Page 63 of Game Misconduct

twenty-four

. . .

Nick

Luke fucking Henry is in my rink.

He’s in the players’ lounge, drinking coffee with his brother.

He’s on the ice, shooting pucks into the net.

He’s in the halls, laughing and fucking around with his teammates.

He’s here, and I fucking hate it.

Doesn’t he know this is my territory? I want him gone—now.

The smug playboy’s already got my dream girl.

I never should’ve kissed Bex. Never should have held her all night long. That’s what a boyfriend does, and she already has one of those. It doesn’t matter that she asked me to stay. It doesn’t matter that she kissed me first.

There was a line, and I crossed it.

It’s bad enough I’m lusting over a woman who’s in a relationship. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I was the cause of their breaking up.

Maybe they’re in an open relationship? After all, they’re doing long distance. It can’t be easy. So maybe he didn’t care.

But if she didn’t tell him… if she hid what happened… I like to think I know her better than that. She wouldn’t cheat or lie. The kiss didn’t go anywhere.

Even if I wanted it to. Even if it’s all I can think about.

She’s been avoiding looking me in the eye for the last week, so I drank myself stupid at the team Thanksgiving dinner the other night, deep in my self-pity. MacGregor pulled me aside, checked on me, and I bit his head off. He didn’t deserve that. Nobody deserves that.

Now, as I grab an electrolyte drink from the fridge, Bex waltzes into the room, and my heart seizes. She’s wearing her usual uniform of a pencil skirt, silky blouse, high heels, and that signature red lipstick. None of the other staff get dressed up, not even the front office. Our GM and president usually sport a team polo, and they’ve set the standard for everyone else. As long as it’s Grizzlies colors or has the team’s logo, it’s fair game.

As for me, the team’s outfitted me with an entire wardrobe of apparel, so I don’t have to think about it.

Bex approaches Luke, who stands and gives her a hug before tugging her onto the chair beside his. Not the greeting I expected for his longtime girlfriend, but maybe they’re settled and complacent. Maybe they’re not big into public displays of affection.

If it were me, I’d want everyone to know she’s mine, and I’m hers, and we belong together. I don’t think I’d ever get complacent. I’d never get sick of her.

But she’s not mine. I have to remember that.

She’s his. Elsy is his, too. Even Whitney is his.

White-hot ire runs through me, flooding my system so fast I’m dizzy. I inhale sharply, banging my fist on the counter, and a few people in the lounge look over in my direction.

“You good, man?” Seb frowns from across the room.

“I’m fine.”

Except I’m anything but. I have to stand here and watch as Luke slings his arm on the back of Bex’s chair and she cuddles into him. My heart cracks in two right then and there. I thought I could move past this. I thought I could stop torturing myself by wanting someone who doesn’t want me. It’s more than that; she already has another man. She doesn’t need me. She doesn’t want me.

Luke Henry has stolen everything good in my life. So I’ll make it my mission to ruin his.

Storm clouds hang over my head as I tear out of the lounge and into the dressing room. We don’t have to be on the ice for another hour, but as I suit up and lace my skates, I find myself anticipating the rush of the ice, bracing for the cold, the punishment of the hits I’ll take.

The fight. When I finally break Luke Henry’s face, once and for all.