Absolutely Not in Love (Sweater Weather, #7; Appies, #2)

by Jenny Proctor

“So, hating hockey. Is that why you haven’t agreed to go out with Eli?” I roll my eyes. “I don’t want to go out with Eli because he’s too cocky for his own good, though the hockey doesn’t help. It’s a pretty firm policy for me.” “You don’t date hockey players?” There’s a hint of something in his voice that almost sounds like disappointment, and I half-wonder if I’m imagining it. Maybe he’s just disappointed for Eli’s sake? “Nope,” I say, pushing the thought aside. Either way, it doesn’t matter. “I spent enough time in a hockey rink the first eighteen years of my life to last a lifetime.” “Watching your brother,” Felix says, and I nod. More like resenting my brother while I pretended to watch. But that’s more family drama than I care to discuss with my neighbor. “I’m glad to learn this about you,” Felix says. “Everything makes so much more sense now.” I slide my door open and put my cello inside, then mirror his posture, leaning my shoulder against the wall. “What does that mean? What makes more sense?” He shrugs. “How hard you work to avoid me. Or how much you frown and roll your eyes whenever my teammates come over.” “Your teammates are loud,” I say. “Loud and cocky and…big.” He smirks. “I’ll give you loud and cocky, but big?” “Humongous,” I say. “And…” I struggle to find the right word, but then it pops into my head and makes so much sense, I can’t believe I’ve never used it before. “Wild.” Felix smiles, revealing a dimple I’ve never seen before. “Wild?” I purse my lips,...