“It’s all over the internet.” Cackling laughter follows. “Just look up his name and you’ll see images of him out with different women.”
I think I’m going to be sick.
“He’s such a player.”
Lucy inches closer. “Don’t listen to them, Jade. They don’t know him.”
The muscle in my jaw tightens. The bartender comes over with our drinks and I grab mine from him before he can even set it down.
“I’m sure that girl he was pictured with will be old news in a few weeks.”
“So true,” one of the other women says. “He only likes the chase. Once it starts to get real, he’s gone.”
It feels like a blow to my chest. I pinch the straw of my drink, gulping down half of it. Lucy pays the tab and slides her arm through mine, turning me away from the bar. “Come on, let’s go.”
I nod, letting her pull me back through the crowd, away from those women. I knew Matteo had a reputation. I’m not stupid or naïve. He’s extremely attractive, super successful, and has enough confidence for his entire team.
It’s impossible not to notice him. It’s impossible not to be drawn to someone like that.
But hearing the things they were saying, like I’m just another name on his list of conquests. The way they spoke of me as if I’m that disposable to him... my stomach twists at the thought.
“Hey,” Lucy says as we sit back into our seats and she turns to face me.
I shake my head dismissively as I tuck my emotions back into a box. “I’m fine.”
She purses her lips. “They’re wrong about him, you know.”
“Are they?” I ask, the question slipping out before I can stop it.
Her expression softens. “They don’t even know him. All they know is the bullshit they’ve read on the internet.” She pauses,her eyes searching mine. “Youknow Matteo, the man behind the mask that no other woman has ever seen.”
Do I, though?
Or is he just playing me?
My mind drifts to the way he kissed me in the hallway earlier. The way he did it without caring if anyone saw us. The way he drove me today, his hand not once leaving mine. The way he looked at me from the ice and no one else.
I swallow hard, my mind flashing back to the women at the bar. “What if they’re right?” I ask her, my voice barely audible.
“They’re not.”
“But you don’t know that,” I argue, taking another long sip of my drink.
Lucy’s eyebrows cinch. “Do you feel like he’s playing you?”
My lips part and I pause for a beat. My heart pounds harder because the truth is, no. The way he looks at me, the way he does things for me—it all feels…real.
But sometimes things really are too good to be true.
“I don’t know,” I admit.
The buzzer sounds as intermission ends and the crowd grows louder as the patrons settle back into their seats, eager for the third period to start. The players come down the tunnel, filing onto the bench as the guys on the first line get on the ice.
“If he hurts you, I will personally ruin his life and his career,” Lucy says, leaning close. “Don’t let some women who peaked in high school make you question things between you and Matty.”
I snort, a small smile lifting the corners of my lips. I look back out at the ice and immediately I find him. Matteo looks over at me as he skates to the center. It’s impossible for my eyes not to find him. He’s the flame and I’m the moth.
He’s magnetic and I’m drawn to him.