Playing Defense (Corrigan Falls Raiders) (18 page)

Chapter Seventeen

It took a while for things to get comfortable again. I knew I wanted to be with Claudia, and most of the time I knew she wanted to be with me. But her mom still thought I was a loser, so it’s not like I was all of a sudden welcomed into the family.

Claudia got her dad to come with her to a hockey game, though. And he cheered, at least a little, and shook my hand afterward and told me I’d had a good game, which was true. I’d had quite a few good games that fall, good enough for me to make the team for the World Juniors. Me and Tyler and Cooper, going to Finland to play against the best.

“I’ll be away for Christmas,” I told Claudia. We were in my truck, as usual, down by the lake, the engine running to keep us warm even though we had no plans to go anywhere anytime soon. “The tournament starts on Boxing Day and goes for almost two weeks. I’ll be gone for at least three weeks.”

She shook her head sadly. “I doubt I’ll be able to wait for you that long,” she said. “A woman has needs, you know.”

Yeah, we’d come far enough that we could joke about breaking up. But I wasn’t going to let her joke
too
much. “You’ll wait,” I told her. “And you’ll be all over me as soon as I get back to town. If you get as worked up as you do when I’m on a three-day road trip, it’s going to be
epic
when I come back after three weeks.”

“Absolutely epic,” she agreed. “And you’ll be on TV, so I can watch you. Dawn has a friend, Natalie West? She used to play hockey with Toby Cooper, and I guess she’s still really good? She’s going to come over and watch the games with us and explain the finer points. So by the time you get back, I’ll be an expert, pretty much.” She was practically on my lap in the cab of the truck, and when she shifted her weight so she could look me in the eye, the movement sent shock waves through my whole body. She either didn’t notice or just pretended not to. “You guys need to figure out some sort of signal so Karen and I know you’re thinking about us.”

“I’ve heard telephone calls work for that sort of thing. Also texts and emails…”

“A
visual
signal.”

“Skype?”

She shook her head. “A publicly televised visual signal.”

“Oh, I get it.” I kissed her mouth, then trailed down to her neck and a little lower. We’d graduated to
both
of us taking our shirts off, which was one more step in the right direction. “I know. My signal can be…every time I step foot on the ice, I’m thinking of you. And when I’m sitting on the bench, I’m thinking of you then, too. And if I do an interview, that’ll be my sign that I’m thinking of you.” Another kiss. “I’ll be thinking of you
always
.”

“No,” she said firmly. “Most of the time you need to think about the game. It’s very important that you chase the chunk of rubber over the frozen water more effectively than the other team. But—during the anthem. You’ll—take your hat off and hang it on your stick, and that’ll tell me you’re thinking of me.”

“Helmet,” I said. “We wear helmets, not hats.”

“Was I right on the stick part, at least? They’re actually called sticks?”

“Yeah. Sounds kind of weird, when you repeat it, but they’re sticks. We chase the chunk of rubber around the frozen ice with sticks.” I kissed her again. “And during the anthem, when I hang my helmet on my stick, it’ll be
one
of the times I’m thinking of you.”

“Whenever I solve for
x
, I’ll think of you,” she promised. “Other times, too, but especially then, because
x
stands for a kiss.”

“Wow. Math is more romantic than I thought.”

“You have no idea,” she whispered, and she pulled me closer.

She was right. I had no idea. Not about math, or about much else. But I knew the important things. And being with her was absolutely one of them.

“Talk mathy to me,” I murmured, and she did.

Did you love this Entangled Teen Crush novel? Check out more of our titles
here
!

And for exclusive sneak peeks at our upcoming books, excerpts, contests, chats with our authors and editors, and more…

Be sure to like us on
Facebook

Join the
Teen Book Club

Follow us on
Twitter

And follow us on
Instagram

About the Author

Cate Cameron
lives and writes in central Ontario, Canada, with a dog, a cat, and a million characters who all want their stories told.

http://www.catecameronauthor.com/

https://www.twitter.com/CCameron_Author

https://www.facebook.com/catecameronauthor/

Sign up for our
Teen
newsletter
and be the first to hear about new releases from Cate Cameron and other fantastic Entangled authors!

Reviews help other readers find books. We appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative. Thank you for reading!

Discover the
Corrigan Falls Raiders
series...

Center Ice

Corrigan Falls is a hockey town, and Tyler MacDonald’s the star player and hometown hero. But the viselike pressure from his father and his agent are sending him dangerously close to the edge. All people see is hockey—except the new girl in town, Karen Webber. Now they’ve managed to find something in each other that they both desperately need. And for the first time, Tyler is playing for keeps…

Discover more of Entangled Teen Crush’s books…

Not Okay, Cupid

a novel by
Heidi R. Kling

Hazel McCallister loves her life…until her boyfriend cheats on her with her best friend. Felix James can’t stand by when his sister steals her best friend’s boyfriend. So Felix vows to help turn Hazel into a girl her ex can’t resist—so then she can break his heart. Hazel wants payback, but when she realizes she’s attracted to Felix, she has to make an impossible choice: revenge…or Felix, the boy who’s stolen her heart.

Finding Perfect

a novel by
Kendra C. Highley

When “Perfect Paige” Westfeld gets a “D” on her calculus test, her dreams of Stanford, her reputation, and her parents’ expectations begin to crumble. Ben Franklin may be from the wrong side of town, but he knows an opportunity when he sees one. He’ll tutor Paige—if she sets him up with her best friend, the hottest girl in school. It’s the perfect plan. Unless the inconvenient—and utterly imperfect—attraction simmering between Ben and Paige ruins everything first…

Mia and the Bad Boy

a
Backstage Pass
novel by
Lisa Burstein

Mia Reyes is in fangirl heaven. Tutoring Ryder Brooks, her favorite member of her favorite band? It’s dream come true…until it turns into a complete nightmare. Ryder is
nothing
like she thought. He’s crude, arrogant, and pretty much a jerk. And the worst part? She’s roped into pretending to be his girlfriend so that no one finds out he’s being tutored. But sometimes even the baddest of bad boys needs a little redemption…

Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru

a
Creative HeArts
novel by
Tera Lynn Childs

For Sloane Whitaker, leaving behind her NYC friends and starting over senior year at Austin’s NextGen Academy is the worst. If she wants to earn her way back to the Big Apple, it means no vandalism art, no trouble at school, and absolutely no Tru Dorsey—her neighbor who loves nothing more than pushing her buttons. But from the moment he vaults onto the roof outside her bedroom, there is something about him that makes her want to break every rule.