My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 37

Nina

“It’s nice outside. Will you go on a walk with me?”

As if my heart wasn’t already racing enough, it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest when Enzo asked me to go on a walk with him. I hesitated to respond, wondering if this was some horrible prank concocted by Lisa. But he seemed genuine, and I was curious to see what he wanted to talk about. Maybe he would tell me that he decided I wasn’t his mate and that he would leave me alone now.

Maybe he would tell me that werewolves and talking skeletons weren’t real, that all of this was just a joke and that my skeleton bodyguard was just a normal guy wearing a costume. It was unlikely, but wishful thinking never hurt anyone, right?

“U-um… Sure,” I responded, still clutching my bag tightly.

Enzo smiled a real, genuine, handsome smile that made my heart skip a beat. I couldn’t deny that he was handsome.

“After you,” he said, stepping out of the way and gesturing down the stairs. We walked across the quad and toward the entrance to the little garden that was located between the two dormitory buildings. Other students sat on the benches in the sunshine as they studied, read books, and chatted with friends. I liked to come here often in between classes to get some fresh air and look at the flowers. Right now, there weren’t as many flowers since it was autumn, but the fallen leaves on the ground and the fall decorations still made for a nice atmosphere.

Our shoes crunched on the pebbly trail as we walked together in silence for a bit. I continued to clutch my bag nervously while Enzo walked casually with his hands in his pockets. Eventually, he stopped under a large cherry tree and turned to look at me. I swallowed, unsure of what was to come.

Enzo stared at me with his soft brown eyes, which practically sparkled in the sunlight, for a few moments before speaking.

“I really like you, Nina,” he said softly, taking a step toward me.

I swallowed again and unconsciously took a step back, not knowing what to say. Wasn’t he back together with Lisa? This had to be a prank, and a mean one at that! What had I done to deserve this sort of treatment, other than to be so silly as to think that the school heartthrob Enzo Rivers would ever genuinely like me?

Enzo stopped and looked at me with a furrowed brow, cocking his head a bit to the side.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” he said. “You do like me back… Right?”

I blushed and looked down at my feet, biting my lip as I tried to come up with a response. If this interaction was being recorded from somewhere in order to humiliate me some more on Twitter, I wanted to choose my words carefully.

Finally, I looked back up at Enzo again and my heart sank when I saw his painful expression. His normally stoic face, with his sharp jawline and stern eyebrows, was soft and sad now. I realized then that this wasn’t a prank. It couldn’t be. He did really like me.

But he had slept with Lisa, and there was a hickey to prove it.

“I can’t,” I replied, choking up a bit. “I know you left the other night to be with Lisa. And I saw you after the game with her, and I saw your hickey. I won’t be with a playboy who can’t even commit to me for ten minutes.”

Enzo’s eyebrows knit together for a moment, but then a smile started to spread across his face.

“You really think I left you the other night to sleep with Lisa?” he asked, chuckling a little.

I nodded and frowned. “Why else would you have just suddenly run away in the same direction as her and disappear for the rest of the night?” I said.

“Because,” Enzo replied, glancing over his shoulder and lowering his voice, leaning closer to me so no one would hear, “there was a shifter out there. I had to take care of it.”