Page 20 of Thrown Off Balance

I won't make it quick and painless either, he deserves to suffer.

Ever since Cody crashed into the glass at the first game, Jude hasn’t shut up about the Robinson twins. He seems to think he’s best friends with them and he’s completely clueless they want nothing to do with him.

I don’t know if he’s just fan-girling over them or if he’s really too stupid to realize they don’t want him around, but I'm getting annoyed.

Jax wasn’t inviting us for dinner tonight, but Jude seems to think he’s invited to anything they do, especially after a game. I don’t know how they’re going to sever this tie with him, but they’ll have to do it sooner or later. There’s no way they’ll keep letting him tag along to everything… right?

I didn’t want to go to the game today. I was working and Jude’s dad, Mr. Carpenter, told me I needed to meet Jude for lunch at a restaurant a few blocks away. I wasn’t going to argue with my boss, so I went. Next thing I knew, we were finding our seats at the game and I was texting Mr. Carpenter and apologizing. He told me he knew what Jude’s plans were and not to worry about work.

I wanted to strangle someone. I don’t see a hockey game as a good enough reason to leave work in the middle of the day. I take pride in my job and I don’t want other people thinking I don’t care about it. Nor do I want them to think I get special treatment because I'm dating the boss’s son.

After Tuesday night’s game, I was dead tired at work on Wednesday. I was barely performing my basic jobs and people noticed. Of course, Jude went on and on about how great our time was with the Robinson twins and how we spent our whole night with them. I kept getting dirty looks from my co-workers because they assumed I was hungover and not just exhausted.

“C’mon, Sloan! We need to hurry up so we can make it to dinner on time.” Jude’s practically dragging me through the parking lot. He huffs out a breath of annoyance when he sees the line of cars and traffic waiting to leave the stadium. “I'm ordering a ride. We can’t keep Jax waiting,” he grumbles under his breath.

“Jude! He doesn’t even want you at dinner!” I want to tear my hair out, I'm so done with him right now. I don’t want to go to any more games with him. I don’t even want to be around him. I wish we could go back to how our relationship was last week. Before he met the Robinson twins.

Jude was a sweet and caring boyfriend until a few days ago. He paid attention and asked questions. He seemed to truly care about me… but that all changed when he found out I knew Jax and Cody. Now, I feel like I'm being used to get him closer to the guys.

“You’re being rather dramatic, Sloan.” He rolls his eyes and grins when someone picks up the ride order. “Perfect, there’s a driver right around the corner… Wait! Which Brazilian steakhouse do you think it is? There are two nearby.”

“I don’t know. I think we should just let them go out for dinner as a family and we should go home,” I growl in frustration.

Instead of listening to me, Jude plucks my phone out of my hand and holds it up to my face until the screen unlocks. He quickly types something out before waiting.

“What are you doing?”

“I texted Sophia. I'm sure she knows where they’re going.”

“You’re unbelievable!”

I try to take my phone back, but he holds it out of my reach until Sophia answers him. Our car pulls up a moment later and Jude ushers me inside.

We pull up outside of the Brazilian steakhouse a few minutes later and find Cody’s family waiting outside. Jude practically pushes me out of the way to get to Jax. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to control my frustration with him.

“Hey, are you ok?” I open my eyes and find Cody standing in front of me with his brows pinched in concern.

“No, apparently I'm dating a moron,” I growl. “I know you don’t want us here, but he won't listen to me.”

“No one minds you being here, sweetheart… We’re not thrilled with Jude being here though.”

“I'm sorry,” I whisper.

“Stop it,” he murmurs as he pulls me into his arms. “It’s not your fault he can’t take a hint. Jax has a way of making everyone feel welcome in his presence. It’s hard for some people to understand that doesn’t mean he wants them following him around.”

“I just… I feel like I brought this crazy person into your life. I swear he’s never been like this until he met Jax.”

“Yeah, he attracts the crazies.” I can hear the smirk in Cody’s voice. “C’mon, I think our table is ready.”

Cody releases me from his arms, but he places his hand on my lower back and leads me inside the restaurant. My boyfriend has long forgotten I even exist. When we reach our table, Jude’s already seated himself next to Jax.

Wyatt’s on the end with Charlie next to him. Jax has an arm around his sister’s shoulders and I'm not sure if that’s because he wants to be closer to her or further from Jude. Peck is sitting across from Wyatt and Sophia is next to him. Cody takes the seat next to his sister and I'm stuck sitting across from Jude. I'm so excited to watch him drool over Jax all night.

Once our drinks are ordered, Cody sits back in his seat and drapes one arm over Sophia’s shoulders and the other along the back of my chair. I stiffen slightly, until I realize he’s doing it more for comfort and less to get close to me.

Everyone is chattering amongst themselves, but I feel like the odd man out. Cody’s focused on his sisters and I can’t blame him for that. I overheard them saying they don’t get to see the guys much. Their seasons are opposite from baseball and it makes it really difficult for them all to get together. Throw in a kid and soon-to-be kid and I'm sure it makes it even more difficult.

Cody’s fingers toy with the tips of my hair. As much as I want to make him stop, I always loved when he did this. I'm not even sure he realizes he’s doing it; it was always an absentminded thing.