Page 62 of Beneath the Surface

Cruz sat up straighter, but it looked like it took some effort for him to do so.

“Not you, princess,” he whispered. “I think I might have a concussion.”

“Cruz,” I spat his name. “You need to go to the clinic.”

“No.” He rushed the word out, and I could hear the conviction in his tone. I would not be making him budge on it.

“Why didn’t you call me?” I chastised him. “Any of us?”

“I got back a bit ago. Besides, I wasn’t in a position to be making calls.”

I shook my head and then headed toward his kitchen, where I grabbed a bowl and filled it with warm water and then some napkins. Once I had all of it ready, I brought it back with me and proceeded to kneel between his spread legs.

I ignored the way Cruz’s eyes flashed at my actions, and instead busied myself with cleaning the remains of blood from his face and body. Once that was done, he gritted his teeth but leaned down and offered me his nape.

His hair was crusty at the bottom with the remains of dried blood.

“Cruz,” I whispered as I gently cleaned the area.

When I was done, I cupped his cheeks and guided his face so it could meet mine.

“Tell me what happened?”

He closed his eyes, and I took notice of his long, dark lashes. Any other time, they would have me feeling envious. He didn’t say anything at first, he just licked his lips. I was aware of how close our faces had gotten. He winced as he lifted his hand, and I almost told him not to move and stay still. He pushed some of my hair behind my ear.

Neither of us said a thing. I didn’t pull away as his face got closer to mine. He closed his eyes, probably from the pain, and I closed mine with the anticipation of what would come. His lips were cracked and bruised, and his kiss was light and teasing, but I let myself find comfort in it.

I moved my head so I could give him better access, which he took. His mouth descended on mine, more demanding than before. I lost myself in the kiss, that I didn’t notice when he moved his other hand toward the back of my head so he could keep me in place. I got so lost in the moment that we broke apart on a pained hiss when I accidentally used one of my hands to find leverage on his chest.

“I’m so sorry,” I immediately apologized.

Cruz managed to give me a smirk despite wincing in pain.

“We need to talk to the others. I think Big Dog might know something about what’s going on.”

Out of all the things I expected to hear from him, that wasn’t one of them. The tender moment we had shared was now lost, and fear came back with a vengeance.

“Come with me. I need to stop by the rink, and I don’t think it’s wise to leave you here alone.”

My voice was apologetic, because the last thing he needed was to be moving around. I had already missed my practice, butseeing the way he looked, it wasn’t safe for him to be alone—especially not if he had a concussion.

Thirty minutes later, Cruz and I were at the rink. I didn’t let myself get bothered by the curious stares as I parked my car. I really needed to tint my windows like his car because I felt like I was driving in a fishbowl. Cruz had on a hoodie and his head cast low so his injuries wouldn’t be as visible. I sighed before I got out of the car. At least this way it got people talking about us, so it wouldn’t be so shocking when he showed up at the Halloween party.

I had texted Micah and Gray that we all needed to talk, but I hadn’t managed to get an answer from them.

“I’ll be right back,” I told Cruz before getting out of the car.

I had missed my practice, which sucked because I never missed practice when I had a competition coming up. Since the weekend was here, I might as well drop off my skates.Figure skaters didn’t get access to the hockey team’s locker room, but there were lockers for the skaters that were against the walls.

As soon as I opened my locker, I screamed.

At the bottom was a pile of rocks that had not been there the day before.

36

MICAH

Halloween. The day I’d been dreading above all others. The message Grayson had received kept playing on my mind. I’d been on edge all day, despite throwing myself into helping the team with party prep—something Ava’s sorority had also been helping with in the morning, although they’d disappeared in the afternoon to get ready for tonight. It was essentially an excuse for the team to flirt with them. I was glad Ava hadn’t been there, because I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to handle myself if I saw one of the hockey guys flirting with her.