Faking the Face Off

by Anne Kemp

a voice pipes up from behind. I know this voice. I like this voice. This voice makes me happy. It’s Anna.

I’ve got sisters, granted I think they’re feral, but they’re mine.

The puck drops again, and suddenly everything clicks. My skates feel lighter, my hands surer. I’m not second-guessing my movements or hesitating. I’m just playing—fast, sharp, in the zone. I’m playing for me, and a little for her, too. Okay, a lot for her. I’m a peacock and I’m showing her my feathers. Presenting, right?

I whirl around to find Ollie standing just a few feet away, his broad shoulders filling the space as if he was made to command it. His jet-black hair is slightly mussed from the cold, his jaw tight with barely contained irritation, and he’s rocking a huge shiner on his right eye, which he hadn’t told me about. He’s wearing a fitted leather jacket over a Renegades hoodie, and he looks every bit like the guy you don’t want to mess with. He. Is. Beautiful.

“You’ve got this whole ‘adorable and mildly exasperated girlfriend’ vibe down to a science.”

Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Oh wait, too late. You’re already doing EVERYTHING I wouldn’t do.” I flip him off without looking up, and he disappears down the hall, whistling some annoying tune.

This woman makes me truly happy in the deepest and darkest parts of me, probably because she’s the only one I’ll ever let see into those corners. I’d hand her a flashlight and a map to my soul if it meant she could shine her light in the darkness and reveal more. All for her.

I wonder if she’s going to ask me what I really want. Because I know I’m looking right at it.

Because when I look, I spot not just one other familiar face, but at least five. All in their Renegades gear and standing together. Like the imposing force they can be.

And then, there’s Dixon. Dixon who’s standing at the bar with another person at this very moment, waving at us.

Dixon you jerk lol

Then I turn back to my sweet pops, taking his hands in mine, and tell him everything. All of it. The good, the bad, the why.

she literally tells everyone

Lara’s jaw all but slams on the pavement while Jimmy’s face goes paler still. The palest of the pale whites I’ve ever seen. It’s glorious.

“I didn’t choose you, Jimmy. I will always love you because we’re blood, but I do not like you.”