Page 92 of Game Misconduct
thirty-five
. . .
Bex
“Bestie,” Luke says in my ear. “Please don’t tell me you’re the type of girl who gets a boyfriend and then drops all her friends.”
A laugh squeaks past my lips. “Well, I’ve never had a boyfriend before, so I can’t promise you that.”
He lets out an affronted noise. “Never? I’ve had girlfriends. I’ve dated plenty of women. And this is me we’re talking about. You’re a fucking catch, babe.”
“Shut up.” My face heats as I badge myself through the practice facility’s security barrier.
Paul, my favorite security guard, waves at me. He’s reading a thick paperback, one I saw Nick reading last week. Guess he’s part of their book club, too.
Once I’m safely out of his hearing range, I turn back to my phone call with Luke.
“Guys don’t really want to date me, at least not for more than one night. When you look like me—”
At that, he scoffs.
“Shush. I wasn’t interested in being rejected. And I was always so focused on school. I never put effort into it. Nobody was worth it.”
“But Mitchell is.”
My stomach flutters when I think of my green-eyed hockey player. The effortless ways he shows me he cares. The way I’ve never had to doubt his intentions, not once. The way he woke me up with a kiss to my forehead, made me come twice, then cooked me breakfast before heading to the rink for morning skate.
“Yeah, he is.”
“Then I’m happy for you, babe,” he says. “But we’re going to have to work on this. He doesn’t get to steal you away from me. We’ll compare schedules and make this work.”
“Aww, Lukey. Did you miss me?” I tease.
He laughs. “Yeah, Bex, I did. And I’m not afraid to say it. Unlike some people.”
“Ouch. Shots fired.”
“I kind of feel bad,” he continues.
“For what? Why?”
“All this time, he thought you and I were together. I can’t imagine how shitty that must have made him feel. I never should have said that thing on vacation. We never should have pretended to be together and rubbed his nose in it.”
“Probably not, but no matter how we got here, we’re here now,” I point out. “I wasn’t in a place back then to hear him out. Hell, I barely am now. But at least we’re finally together and happy.”
“That’s all I want,” Luke says. “For you to be happy.”
“I want that for you, too. How is Tampa?”
“It’s…” His heavy exhale conveys plenty. “I really liked Austin. And I really liked Winnipeg before that. I’m not liking Tampa the same way yet. But that’s a yet. There’s still a chance it will turn around.”
“You dating?”
“Meh.”
“Is that a yes or a no?”
He chuckles. “I’ve hooked up a few times, but I’m not seeing any one person more than that,” he says. “It’s like you said. I don’t want to put the effort in.”
