Page 101 of These Wicked Hearts

“I missed you too.” He smiles.

“Oh my god, let me look.” He turns his head and lets her inspect him. “Oh, that’s nasty. You know what that was like seeing it in real time?” She cups his face, and a little flare of jealousy sparks in my stomach.

“I do know what that was like,” I cut in, because apparently we’ve forgotten I’m standing here.

As if she’s just now noticing me, she smiles. “Who is this?”

Atlas turns to me. “This is my friend Gage. Gage, this is my ex-girlfriend, Sarah.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.”

A little stab of envy hits me and I have no idea why. She’s really pretty. Her light brown hair is pulled into a bun that’s probably meant to be messy but instead makes her effortlessly beautiful. She’s wearing tight jeans and a sweater draped off one shoulder. Piercing green eyes light on him, and her red lips grow into a wide smile. I remember now what he said about her last night, and I wonder if she still feels something for him too. The soft cast of her eyes on him is a little too warm for my liking.

“I texted Mom and told her I’m in town. I can lock up if you’re heading out.”

“Yeah, no problem. I wish I’d known you were coming! I miss you so much. I’m glad you’re okay.” She squeezes his arm, her manicured hands wrapping around his biceps. “How long will you be here for?”

“Oh, just the day. I’m um, going to the Hawks game in a couple of days.”

“Okay, well, please see me before you head out. I’ll be here all day tomorrow.” She pulls him in for another squeezing hug, rubbing his back. I watch the way her hand slides down his spine, and I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me. “It was really nice to meet you, Gage. Keep an eye on him, he’s trouble.” She pinches his stomach with a laugh then she’s out the door.

Atlas grabs my hand then leads me to a room with skates. “What size?”

What is he talking about? It takes me a moment to realize. “Oh no, I’m not⁠—”

“Oh, but you are.” He beams, grabbing himself a pair of skates. He waits for me. “Gage, I think by now you know I’ll get my way. Just give in.”

I glare at him for a moment but it’s pointless. We both know he’s right. “Twelve.”

He grabs another pair and I follow him out into the rink. We sit down on a bench, and I watch him take his sneakers off and then slide on his skates. I try and watch so I know how to do the same.

“So, that was your ex-girlfriend? The one from high school?” The one he told me not to worry about. “She’s very beautiful.”

He looks up with a grin, a lick of amusement on his lips. “She is very beautiful.” He ties his skates. “Very sweet.”

“She seems to care about you a lot.” And she touches you and hugs you. “Why did you two break up?”

Atlas freezes a little, a slip of something I nearly miss. “Well, I know the reason she told me, and the then there are the reasons I assume.”

“Tell me both?” I hedge.

“She told me she wasn’t ready to do long distance. I know she loved me, but hockey players have a reputation. She had it in her head I was going to cheat on her while I was away. I would never do that, but I know she had some trust issues there.”

“And the reason you think?”

Atlas turns on the bench, gently lifting my foot to rest in his lap. He slips off my shoe then grabs the skate, sliding it on. I watch him lace up my skates with expertise.

“I love this sport, but it’s not very welcoming.” He focuses on my shoe. “Hockey is nowhere near as popular on the same level as like basketball or football. We want to grow the game, yet the league is constantly discriminating against people who want to join or want to watch. I know she wasn’t ready for that type of media attention. I love this sport with everything in my soul, but it can be ugly and dangerous. I don’t blame her one bit. She broke up with me when I signed the affiliate contract.”

“You still care about her?”

“In a way I still love her. Maybe not in love with her, but she was everything to me for so long. She knows everything about me. I miss parts of who we were together. I know we were just kids then but⁠—”

“It doesn’t matter how young you were.”

He shakes his head. “She’s happy now, so it makes it easy, you know. She’s happy and that’s all I want for her. It all worked out. She’s married to a great guy, and they adopted a little girl a few years back. They’re happy, and I’m happy for her.”

“The league is getting better, right? I mean Oli and Andre are married. Vanessa said there were other players too.”