Kissing Killian (Face-Off Legacy/Campus Kings 5)

And with it all of my dreams.

The end.

“Do you need anything?” Jade stands in front of my bed and stares down at me with wide blue eyes.

She looks sad. I know she’s upset for me, and I love her for that, but I don’t want her moping around my house every day with me. She should go and live her life instead of sitting here and waiting on me. I can take care of myself. I’ve done it for so many years, I almost hate that she insists on pouring my drinks and making me food, but I do appreciate it.

Jade is the sweetest girl I’ve ever met. I know she’s doing all of this because she cares about me, maybe even loves me back. I don’t understand why she does. I’m a fucking mess.

The doctor gave me pain medicine, and because I’m so damn depressed, I’ve been taking more of them than I should. I don’t even want to leave my bedroom for school. Right now, whether it’s true or not, it feels like everything I’ve worked for has gone out the window.

I don’t want to be a burden to Jade or anyone living in my house, especially now that my chance at going pro has been flushed down the toilet along with the income I needed to support my family.

Jamie sticks his head through the slightly open door and knocks before he enters the room. “Hey, I thought I’d check on you.”

Jade smiles and then says, “I’ll go make you something to eat.”

I ate an hour ago, so I assume she’s giving me some time to talk to Jamie alone. Jade knows how close we are. She closes the door behind her, leaving us alone.

Jamie has a bottle of beer in each hand.

Probably shouldn’t drink with all the pain meds, but hey, what else is there to do other than hate my-fucking-self for messing up my life?

Smiling, I sit up and take one from him. “Thanks, J.”

He sinks to the mattress next to me with a nod and taps his bottle against mine. “Figured you could use this.”

“You guessed right,” I say, before taking a sip.

He tips his beer to his lips. “I talked to Preston and the twins, and they spoke to their dads for you. This isn’t over, you know. You’ll have another chance. Tyler Kane and Alex Parker will let you try out for the Flyers if your arm heals okay.”

“The doctor didn’t sound too optimistic.”

“After your arm heals, you can get back to training. With enough conditioning, you should be able to play again in a few months.”

Frowning, I hold up the cast on my right arm. “Not in enough time for the Draft. What if the break doesn’t heal right? What if I don’t have enough feeling in my arm to hold a stick?”

“You’re a fighter,” he says, hopeful. “You always do what you gotta do to survive. I have no doubt you’ll get through this. Even if it kills you.”

I chug half of my beer and lean my head back against the wall. “I may need a fallback plan.”

“How’s your app coming along?”

“I haven’t had much time to work on it lately. It’s not even good enough for beta.”

“My dad can help you. He has a lot of friends in the tech and financial sectors. Worst-case scenario, you can always work at his company. He would give you a job in a second.”

“Yeah, I know. I talked to him yesterday.”

“Hockey isn’t the only option. I decided I’d rather work for my dad than see if I get drafted.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re kidding me. I thought you wanted to at least try.”

He shakes his head. “I love hockey but not more than I love writing code. Chasing after The Queen for all of these months only made me realize how much I’m supposed to work with my dad. And now that he’s starting a new company, I won’t have to deal with Cece again. We can start fresh. If you don’t get into the NHL, I hope you decide to come work with me. I’d love to have you on my team. I can use all the hands I can get on my new game.”

“I can’t believe you wrote a game just to get Shannon back. That’s some real nerd shit right there.”

He chuckles, sipping his beer. “I started it before we ever hooked up, but while we were broken up, I couldn’t finish it. And that’s when I realized she was the answer. She’s my muse. So, I named it after her. You should play Quest for Shanaya with me. It’s like Mage Wars only better.”

I laugh. “Don’t tell your dad that.”

“He’s the one who helped me finish it.”

I hold out my fist for him to bump. “Can’t wait to play it with you.”