been derailed because of a pretty face. That was not going to happen to me. Now was not the time to start becoming distracted.
Chapter Eleven
When I lugged my laptop and the hockey footage back to the ice rink the next day, I’d expected to find the high school hockey team at practice. It wasn’t unheard of for coaches to make their team do Saturday practices, especially after a tight game. But instead, what I found as I meandered into the rink was a mess of peewee hockey players darting around on the ice and giggling like mad.
My feet slowed to a stop as I approached the ice and my mind whirled. Had I misunderstood Gabriel about meeting today? Had he sent me here to have a good laugh at my expense?
It wouldn’t have been the first time a Corrigan had pulled one over on me.
“Figures,” I muttered to myself, about ready to turn around and storm out.
But on second inspection, I froze. There was one tall familiar figure in the midst of all that giggling and he was skating backwards in wide circles, trying unsuccessfully to direct the girls and boys where to go. And it was too far away to know for sure, but I could’ve sworn there was a scar along his jaw.
Gabriel Corrigan.
Gabriel Corrigan coaching hockey.
For little kids.
Never saw that coming.
Gabriel had left the hockey pads and helmet at home. Today, he simply wore a pair of grey sweatpants and a black zip-up fleece. He was laughing at the mini goalie in the oversized pads, who’d tipped himself over and was currently flailing like a turtle on its back. Pulling the poor tyke up by the cuff of his jersey, Gabriel blew a silver whistle that hung from his neck and called everyone in for an end of practice huddle.
I couldn’t hear what he was saying from where I took a seat on a hard wooden bench behind some of the parents, but I could see the joy on the pinked cheeks of the kiddos around him. They cheered when he clapped his hands and then made a beeline for the locker rooms. One of them tightly clung to his leg for a last-minute hug before joining his friends. Gabriel shook his head, watching them all go.
There was an odd moment, where all I could see was the side of Gabriel’s face and the fond smile touching his lips, that I felt the world around me kilter and tilt. What kind of teenaged boy coached mini hockey players? And more specifically than that—since when did a Corrigan brother coach tiny kids?
Was I living in an alternate dimension?
That feeling imploded when Gabriel turned around and his gaze met mine. There was a flare of heat in my gut, warming me to my ears. He skated toward me, greeting the parents who were on their way out, and stepped off the ice to unlace his skates and replace them with his black tennis shoes sitting nearby.
“Hey,” he said, finally claiming a seat on the bench beside me.
His tone was light and friendly. He stretched and shifted casually as if he didn’t realize my whole perspective on the world had just changed. Did he have any kind of inkling as to what kind of reckoning was going on inside of me? It was driving me mad. Sure, several days ago I’d come to the difficult realization that Gabriel wasn’t his brother, but I hadn’t realized how much until now. All my preconceived notions were gone; washed away and never to return.
“You’re a coach,” I blurted out, staring wide-eyed at him.
He shrugged and chuckled softly at the look on my face. “Yeah, it’s not a big deal.”
“Is it for some kind of community service hour requirement?”
I didn’t mean to sound so accusing, I was just having a hard time adjusting to this new image of Gabriel. First, he’d tried to get me out of detention, and now this? I didn’t know him at all. Not even after years of loathing the very sight of him.
Now I was starting to feel like the jerk.
“It’s just a part-time thing I do.” He calmly met my gaze, the blues of his eyes softening. “These kids come from poor homes and the owners of the rink try to give what they can so the kids can have an hour each week where they don’t have to worry about anything. I like helping out. I don’t have money, but I have time.”
“And Michael?” I swept the rink with my eyes, looking for the other half to this hockey duo.
“Michael’s not the biggest fan of kids. Or giving up his Saturdays. Or working for free.”
I made a sour expression. “Or me, so I guess I know how the kids feel.”
He chuckled dryly and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared at his hands. “Yeah, Michael doesn’t like a lot of things that I do.”
My stomach clenched slightly and I studied the side of his face, right where the scar met his hairline. Did he mean to say that he liked me? And was that like a friend, or something more? The very thought should’ve made me laugh in horror, but there was this strange craving in my gut, like I got every time I walked into a movie theater and smelled the buttered popcorn. It was hard to make sense of my reaction, so I ignored it, busying myself with pulling my laptop out.
“Um...so...uh yeah.” I swallowed painfully and opened the laptop on my knees. The video had all been saved on a memory chip, which I popped in the side of my computer. “I just glanced at the footage from last night, but it looked pretty good.”
Avoiding his gaze, I played the film on mute. No need for my incriminating conversation with Lexi to get in there. We watched most of it in relative silence, with Gabriel occasionally pointing out shots he thought would make a good addition to our study. Within an hour, we had a pretty solid selection. My rear was starting to feel frozen from sitting so long on the bleachers, so I put the laptop down and stood to warm myself.
“I don’t know how you can stand being on the ice for so long,” I said, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. “I wasn’t built for cold weather.”
“You get used to it.” He stood bes
ide me and shot me a quick glance. “And skating is totally worth being cold.”
I laughed. That seemed unbelievable, but I guess I could give him the benefit of the doubt. “I wouldn’t know, never skated before.”
Gabriel’s solemn expression totally melted away into a horrified and comical grimace. Squaring his shoulders toward me, he tucked his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt and stared. “You haven’t skated before? Never? Are you pulling my leg right now? I’ve been on the ice since before I could walk.”
An unbidden smile came to my lips. It was kind of funny seeing Gabriel animated about something. He was usually so emotionless. “Never.”
“Okay, that’s it. I’m calling for an emergency intervention.” He jumped down to the ground and nodded toward the rink. “You’re going to skate. Now.”
I gaped at him and then waved my hands in front of my chest. He couldn’t be serious. “Um...no. These gangly legs are dangerous enough on solid land. On ice, I’d probably be lethal. You don’t want me out there.”
A deep laugh emanated from his chest. He shook his head, his wavy hair falling onto his forehead, and then held up a hand toward me. “Come on, killer, I’ll make sure nothing bad happens. You can trust me. I do want you out there.”
A shiver ran down my spine as I looked into his eyes. He seemed so sincere. Could I really trust him? Not only with this, but in thinking that he wouldn’t hate me when he found out I was playing him behind the scenes? Lexi thought all would be forgiven, as if there wasn’t years and years of bad blood between us. Could she be right? I couldn’t be sure. But my hand reached out and took his before I’d even fully made up my mind.
“We’re really doing this?” I asked, intently aware of his large hand enclosing mine in a warm grasp that seared my skin.
He helped me down the bleachers and then immediately released me. I couldn’t help but feel sad he hadn’t held on for longer. Maybe then, I could’ve better analyzed this sensation I was getting whenever we touched. It had to be a chemical reaction, right? A simple mix of volatile chemicals that combusted and made me lose my train of thought.
Dare You to Catfish the Hockey Player (Rock Valley High Book 6) Page 8
