Page 45 of My Worst Pucking Enemy

They like her how? Like, they want to bang her? Do I need to kick some ass right now?

Nope. No. I’m not jealous at all. But when I think about the professor—who she did, apparently, have a thing with, Rowan has confirmed—my fists clench involuntarily and visions of violence swim in front of my eyes.

“So what’s your point?”

“Have you ever heard the expression, don’t dip your pen in the company ink?”

I roll my eyes. “No, Knox, please explain it to me.”

He sighs and shakes his head. “Well, basically it just means that you—”

“Knox,” I bark at him. “I know what it means. It’s called sarcasm, man. Yes, I know that she’s Mason’s sister-in-law. Yes, I know there’s always a risk of things not working out.” More like a one hundred percent chance. “But Ruby and I are both grownups and we agreed that if that happens, we’ll part as friends and there will be no hard feelings.”

Knox, Logan, and Noah all exchange pitying looks.

“You really don’t know women, do you?” Logan shakes his head at me.

“I’ve known one or two,” I say irritably.

“Going on TV and announcing it really shines a spotlight on you, though. I mean, you could have waited until you were really, really sure.” Knox’s brows knit together. “We’re just concerned that if you guys—”

The door to the locker room bangs open.

It feels as if the temperature suddenly dropped fifty degrees.

Mason storms in, barreling towards me, passing Knox, Logan, and Noah, his eyes blazing with anger.

“Got any last words?” Knox whispers.

Then the three of them suddenly decide they need to be anywhere else in the world right that minute, and hurry out of the locker room, casting glances over their shoulder at me. Cowards.

I stand up. Mason gets right in my face, which instantly pisses me off, so I move towards him until we’re practically close enough to make out. He puts his hand on my shoulder and shoves me.

“Watch it,” I snap.

“Or what?” he demands belligerently.

“Or you’ll start practice with a fat lip.” I glare at him. He’s big, he’s mean, and he’s got the scars on his face to prove it, but so do I. And I don’t let anyone put their hands on me.

“Big words,” he growls.

“Hey!” Knox has poked his head back in the room. “We’re a team, guys.” And then he vanishes.

Mason takes a step back, takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly through his nostrils.

“My wife is mad as hell, she can’t even get ahold of her sister, because Ruby just keeps letting her calls go to voicemail and then sending her texts saying ‘I’m fine, call you later.’”

I shrug, still mad at him for shoving me. “I fail to see how this is my problem or my responsibility.” That’s a dick thing for me to say, I know. I care a lot about Mason and Rowan.

I sit down and pull my skates on and start lacing them up. Mason hurries over to his locker, grabs his skates, and sits down next to me, pulling them on.

“What the hell were you doing giving that interview on TV? I really didn’t think you were that much of an asshole, Pax. I actually thought we were friends.”

My shoulders slump.

“Listen... relationships are complicated, right? I mean, we don’t know exactly where the two of us are right now.”

“You don’t know where the two of you are?” His eyes widen in anger. “Well, that’s kind of a problem, isn’t it, because you said that you two were in love, on television, in front of God and everyone. One minute you’re agreeing to lie and say she was at your house, to help out Rowan, or that’s what you said. Now you’re in love with her? This makes no damned sense.”

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