BLAZE: Enemies to Lovers College Hockey Romance by Eddie Cleveland (ebook reader macos .txt) 📕

“Ohhh, me! Me!” they cry out.

“Okay, what is your favorite animal?” Blaze asks a little girl with big eyes and no hair.

“Meow,” she answers.

“Oh, a cat? Well, let’s see here.” He pulls some long balloons out of the bag and a black hand pump. I watch with disbelief as he fills the balloons, ties them off and twists them up. It probably takes about a minute, but he hands off an adorable, purple kitten balloon animal.

The room is pure chaos after that. Blaze has a way of spreading chaos no matter where he goes. But in this case, it’s not a bad thing.

The kids go wild, ignoring the other swag. They just keep calling out animal requests.

“Can you make any animal?”

“I want a seal!”

“Can you make an eagle?”

Blazes’s balloon bonanza takes over in here. He fills each one like they aren’t even challenges. Balloon animals keep getting made until every kid has one, and the rest of the crew is packing up. Then he makes a few more for the kids who accidentally popped theirs as the other athletes say their good-byes and clear out.

Finally, even the stragglers clear out, and Blaze packs his duffel bag back up. I feel bad now that I thought he was trying to sneak in some kind of PR problem for me. He actually brought a hockey bag full of pure joy.

“That was pretty cool,” I admit.

Blaze smiles, but it’s not in his eyes. “Thanks.”

“I’m going to call Coach Wilson and tell him what a great job you did here. You made a lot of kids happy today, Blaze.”

“Uh, sure. Sounds good,” he seems distracted as we walk back out in the hall. “Am I free to go now?” He stops and locks onto my eyes. There’s something in his that unsettles me, but I’m not sure why. I guess it’s because he’s so serious. So quiet.

“Yeah, of course. You can leave.”

“Thanks.” He walks away, leaving me in the hall wondering exactly who Blaze is. I saw a glimpse of what lies beneath the surface in his eyes. One thing is for sure, there’s more to him than I thought.

16

Blunt the Pain Blaze

On the way out of the hospital, I pass the cafeteria. I still remember the last meal I ate here. Logan had the healthiest items available, a salad and soup. How was that four years ago?

When my brother didn’t harp on me for my lunch choices, that’s when I knew something was up. I had cheesy lasagna on one plate and greasy fries piled high on the other. Mr. Future Doctor didn’t even bat an eye. He looked so nervous.

“I’ve got a girlfriend.” I can still hear him saying it. 

“Is it serious?”

“Well, I’m gonna propose to her, so I’d say so.”

He went on and on about how amazing Tiffany was. How she’s so pretty and smart. Except he was using words like ‘gorgeous’ and ‘genius’. It was a lot of gushing for my high school, teenage mind to handle. I stopped listening until…

“So, you’ll do it?”

“Huh?”

“If Tiffany says yes, you’ll be my best man?”

“Of course.”

Turned out the fucker wasn’t exaggerating. Tiffany is just as stunning as he said. Probably as smart too. I didn’t talk to her at the funeral, so I couldn’t say for sure. If I knew my last conversation was going to be that one in the cafeteria, I would’ve listened to every sappy word he said about her.

The cold winter air is biting at me as soon as I get outside. I park my ass at the bus stop next to the main entrance. Griz has classes all afternoon, not that he’s my fucking taxi, so it means he can’t pick me up. The glass booth stops the bitter wind, but it makes me feel like I’m on display at a museum.

The worst part of waiting for the bus is how much time it gives you to think. I spent so many weekends here with my brother, I can see him all over this place. I pull out a blunt and light it up. I inhale the smoke deep into my lungs. Blunt is the perfect name, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do… blunt the memories. Blunt the pain. My eyes are red, but it’s not from the weed.

I never told her he was going to propose. It seemed cruel to bring it up, like dumping salt on an artery bleed. I saw her heart shatter when they lowered Logan into the ground. Two days before the accident he was talking about spending his life with her. Instead, we all lost him forever.

Marijuana smoke swirls around me, fogging up the bus shelter.

Tap, tap, tap. 

Prissy appears in the cloud like a fucking vision. Her frown makes her look older. More like her mom. She’s gonna be just as beautiful when she gets older. Although, I might prematurely age her…

“You can’t use that here.”

“Don’t you ever go off duty? I’m fine. You don't need to micromanage my every move.”

Prissy studies my face. Her shoulders slide down, and her eyes soften. “You’re right. Come on. I’ll be off duty. I won’t nag you, promise. You don’t have to wait for a bus. Let me drive you home.”

“Yeah?” I flick the cherry off my blunt and put it away.

“Yeah, of course.” Prissy’s phone makes a noise. Her face pinches with worry as she reads the screen.

“If there’s a problem, I can wait for the bus. No big deal.”

Prissy waves me off. Or maybe she’s waving the marijuana smoke away. “No, it’s just my mom.”

“Don’t you mean your roommate?”

Her glare, that blush. Why does that make me feel better?

“Our cat didn’t come back before Mom left for work this morning. I’ll just drop you off quickly, and then I’ll look for Mr. Whiskers. Come on, I’m parked over there.” She nods to the garage across the street.

We walk over together, our feet crunching against the salt pellets on the road. “You know I can’t