Page 13 of Thrown Off Balance

Sloan

I stare at the door to the bar long after Cody leaves. I don’t know what to think or feel when it comes to Cody Robinson. My emotions have been all over the place since I set my eyes on him.

The way he sees through me and can read me like a book… I forgot how much I love it. It feels so nice after dating Jude for the last six months.

Jude is… clueless. He’s a sweet guy and I think he truly cares about me, but he’s oblivious to the world around him. Like with the account I'm handling at work. His solution is to talk to his dad about it and get me taken off the account. That’s not what I want, I was just venting to my boyfriend about work.

He also gets a little distracted when something excites him… like with Jax. He’s so focused on Jax that he doesn’t even realize I'm angry with how he’s behaving. He doesn’t notice anything other than Jax showing him attention.

“Jax? How long are you planning on staying?” I sigh as I rest my chin in my palm.

“Aw, are you in a rush to leave now that Cody’s gone?” He smirks, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Let’s be honest here, Jax, I never wanted to come out at all. I wanted to go home.”

“Babe, c’mon! How often are you going to get to hang out with these guys!” He motions to the hockey players we’re surrounded by. “Do you know Sloan didn’t even know the Pythons were a hockey team when I asked her if she wanted to come?” Jude chuckles.

“Sweetheart! How did you not know that? Didn’t Cody used to take you to games?” Jax eyes me with amusement. I know there’s always a reason for everything that comes out of his mouth.

We both know Cody never took me to a Pythons game. Jax is only saying this to remind Jude I once belonged on Cody’s arm, not his.

“No, I don’t think he did. It must’ve been a different girlfriend.” I keep my voice emotionless so Jax can’t read any deeper into my words.

“Well, that would be impossible.” Jax frowns before he glances at Bella. “Cody never had another girlfriend, right?”

“Not that I remember. If he did, they definitely weren’t serious.” Bella’s brows crease like she’s really thinking about it.

The noise of the bar fades into the background. All I can think about is if that can be true. Has Cody really been single since we broke up? There’s no way… Is there?

“So, what time should we come over on Sunday?” Jude asks from the backseat of the car. I'm sitting next to him, though he hasn’t even glanced in my direction in the past twenty minutes.

Bella’s sitting in the front seat and Jax is behind the wheel. We just pulled into the parking lot of the stadium and Jax is maneuvering us towards our car.

“Oh my gosh, Jude! We’re not going to Sunday dinner!” I finally lose my cool and snap at him. He hasn’t shut up since he found out I know the Robinson twins.

I'm exhausted and a migraine is pulsing behind my eyes. We couldn’t leave the pub until all the other players left. Jude kept insisting we just needed to stay a little bit longer.

“What? Why not? Jax invited us. It would be rude not to go.” He finally turns his attention towards me and frowns.

“You want to go to dinner at my ex-boyfriend’s house? Where his entire family and extended family will be? Are you crazy?” I stare at him like he’s losing his mind. It’s the only explanation.

“Well… He didn’t seem to care. I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal over this.” Jude shrugs.

When we pull up next to Jude’s car, Jax hops out of the drivers’ seat. He opens my door and tugs me into his arms.

“I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t think he’d run with the idea like he has,” Jax murmurs in my ear.

No matter how much Jax likes to tease me and push my buttons, he’s a good man at heart and I know it’s all playful. He’d never do anything to actually upset me or hurt me.

“It’s not your fault my boyfriend is more obsessed with you than with me,” I mumble under my breath.

“Hey…” Jax pulls back far enough to meet my gaze. He stares deep into my eyes and it’s almost comical how I feel nothing romantic towards him, yet if Cody were looking at me like this, I’d be melting into a puddle at his feet. How can I feel so differently when staring into the eyes of twins?

“What, Jax?” I sigh, but don’t look away. I don’t want him to feel bad about tonight. He was being a good brother. If I had just swallowed my pride and contacted Cody when I returned home, none of this would be happening right now.

You could’ve been dating Cody right now if you had contacted him first…

The thought flies through my head and I want to scream. I can’t think like that. I'm with Jude, my feelings towards Cody don’t matter.