Darkroom: A Moo U Hockey Romance by Kate Willoughby (reading a book .txt) 📕

not—a normal, pretty girl. He was one of the stars of the hockey team. All he had to do was snap his fingers and ten girls would jump at the chance to date him, girls with normal looking faces who didn’t hide who they were.

Ruby came home about an hour later.

After one look at me, she exclaimed, “Indi, what’s wrong?”

Sick at heart, I told her what had happened. She was sympathetic, but she’d also told me time and again that I needed to tell Hudson about my birthmark. She’d told me exactly how to do it too.

“First you say, ‘Hudson, I have something I’ve been afraid to tell you.’ He’ll immediately think it’s something really horrible—like you were abused as a child or your uncle is a member of the Klan. So when you tell him you were born with a birthmark on your face, he’ll actually be relieved.”

“If only I’d taken your advice,” I said, after recounting to her what had happened. “Now, it’s too late.”

“Stop that. It is not too late,” she declared.

“Yes, it is. This face is too scary to take if you’re not ready for it.”

“I love you like a sister, but right now? You’re being a grade-A drama queen. Your face is not scary. What’s scary is your refusal to give the guy a chance. You think it’s a foregone conclusion that he’s going to reject you, but I see no evidence that that’s true.”

“Austin did.”

“Who’s Austin?”

“Austin was my first boyfriend. We went together in high school.”

Ruby winced. “This story is going to have a tragic ending, isn’t it? Never mind. Don’t answer that. I already know it is, but I want to hear it anyway.”

“I was a senior and feeling some social pressure to get things rolling in the sex department. He knew I was a virgin and been really patient. So, we planned to do it a week before the prom. But…it didn’t go well.

“I admit it was partly my fault for deciding, after keeping my birthmark a secret from him, to bare everything to him on the big night. It made perfect sense to me then. I thought we were in love, that he loved me and if he loved me, he’d be okay with my birthmark.”

“Oh, Indi,” Ruby murmured.

“I know. I was so incredibly stupid. If I hadn’t sprung it on him without warning, things might have turned out a lot differently. As it was, he was horrified. We never had sex. He never talked to me again.”

“Listen to me, Indi. You were not stupid. You are not at fault. The only thing you did wrong was choose a loser to sleep with. There are a lot of dicks out there who aren’t worth five minutes of conversation, let alone sex, and Austin was one of them. But that doesn’t mean that Hudson is a dick. From what I’ve seen of him, he’s the exact opposite, but I don’t know him like you do. What do you think? Is Hudson a dick?”

I sniffed. “No.”

“Do you think he only likes you because of what you look like? Or—don’t interrupt me—or do you think you have other qualities that he’s attracted to, like your intelligence, your wit, your sense of humor?”

“Ruby, stop it. I get it. Yes, of course he likes other things about me other than the way I look, but that doesn’t negate the fact that the way I look is a factor.”

She stared at me with narrowed eyes, but I knew I’d made a point.

“I will concede it’s a factor, but not as big a one as you think it is. Remember when you first showed me?” She reached out and clasped my hand, squeezed it. “I’ll admit now that I was shocked. I’d never seen anything like your birthmark before, but I got used to it.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“You know what I mean. You’ve told me yourself that the kids you went to grade school with were so used to it, they didn’t even see it anymore. You gave them the chance to get to know the real you. Doesn’t Hudson deserve that same chance?”

“Yes,” I said, my voice trembling. I looked outside at the gray skies. A storm seemed to be gathering.

“Then what are you waiting for?” She glanced at the wall clock. “The game’s over by now. If you hurry, you can catch him at the rink.”

I left Carter Hall with every intention of going to the rink, but as I approached the still full parking lot, I decided against it. Ruby hadn’t let me put on any makeup, saying that horse already left the barn, and I had enough anxiety about facing Hudson barefaced, let alone thousands of hockey fans. Instead, I drove to his apartment, parked and waited.

I woke up some time later, disoriented and freezing. It was raining hard. The streetlights reflected off the wet streets. Teeth chattering, I checked my phone, still a little groggy. I’d somehow slept through another text from Hudson, sent about an hour ago.

Hudson: I hope you’re feeling better. Call me when you can. I have a lot to tell you.

A wave of guilt rolled through me. It was midnight, but I tapped out a reply anyway.

Indi: I’m freezing, but I’m okay.

His response was almost immediate.

Hudson: OMG. I’ve been worried sick. Why are you freezing? Is the heat out in the dorm?

Indi: No. I’m in my car outside your apartment.

A light went on in his unit and he appeared at the window, peering out. By then, I was out of the car and running across the street. No umbrella. The rain was coming down in sheets and I was instantly drenched.

I got to his front door just as he was coming out.

“Indi, you’re soaked to the skin,” he exclaimed, pulling me inside. “Are you crazy coming out in this without an umbrella? Jesus, you’re shivering.”

He hurried to his bedroom and came back with a T-shirt, some sweatpants, a towel and a woven blanket which he gave to me.