Breakaway (Penalty Kill 1)

Jere and Marley are sitting in front while I’m in the back of Jere’s tiny car and wondering why the hell someone our size would want something so little to be crammed into for any length of time.

“So, Levi, are you from NY?” Marley asks.

“Yep. You?”

“Yeah. You’re a chemistry major, right? How come?”

“Just an interest of mine,” I say. To make sure she leaves it at that, I ask her a question. “Are you a hockey fan as well?”

“Oh yeah. If it weren’t for Presley, probably not. She’s the one who introduced me to the game. Between her and Trevor, I was bound to become a fan. I’m a fan of the Blackhawks, though.”

“That’s cool. How long have you two known one another?” I’m fishing for information, but I don’t think she’ll catch that. She seems too much of a talkative person to notice.

“Since we were little kids. Her and Trev were always close and when he moved with their dad, she wasn’t happy about it. It was tough for her to adjust after always having him around and he didn’t have the easiest time at his new school either,” she finishes with a quick glare my way.

“That was just petty high school stuff,” I shrug, letting the comment slide without a second thought.

She barks out a laugh and opens her mouth to say something, but changes her mind. If I had to guess, she would say that the “petty high school stuff” carried over into college for me. Whatever. I feel justified, especially because of what happened after he took my captaincy. I’m not thinking about it today, though. I’m on a mission. I have every intention of succeeding, feeling even more confident when we find a place to park among the many vehicles.

Not as if there were any other way to dress but simple, I’m wearing a dark pair of jeans and a white polo shirt. Nothing over the top, but nothing down in the dumps either. Marley leads the way and she obviously knows a lot of people at JWU. I was somewhat surprised when Jere picked her up from an apartment near our campus. A quick glance tells me that most of the people here are part of the hockey world at James Wayne, and they know that Jere and I are not.

I see Presley before she sees us. She’s standing near an air hockey table, surrounded by her brother’s teammates while he and another guy play. Presley seems to be in her comfort zone and laughs when one of the guys bumps her shoulder and says something to her. We follow Marley further into the room as she makes her way to Presley, who catches sight of us.

Her glances switch from Marley to me and back. I smile an all-knowing grin full of arrogance.

“Pres, you see that?” Trevor asks with a quick look at his sister, who doesn’t even acknowledge him. Following her line of vision, Trevor looks over to see Jere and I as Marley left Jere’s side to go to Presley. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asks, causing everyone’s attention to turn to us.

“Marley invited us,” Jere says easily.

Trevor looks back at Marley, who says, “Sorry, Trev. They won’t be any trouble, I promise.”

“We didn’t cause any trouble Friday with your girls, McCarthy. Isn’t that right, Presley?” I smile.

Presley opens her mouth, but Trevor beats her to it. “What is he talking about, Presley?”

Uh oh. Looks like little Miss Presley isn’t as close to Trevor as I thought to leave out where she was Friday. I can’t help but smirk at her while her eyes frantically move between her brother and myself. She straightens her shoulders, composing herself.

“I was with Marley, Trevor. Get a grip. We just went to their after party since she’s dating Jere.”

Everyone’s attention is on Presley, her twin, and me. The guys seem to squeeze even tighter as if forming a shield around her. They won’t be able to stop me from getting to her though. Trevor seems to be debating what to say so I speak up one last time.

“I even got her home safely, McCarthy. Nothing to worry about with me.” I want so desperately to laugh, but I manage not to let it slip.

Anger dominates Trevor’s features as he faces me. He steps forward and when he does, his teammates do as well. He closes the distance between us, and the laugh bubbles up again. He’s four inches shorter than me and I’m built more than he is. I?

?m not the least bit concerned, and McCarthy knows that.

“Stay away from my sister, Carr. Don’t underestimate me.”

Easy does it, I think as I raise my hands in surrender. “Take it easy, man. I just gave her a ride. That’s all. I was a gentleman, in fact. Wasn’t I,Pres?” I smile shortening her name as he did.

“Get over yourself, Levi. Trevor, just leave it alone,” she says, pushing her way through the group of men and coming to stand beside her brother.

“We aren’t here to cause any trouble,” Jere adds. “Just to hang out with Marley.”

Trevor steps to the side and brushes against my shoulder as he walks past. A chuckle escapes, but Presley brings my attention back to her.

“You’re an ass, you know that.” It’s all she says as she follows her brother to the other room.