My Hockey Boyfriend Kept Me a Secret, So I Went Public with Someone Else Chapter 08

My Hockey Boyfriend Kept Me a Secret, So I Went Public with Someone Else Chapter 08

[Amelia’s POV]

Two weeks later: campus spring field day.

They’d added team events this year, like the three-legged race. Winning teams got extra points for the year-end awards — crucial for scholarship applications. I’d lined up a partner early so I could pay off my debt faster.

Then, right before the race, my partner texted me. Stomach bug. Couldn’t make it.

I had to find a replacement on the spot. After all the rumors, I asked around. Either they weren’t interested, or they took one look at me and walked away.

Nearby, Violet and her friends huddled together, grinning at me.

Guess I wasn’t racing today.

A vaguely familiar guy stopped me. One of Chase’s teammates. He tried to talk me into backing down.

“Chase is out of state for a game. Before he left, he was worried Violet might go too far. He asked us to look out for you. He never made it official, but between us guys — you’re his girl.”

I almost laughed. Like their approval was something to be proud of.

“Chase said if you apologize to Violet in person, he’ll find you a partner right away.”

I glared at him and walked past. “No thanks.”

I bent down to untie the red race strap from my ankle. Even without the extra points, I could still get the scholarship. And if I didn’t? I’d just work another summer job. Better than apologizing to Violet.

The strap caught the wind.

Someone caught it midair.

I looked up.

He was standing a few feet away, quiet and familiar.

He wrapped the strap around his finger and smiled.

“I’ll do it.”

Logan looked at me.

A lot of people knew Logan on field day. The crowd erupted.

“Am I seeing things? That’s Logan, the hockey transfer?”

“Him? He never does these things!”

“I heard the hottest girl in our year asked him and he said no. ‘Not interested.'”

“Looks pretty interested now!”

The gossip swirled. My heart was tough, but standing there with the other half of the rumor, I still felt awkward. “I…”

Before I could refuse, Logan walked up to me. He dropped to one knee. I flinched and stepped back. His warm hand caught my calf, steadying me.

“Don’t move.”

He told me to hold his shoulder, then bent his head and retied the strap around my ankle. Gently. Like he was wrapping a gift.

I stared at the top of his head. My hand lifted without thinking.

“Done.” Logan looked up and saw my hand hovering over him. He froze, his eyes going deep.

I jerked my hand back, caught.

Chase’s teammate stared and pulled out his phone. Logan shifted to block the shot.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Violet stomping her foot, furious. It made me feel better.

I punched Logan’s shoulder. “You’re my partner, then. First place is waiting.”

We won, just like I knew we would. We’d only practiced twice, but Logan was quick. He figured out how to get us in sync. When the race started, we moved like we’d been doing it for years.

At the finish line, I got too excited. My front foot slipped. I was going down —

An arm caught my waist and held me steady. Once he was sure I was okay, Logan let go immediately.

He ducked his head, ears burning red. “Sorry.”

I was laughing and out of breath. “Thanks.”

We said it at the same time, looked at each other, and both cracked up.

That night, I took him out to dinner to say thank you.

“Get whatever you want.” I pushed the burger joint menu at him.

He smiled, took a pencil, and started circling. He asked what I didn’t like. When the food came — burgers, fries, wings — most of it was stuff I liked.

Two beers in, I was crying into my bottle about the rumors.

“Can you believe how crazy they are? They see one photo and make up a whole drama! They actually said you like me, that you picked a whole history class just —”

“If I said…” Logan cut in. His dark eyes locked on mine. “If I said part of it was true. Would that make you sick, Millie?”

I froze.