“What the hell just happened?” she asked.

“I have no idea.”

* * *

Waiting for Chase to emerge from the dressing room was torture. Like time was moving in reverse.

I’d spent the intermission pacing the concourse with poor Shiv in tow, who had to work double-time to keep up with my strides. I couldn’t help it; I was too wired with worry over Chase.

Siobhan and I were still on the concourse—mostly alone, thankfully—when the buzzer sounded, announcing the start of the third period. Shiv looked at me uncertainly, deep teal eyes studying my face.

“Go watch,” I said. “It’s okay. I’ll wait for him here.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, Chase could be a while.” He was probably getting reamed out, or he’d been forced to sit in on the intermission pep talk with the rest of the team.

It wasn’t nearly as cold in the concourse, so I unzipped my puffy black coat and perched on an uncomfortable blue metal bench, killing time by texting back and forth with Zara and Noelle about everyday stuff. I couldn’t fill them in on what had just gone down because I still didn’t understand it.

Two minutes later, Chase appeared in the hallway. His face was tight, and his posture was even more stiff. I locked my phone and shoved it into my purse, then stood to greet him.

Chase leaned in, giving me a half-hearted kiss on the lips, then pulling back again quickly. His expression was stormy, a mixture of emotions I couldn’t read. He grabbed my hand, but he was silent as we walked to a quieter, more secluded area by the doors and sat at a small table.

“What happened out there?” I dipped my chin in hopes of catching his eye, but he looked away, his attention fixed on the speckled white table between us. Like usual, Chase was too tall for the furniture, and his knees were angled out awkwardly.

“Game stuff.”

“Looked like more than just game stuff. Why did you get so mad?” I asked, voice low so we wouldn’t be overheard, although we were alone since the third period had begun and the fans were all in the arena again. “I was scared you were going to slit Luke’s throat with a skate or something.”

Chase shook his head. “Morrison shot off his mouth again. He’s been needling me for a while, and I finally snapped. That’s all.”

I stretched my arm across the table and took his hand in mine. He stroked my fingers with his thumb, but he didn’t look up at me.

“What did he say?”

“It’s nothing, James.” If it was possible, he went even more tense then, the cords in his neck tight. “Don’t worry about it.”

His deflection ramped up my worry. “Why are you being so weird?”