Center Ice by Cate Cameron

I barely knew him, and I didn’t know anyone else. Which would have been fine, if none of them had known me. But I thought of the girls in the drugstore the day before and wondered how many other people had heard Miranda’s version of my life. “Who did you ask?” Tyler looked at me blankly, so I clarified. “When you were curious about why I was living at the Beacons’. Who did you ask?”
    “A friend’s girlfriend. Why?”
    “It’s just weird, people I’ve never met thinking they know stuff about me.”
    Tyler’s smile was sweet, but there was a little bit of teasing when he said, “Welcome to Corrigan Falls, Karen. Small towns are different.” He nudged me gently with his hip, pushing me in the direction of the party. “Come meet people. They can get to know you themselves, and then they won’t have to bother with gossiping.”
    “Yeah.” It sounded good, in principle, and I let him guide me forward. It was an opportunity, I told myself. This was my new life.
    I just had to get used to it.

Chapter Twelve
    - Tyler -
    I led Karen along a grassy path between the dunes and we came out onto the beach. There was a big bonfire in the middle of the space, and a few smaller fires around the edges, but there was no other light. The breeze was cool coming in off the lake, but I knew it’d be warm near the fires. Karen stopped walking and looked around, and I remembered my own reaction to my first Corrigan Falls beach party. The town was plain and a bit ragged during the day, but on nights like this? The whole scene felt like something from a movie.
    “It looks more like a bunch of little parties,” Karen said. Maybe she’d been a little less impressed by it all than I had been. After all, she was from the city, and probably went to big events all the time.
    “It’s still early,” I said. I didn’t want to sound defensive, but it was true. “People are in their groups, getting warmed up. Once it gets busier, and everyone gets drunker, they’ll mix more.” I hadn’t realized how much I valued all this until just then, as I worried that she wouldn’t like it.
    “I don’t have a group,” she said quietly. “Can I borrow yours?”
    “Absolutely.” I guided her across the sand toward the team, but she was still looking around like she wasn’t totally comfortable.
    “People are staring at us,” she whispered.
    I’d gotten so immune that I hadn’t noticed. “I told you,” I said lightly, “I’m a big deal. Very important. People care what I do.” She didn’t look convinced, which I still really liked. “Plus, you’re new. Everyone’s curious. Don’t worry about it.”
    I let my fingers brush against hers, just to see her reaction, and then did it again. She looked up at me, one eyebrow raised, and I grinned back at her as I took her hand more firmly. “Okay?” I asked.
    “Okay,” she agreed, and squeezed my fingers tighter than I’d expected.
    “Mac Daddy!” a familiar voice called out, and I turned my head, then raised my free hand in acknowledgement.
    “Winslow!” I called back, and steered Karen in that direction. “He’s a good guy,” I said quietly as we got closer. “Some of the team…they’re a bit rough. But Winslow’s okay.”
    “Hey, dude,” Winslow said, reaching out a hand and giving me a fist-bump. “You made it. Good. It’s a team thing.”
    “It’s a kegger, and three quarters of the team is underage,” I corrected. “You make sure the coaches don’t hear you saying it’s for the team.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” Winslow said dismissively. Then he turned to Karen. “Chris Winslow,” he said, and nodded to the dark-haired girl nestled under his arm. “And this is Terri.”
    “Tori,” she corrected. She shrugged at Karen as if they should both understand he couldn’t be expected to know better, and I cringed. Winslow was bad at names. He’d only learned mine after I’d pointed out the fast food connection, and he still wasn’t sure about most of the