The Hockey Player (Matt Sturniolo)

Skin

Matt's POV

I left the library with blood surging through my veins, my stomach was twisted and my brain was fucked up. I sat in my truck for twenty minutes before my normal breathing came back.

Aurora. Fuck, Aurora.

I nearly kissed her. I wanted to kiss her.

That wasn't the plan.

One second I was apologising and the next, I wanted to kiss her. Aurora wanting me was the end goal. But we went from her considering whether or not to give me a chance to me not wanting to take it.

And I froze.

What happened? My plan to build up her flustered state was working. That shit came out of my mouth about her book, worked.

If she wanted to speed up the plan by jumping feet first, I was all for it. So I couldn't help myself and widened my legs when she tried to clear them.

She made me forget my plan. Fuck, I forgot everything but the details on her face. The cuts of dark brown around those pupils. A small beauty mark on the corner of her lip. Finn and Katie disappeared, and the world outside that door, disappeared.

Dan's ugly face gave me the reminder I needed. The crash of my back against the wall snapped me back to reality. I was out of my normal senses. I was too worried about following Aurora to-

To what? I squeezed my neck until the skin stung. As much as I wanted to convince myself that I followed her to make sure she blocked my number and set me back on plan, it wasn't.

"Fuck" I cursed. "She's just a girl"

I should've let Dan punch me. Why didn't I? The words were there before Aurora stepped in.

The drive through the town brought me a reminder; the high school. Their renovated locker rooms put ours to shame, so did their swimming pool. Our swim team had to practice at the leisure centre.

Game six. Five more weeks.

I showered at Mason's but sweat dripped down my head from sitting in the truck. I looked at my phone in the cup holder. I already had eyes on Aurora when Chris texted my message and her reaction was worth it, but he ignored my asking for more information.

Chris: I need more time.

I sighed and locked my phone. "I should've let Dan punch me"

Aurora's sympathy would've been worth a black eye, which would've healed the next time I saw her. How was she related to that jerk? She cooled him down like a cold shower.

"Next time" I mumbled. "I'm under her skin, that's for sure"

She was cute. She was riled up like an angry puppy. I smiled all the way home. I didn't mean to insult her book, but she had to understand the parallels to our frustrating reality. Aurora was smart, and she did make me nervous.

The view of Mom's house did nothing to quell my Aurora loop. Sweat coated my forehead by the time I closed the door behind me.

"There you are!" Mom messed my hair, then pulled her hand back and wiped it on her pants. "What happened? You're all sweaty and your eyes are full of teenage angst"

"Huh?" I blinked at her. "Nothing happened, Mom"

She frowned. "I can't say how impressed I am that you read a great book about putting aside differences and no longer judging characters"

"Right" I rolled my eyes when she patted my arm.

"I'm proud of you for using your brain instead of fighting" her smile faded when she looked me up and down. "Why do you look like your one eye twitch away from snapping into a spiral of untamed rage?"

"I'm not mad. I'm tired, Mom. Mason's workout was tough"

"Huh" she frowned and crossed her arms. "What are your plans for the rest of today?"

"At your disposal" I didn't forget the curfew, but she still felt the need to remind me to be home before seven.

"Upstairs with you" she sighed and pointed at the stairs. "Shower and nap. And put those clothes into the laundry. Chris is coming late tonight"

"Good" I had words for him, but I wanted to know how his game went.

"New plan, family game night" Mom cut in with a terrible idea. "Prepare to lose in scrabble"

"Can't we do something else?"

She looked into the living room. "If you're not up for the game, we can watch a movie. I think there's-"

"Scrabbles fine" No way was I going to spend my evening watching chick flicks with Mom. "Can't wait!" I exclaimed in a fake voice.

"Shower" she pointed again. "I can still smell you"