Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
17
JAKE
THREE MONTHS LATER
Iput my helmet down in my locker and sit to pull off my skates. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.
Rio, Castellano, and Vlad are already in the showers and laughing their asses off about something–probably the way Liam spent almost the entire game in the penalty box. It’s not his style at all, but something was up his ass tonight, and he was taking it out on our opponents.
I glance his way, noticing he’s glowering in the corner, shoving pieces of equipment in his locker with a little too much force. Bang. Thump. Crunch–that sounded expensive.
Carter takes Liam’s shoulders from behind, saying something in his ear that fails to produce a smile. They both sneak a surreptitious glance my way, then avert their eyes when they see me looking. Did I do something to piss him off? My first thought goes to the fake engagement. If Liam found out, somehow, he would certainly be pissed I was lying to his face. Not that I can blame him for that. I’d be pissed, too.
Jesse catches my eye, jerking his head for me to come over by his locker in the corner where we’ll have a little privacy from being overheard.
“Hey,” he says. “How are things in paradise?” Jesse’s already cleaned up and dressed after the game, clad in a tight polo over his muscular frame. He’s sliding on his watch and digging around in his locker for a deodorant stick.
I scoff. “Confusing.” I pull on a shirt, then half-heartedly scrub at my dripping hair with a towel.
“What do you mean?” he looks deadly serious now. It’s his sister we’re talking about, after all.
I hesitate. Until now, I’ve pretty much blown off any attempts by Jesse to pry.
But absolutely nothing has gone the way I imagined it would. After Manhattan, we flew back to Frosty Harbor and had to do a kind of announcement tour for our fake engagement. Everybody we’d ever known wanted to give us hugs and gifts, ask questions, and share in our “happiness.” I don’t know that Caroline or I realized just how much that was going to take a toll on us.
Every time we had to lie, the fragile truth we were trying to build between ourselves seemed to stretch thinner and thinner. By the end of that couple of days in Frosty Harbor, we were hardly talking except to handle taking care of Walker. A “fragile partnership” seemed like the most accurate phrase to describe us.
For a little while in Manhattan, I wondered if things between us could grow into something else. I thought the time we were forced to spend together would trick our brains or something. Instead, it seemed like it just made us bottle up our tensions and stress. Seeing each other was just a reminder of all the lies we were trying to maintain, so we started avoiding seeing each other.
Sure, I’ve still been flying back to Frosty Harbor to see Walker and Caroline when my schedule allows it. Even with all the mess surrounding us, I’ve enjoyed my role in his life. I already get excited when I think about seeing him grow up and watching what paths he takes in life. And then everything goes sour when I imagine my relationship with Caroline in that future life of his.
Will we be just as distant? Two practical strangers who made a baby, pretended to get married, got a fake divorce, and went their separate ways? I hope not, but I also don’t know if I see how it can go any other way.
I run my hand down my face, stalling as I try to find some version of this I can admit to Jesse. Honestly, I’ve started just talking to him like I do to everybody else. My default when they ask about the wedding or Caroline is to smile as wide as possible and say how excited I am. Years of getting up in front of the press and pretending I’m not pissed at the coach or furious after a loss have trained me well, I guess.
“It’s nothing,” I say after way too long of a pause to be convincing.
Jesse’s eyebrows scrunch together. “Caroline has seemed off. Especially the last two weeks. Did you do something? Because if you hurt my sister–if you so much as harmed an emotional hair on her head, I’ll–”
Despite my conflicted emotions, I snort with laughter. “An emotional hair on her head? I love my Andi and all, but I don’t know if I’ve ever come to blows over emotional hairs.”
Jesse grins, punching my arm. “That,” he says, holding up his fist. “Was just a warning shot. “Even an emotional nose hair will get you the real thing.”
We both laugh, and it feels good. It feels honest. And fuck, that’s what I’ve been missing. I’m not a liar. I don’t deceive people. But the plan is working, isn’t it? The team and Vanessa are getting closer to getting a deal done by the day. They’re impressed with how I’ve kept myself out of trouble, and they’re giving credit to my engagement.