Theo’s mouth curved. “He arrived exactly on time for someone who thinks he controls the universe.”
Chase threw an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into the circle with too much force. “We’re celebrating our future hockey stardom.”
“We’re celebrating your inability to stay quiet,” Jax corrected.
“We’re celebrating the fact that Coach cannot run suicides on sand,” Chase added.
Theo’s focus stayed on me. “Where’s Mila?”
I turned toward the parking lot as headlights flared from a car. Avery’s Mercedes rolled in and parked along the edge. She climbed out first, and then Mila stepped out.
My lungs pulled tight for a second. Blue sweater. Long, dark hair down, falling in loose waves around her shoulders. The kind of softness that looked dangerous on her—it made people assume she was easy to break. She was not.
Her eyes found me, and the entire day dimmed at the edges. The noise, the tension, the pressure of Blackwood. All of it fell back when she looked at me that way, steady and warm, as if I was the place her body recognized as safe.
She walked toward me without hesitation. I met her halfway.
My hands found her waist before my mind could stop them. Her body pressed into mine, and the simple fact of her being close slowed my pulse more than any deep breath ever had.
Her arms slid around my back, holding for a second longer than needed.
“You made it,” I murmured against her hair.
She drew back just enough to look at me. “You sound relieved.”
“I am,” I answered. “I missed you.”
Her mouth softened, and she lifted her hand to the front of my hoodie, fingers curling into the fabric the way they had on the school steps. That touch felt like instinct.
I covered her hand with mine, anchoring it there. “You good?” I still worried about Elise’s bullshit and how it affected her.
She held my gaze a moment longer than the question deserved. “I’m better now.”
I leaned in and brushed my mouth over hers. The kiss stayed short, because we weren’t alone—and the world did not deserve our private moments.
Mila’s fingers fisted in my hoodie anyway, and I had to force myself to pull back.
Avery’s voice cut through from behind her. “If you two start making out, I am throwing a shoe.”
Mila turned her head just enough to glare over her shoulder. “You don’t have shoes that can reach us.”
Avery’s grin flashed. “Don’t challenge me.”
Chase made a gagging noise that sounded theatrical enough to be fake. “Please. Take it to the woods and spare us.”
Theo elbowed him hard enough to make him stumble. “Eat something and shut up.”
Jax tossed Chase a wrapped burger from a paper bag. “I brought food because you all act feral when you’re hungry.”
Chase caught it one-handed. “This is why you’re my favorite.”
“You’ve said that to every person who feeds you,” Theo muttered.
Mila’s shoulders eased as the group pulled her into the circle. She sat on a log near the fire, Avery dropping beside her.
I sat behind Mila on the same log and pulled her gently between my legs, giving her my chest as a backrest. She leaned into me without thinking, her spine settling against me as if her body already knew the shape of us.
Her hands stayed warm at my wrists where they rested around her waist. Her touch grounded me in a way I couldn’t explain.