Chapter 12

Lucas seemed surprised by my question as if he wasn’t expecting me to ask him something so personal.

“We only slept together once,” Lucas said with a shrug as if it was no big deal.

“Jessica said it was more than once,” I countered, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Okay… fine. We slept together twice.” Lucas rolled his eyes. “What does it matter? It wasn’t serious.”

I shook my head. “That’s not the point, Lucas. Jessica’s a horrible human being, you can’t argue with me on that. Are you just willing to sleep around with anyone?”

“Shana.” Lucas put his hands on my shoulders, grounding me. “Girls that I’ve slept with in the past don’t matter. All that matters is you and me. Us. Our friendship is something that’ll last a lifetime, and nothing means more to me than you.”

I wanted to find doubt in his words, but his blue eyes held my gaze. I couldn’t help but feel his raw sincerity.

“I’m sorry, Shana,” Lucas continued, his fingers pressing into the skin of my shoulders. “Yesterday, I said things to you I shouldn’t have. I guess I was upset after my argument with Sam, and I took it out on you. But that’s not an excuse.”

“You hurt me. I was only afraid for your team…” I confessed.

“I know. I realized that right after you left yesterday,” he leaned in closer to me. “I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me? Can we still be friends?”

A laugh escaped my lips. “Lucas, of course we’re still friends.”

“Really?” The frown on his face disappeared.

“Yes,” I said. “But you should go talk to Sam.”

The frown was back again. “Shana, I know you think it’s your fault—”

“Please,” I blinked up at him. “Just talk to him. Hear him out again. He doesn’t deserve to get kicked off the lineup because of me.”

Lucas let out a breath. “Okay, I’ll talk to him.”

Just then, Sam happened to be walking down the hallway. He spotted Lucas and I and stopped in his tracks.

“Sam,” Lucas greeted him with a terse nod and let go of me.

“Before you rip my head off,” Sam said to Lucas with worry in his eyes, “I just wanted to apologize for being so rude to your friend yesterday.”

Surprise flashed in my eyes when I realized Sam was looking at me.

“I was in a bad mood, and I just lost control.” Sam looked to Lucas who gave him a contemplative stare.

“Why were you in a bad mood?” I asked.

Sam bit his bottom lip and looked down at the ground. “My mom’s sick and she needs to have surgery. I’m her primary caretaker and it took me a lot of time to take care for her. I haven’t had a lot of time to practice after school. much less time after school for practice recently… I am sorry if I fall behind.”

A pang of sympathy ran through me.

“Is everything okay?” Lucas asked.

Sam shook his head. “It’s not great… My mom had to quit her job because of her illness, and everything is so expensive. Her nursing and the surgery—It’s going to cost a fortune. And I feel so much pressure to help her somehow.”

“Sam, why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” Lucas asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Give me your information. I’ll transfer your mother over to our family’s private hospital and get you free nursing care. I probably can’t waive the surgery fees, but I could get you a discount.”

“What?” Sam’s head perked up. “You would do that for me?”

“Of course,” Lucas said. “You need to concentrate on school and your training during practice. You shouldn’t have to worry about this while trying to juggle so much.”

“I’m back on the lineup?” Sam asked, his face twisting into shock.

“You are,” Lucas nodded. “As long as you promise you’re going to give me as much effort as you can.”

Sam nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I promise. I’ll work harder during practice. I won’t let you down.”

After Sam gave Lucas his information, he walked away with a bit of pep in his step.

I looked up at Lucas, finding his generosity remarkable. “That was awfully kind of you.”

“Why do you sound so surprised that I’m kind?” Lucas asked, his lips teasing me with a slight smile.

“I know you can be kind,” I said. “It’s just refreshing to see it sometimes. Even Sam looked surprised.”

“He should’ve spoken up at practice yesterday,” Lucas said. “If he would’ve just told me about his situation from the very beginning, I could’ve helped him sooner. No one should be responsible for constantly checking in to see what his feelings are or to figure out what he’s going through.”

“That’s a bit harsh.” His words sounded cold-blooded.

“That’s life.” Lucas’s eyes were hard as he looked down at me. “Nobody’s going to walk through life holding your hand. It’s called being mature and owning up to your struggles.”

I wasn’t sure about the way he saw things. People don’t go around telling people every difficult thing they’re going through.

“Tomorrow’s Saturday,” Lucas said. “We have a game against Moon Crest High.”

“Is that your version of inviting me to come?” I teased.

He smirked, cocking his head to the side. “What? Do you want me to get down on my knees?”

“Well, now that you mention it…”

Lucas shoved me playfully, making me laugh.

“I’d love to come watch you play,” I said. “Is it at Shadow High?”

Lucas shook his head. “No, at Moon Crest’s hockey stadium.”

“Okay, I’ll get a ticket then.”

Lucas and I said our goodbyes as we split up to go to our next class.

As I sat in the back of the classroom, I pulled out my phone to visit our school’s website. Usually, Shadow High sold the school’s sporting tickets directly through their site.

I never paid any attention to sporting events at our school. If possible, I avoided any chance of being in a crowd with people like Jessica. But Lucas would be there, and I’ve never seen him play an official game before.

My hockey Bear.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of the kid version of Lucas playing hockey.

When I went to add the tickets under my name, I realized that all the tickets for the game tomorrow were sold out.

---

“Hello,” I said as I entered the dean’s office again after class.

He looked up from his desk with wide eyes as if he wasn’t expecting to see me again today. “Is Jessica bothering you again, Shana?”

“No,” I assured him. “It’s just that all the tickets to the Dragons hockey game tomorrow are sold out.”

“That’s right,” the dean nodded. “It’s best to get tickets ahead of time, they always sell out the day before.”

“Are there any extra tickets?” I asked, hoping there was something he could do.

“Unfortunately, no.” The dean crossed his hands together. “I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do for you.”

I walked out of the dean’s office with my head hung low. Lucas was going to be upset to hear that I couldn’t make it to the game tomorrow. I was almost too afraid to tell him.

Once school was over, I headed to the men’s locker room outside of the hockey stadium, hoping to see Lucas there.

Just as I was about to give up and go home, I saw two large frames turn around the corner. It was James and Lucas.

James was telling Lucas something that made him laugh, and I heard the deep sound echo off the hallway walls.

When James noticed me standing outside the locker room doors, he hit a hand over Lucas’s chest.

Lucas followed James’s stare and his eyes landed on me.

“Give us a second,” Lucas told James, urging him to go in the locker room.

I didn’t miss the wink that James gave Lucas, and I also didn’t miss the light punch Lucas gave James in the side.

“Hey,” Lucas said, coming to stand in front of me. A stray lock of dark hair fell between his eyebrows. “What’s up?”

“I don’t think I can make it to the game tomorrow,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip.

“Why not?”

“I can’t get a ticket,” I explained. “They’re all sold out on the school’s site.”

Lucas cracked a smile. “That’s no big deal.”

“I’m really sorry—”

“No,” Lucas’s smile widened even further. “It’s no big deal because I happen to know the captain of the team.”

I stared at him pointedly and sarcastically said, “Ha ha. You’re funny.”

“Have you ever sat in the VIP section before?” Lucas asked, brushing me off.

I shook my head.

“Congratulations,” Lucas winked at me. “It’s your lucky day.”

“You’re getting me a VIP seat for the game tomorrow?” I asked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “But everything was sold out.”

“I have an extra VIP seat,” Lucas explained. “It’s yours.”

I stared at him with wide eyes, suddenly feeling both excited and nervous for tomorrow.