Breathless #5 (The Breathless Romance Series - Book #5) by Claire Adams Read Free Book Online Page B

explained what had happened. Claire’s own parents had come out with
what had happened in that horrible incident. It didn’t make sense for people
who want Johnny, and the team, incidentally, to lose.
    One of the other team’s players hooked Johnny’s skate
with his stick, and I yelped in dismay and surprise as the man I had seen evade
dozens of hits on the ice sprawled on his front, moving several feet before he
gathered himself up. It wasn’t right — there was something wrong. What could
anyone do for Johnny?
    “It’s like before,” Georgia said, “when he was too
busy paying attention to you to pay attention to the game, only it’s worse.” I nodded, chewing at my bottom lip. I didn’t
think they could kick Johnny out for not winning a game, but they could find
other reasons, I was sure, if he was off his game. And it would not do his
reputation any good to lose a game just now. I cheered for Johnny with all my
heart, trying to overcome the jeers, trying to understand what was going on. I
thought that maybe Johnny was still shaken up by the press conference, but he
had seemed so on top of everything, so confident. He didn’t exactly look
unconfident now. He looked distracted.
    I was shocked as the other team scored its first goal
a few minutes into the first period, followed quickly by another. I couldn’t
believe what I was seeing. Johnny’s team always won — he had said so. But Johnny
kept missing his shots or kept getting intercepted. I grabbed onto Georgia’s
hand and held tight, watching in amazement. All of the guys were struggling. None
of them knew how to deal with the game with Johnny not on the top of his
strategy. They had counted so much on Johnny being able to out-play everyone
they ever went up against that they floundered around, always a minute — a
second — late to where they needed to be, hesitating just a moment too long.
    Of course, the fans for the other team were thrilled;
they had expected at best an exciting game and a loss by one point. By the end
of the first period of the game, the other team was up by three points. I
couldn’t believe it. I wanted to be angry at the goalie, but I knew that it was
the whole team that was struggling to deal with the situation, especially
Johnny. If he had been scoring the way he normally did, if he had been acting
like his usual brash, impulsive, aggressive self, he would be keeping the other
team so harried and confused that they wouldn’t have any idea of how to get in
to score. “What the hell is going on with him?” I asked Georgia in confusion.
“It doesn’t make any sense at all.” Georgia shrugged. I looked around me in
disbelief, and I saw the girl who I’d been having so many problems with — the
redhead from the dining hall, who had had no success with getting Johnny to
herself. She caught my gaze and smirked, looking directly at me.
    I frowned. I looked at Georgia. “Do me a favor,” I
said to her. Georgia looked at me in confusion.
    “What do you need?” I pointed to the redhead.
    “Hold my seat. I feel like I might get kicked out for
a little while.” Georgia laughed as I stood up, walking slowly and deliberately
over to the redhead. As I walked towards her, more of the people in the stands
noticed I was there in the first place; I guessed not all of them had been
paying attention. I took a deep breath. I didn’t want a fight, but I was good
and tired of the girl. I wanted to have it out with her once and for all; and
as I had told Georgia, there was a good chance that it would get me kicked out,
though I was pretty sure I could convince them to let me back in since I was
Johnny’s girlfriend. I hoped so, anyway. “Hey!” I said, calling to her before I
walked up the couple of levels to her seats.
    “How’s your loser boyfriend treating you? Has he done
you like he did Claire White yet?” I crossed my arms over my chest and held the
redhead’s gaze levelly.
    “You know,” I said, looking her over, “I