Hockey House V-Cards: A College Sports Romance (Nolan U Hockey) by Katy Archer

Author:Katy Archer [Archer, Katy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Archer Street Romance
Published: 2023-10-19T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 21

Three years earlier…

The cheers and applause from the graduation ceremony chase me home. It’s fucking annoying. None of that shit was for me. I mean, I guess in a roundabout way it was, but when I took my diploma and shook Principal Carter’s hand, no one in the audience was there because of me. I got the polite applause of strangers and the odd cheer from my teammates and the few girls who are crushing on me.

No one in that crowd was there just for me, though, and I hate that it’s bugging me so damn much.

Walking through the trailer park, I kick an empty beer can across the loose gravel and watch it flip and turn, landing on the grass verge. The lawns need cutting, but I doubt that’ll be done in a hurry. We don’t exactly live in a high-end trailer park.

Our permanent trailer has been falling down around us since we moved in five years ago. But it’s better than the one before that, so I’m not complaining.

Swinging the screen door back, I shove the door open. It’s not locked. What’s the fucking point? We’ve got nothing worth stealing in here.

Swiveling right, I head down to my bedroom, which has gotten smaller each year. I guess Mom didn’t expect me to grow so damn big. She eyes me sometimes with this lost look on her face, and I wonder if I’ve taken after my father somehow. Maybe he was a big, bulky guy. He has to have been, because Mom’s a small fry. She barely comes up to my shoulders now. I just grew straight past her sophomore year and turned from the chubby kid to a mountain of muscles.

Those are her words, not mine.

And again, I ain’t complaining because this whole getting taller and stronger thing has opened a shit ton of doors for me. My hockey dreams have been (mostly) realized—shit, I can’t even think about that right now—and girls now want to make out with me at parties.

Shrugging the shiny blue robe off, I dump it on the bed next to the graduation cap. The yellow tassel thingy dangles over the edge. I watch it swing for a second, trying to ward off this growing sense of unease.

Quick footsteps outside distract me, and I tense when the door swings open and Mom calls out, “Casey?”

I grit my teeth, tempted to ignore her, but of course automatically yell, “Yeah, I’m here.”

She rushes down to my room, sounding out of breath even though it’s only like seven steps. “Where were you, baby? I went to the school and you’d already left.”

My lips twitch as I shrug. “The ceremony finished. I didn’t see you around, so I figured I’d come home.”

She leans against the doorframe, her large bracelets clinking together as she gives me one of her glum smiles. “Sorry I missed it. I was trying so hard to leave on time, but my asshole boss wouldn’t let me go.” Her pale eyebrows wrinkle as she unzips her purse and grabs out a cigarette.

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