Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
A rough laugh bursts from her lips. “Wow.”
I lift my hands in surrender. “I’m not trying to attack you or hurt you or judge you, okay? I’m just saying that I get it, and I’m happy to put the fight in the bedroom behind us. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.”
She sets the kettle down on the counter and sways toward me, a strange smile on her face. “And what happens then?”
I shake my head slightly, not sure where she’s going with this, but sensing it isn’t going to end well. That smile is scary, far scarier than my early morning thigh kisses. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I mean, let’s say I forgive you for creeping around under my covers and make you breakfast and coffee. What happens then? Do you move home to Bad Dog to take me to dinner every Friday and help me meal plan on Sundays? Do we fuck again and if the fucking is still good, discuss letting you have a drawer in my room and a toothbrush in the bathroom?”
I blink and pull in a breath, already knowing my answer isn’t going to satisfy her.
But she knows that, too. That’s why she asked the question the way she did.
So, I do what I’m best at on the ice: I flip the script, forcing my opponent to play by my rules. “Actually, I thought you could move in with me in Minneapolis. Nothing’s official yet, but I’m this close…” I hold up a hand, my pointer finger and thumb a whisper apart. “…to being signed by the new NHL team there. Once the deal comes through, I’ll be getting an apartment in the city. We could pick it out together, make sure it has a good school system for Chase, solid work options for you, the whole deal. How does that sound?”
By the time I’m finished, her eyes are tiny blue slits. “You’re not funny.”
“I’m not trying to be funny,” I say, dropping the act. “I want to date you, but I don’t live in Bad Dog anymore, and I won’t be able to for a long time. You knew that when you kissed me last night.”
“I did,” she agrees. “Which is why you should have slept on the couch. But it doesn’t matter. We’d never work, anyway. The sex was fine, but we’re still the same people we’ve always been, and those people don’t get along. If they did, I wouldn’t have hated you for over a decade.”
“You don’t hate me. You hate that you want to kiss me again.”
“Fine,” she says, her eyes beginning to shine. “Yes, I hate that I want to kiss you again. I hate that I’m so weak and desperate for comfort that I let my walls down with someone I don’t trust.”
“Oh, come on, you can trust me, Mel. I promise, I—”
“I can’t, Aaron.” A tear slips down her cheek, breaking my heart. “I can’t. I’m too messed up right now. Too broken. I miss my kid and my husband and my life and everything feels like it’s falling apart. I’m not in a place to start anything and even if I were…”
She trails off, but her pained gaze tells me everything I need to know.
Melissa doesn’t feel what I feel any more than she did in high school. This crush, this longing, is mine and mine alone.
Chest tight, I nod. “Got it. Message received. Sorry I ruined your morning with my needy bullshit.”
She sighs. “Don’t be like that.”
“Like what? Human?” I drag a hand through my hair. “Shit, Melissa. The way you kissed me last night, the way things were between us… You can’t blame me for being confused. There was something there. I know I’m not the only one who felt it.”
Anger tightens her features again. “Are we at the part where you call me a bitch for failing to fall head over heels for you? I liked your dick, yes. But that’s all it was, Aaron. I told you before I kissed you not to make a big deal out of it. It’s not my fault you decided to believe what you wanted to believe instead of listening to the words coming directly from my mouth.”
“Fine,” I grit out, starting toward the door.
“When people tell you who they are, you should believe them,” she calls after me, trailing me down the hall toward the garage.
“And I told you I was fine,” I snap, grabbing my bag and stuffing my feet into my unlaced boots.
“Yeah, you sound fine.” The hint of smugness in her voice makes me do something that I immediately regret.
“Fuck off, Melissa.” I snap the words on instinct, an act of self-preservation, but immediately wish I could shove them back down my throat.
Her jaw clenches as she smiles. “There he is. There’s the jerk I’ve known and will never trust. Figured he’d show his face sooner or later.”