Page 73 of Pucking Revenge

“Yeah, they think it was something he ate. But if you notice any concussion symptoms, Brooks, you better tell me.”

“Got it.” I dip my chin. I don’t always love taking orders from my older brothers, but in this capacity, Gavin is my boss, so I’ll always defer to him.

He shifts in his seat and focuses on the woman beside him. “Now tell me what you’ve been up to since high school, Lennox.”

“Did she say anything to you on the plane?”

I kind of want to kill my brother. He hasn’t stopped asking about Lennox since we entered our hotel room. We have an early morning tomorrow, and I have a game-day ritual to follow, only he’s already fucking with it. Sara should be sitting on my face right now, and I should be nowhere near Aiden’s whiney ass.

“No.”I unlock my phone, breathing through the mounting frustration.

He flops over to his side and huffs. “It’s weird, right? Her being best friends with Sara?”

“It’s only weird if you make it weird.” Holding my phone overhead, I pull up Instagram and scroll mindlessly. “You dated in high school. And I thought you and Jill were serious.”

“We are.”

My annoyance ramps up another notch, and I let out a humorless laugh. “Then why are you so worried about Lennox?”

“I’m not worried about her. It’s just weird. And it’s weirder that you don’t think it’s weird.”

“Whatever you say.”

Snatching the remote from the nightstand, he sits up and aims it at the television. When he finds SportsCenter, I go back to scrolling, thankful that he’s finally stopped talking.

Sara: Ready for the game tomorrow?

Me: Not really. I was promised a certain ritual, and after one game, it’s already been abandoned.

Sara: You didn’t get a shutout. Figured you wouldn’t want a repeat of that night at the risk of losing another one.

Me: We dominated that game. And all this means is that we have to try another position. You know what coach always says. Practice makes perfect.

The dots on the phone dance, then disappear completely, and my stomach lurches. Shit. Did I push too hard?

Just as I’m considering how to play it off, the dots are back. Then a message appears.

Sara: We both have roommates. There’s no privacy.

Me: Privacy is overrated. Meet me at the hot tub?

I’m already up and out of bed, confident she’ll say yes. Sara isn’t an overthinker. She’s also not shy.

“Where you going?” Aiden tracks me as I shuffle over to my suitcase and pull out my board shorts.

“Gonna go get in some laps and then hit the hot tub to relax my muscles. My quads are still tight from Saturday’s game.”

Aiden swings his legs off the bed. “Cool, I’ll come.”

I point at the bed. “Lay back down.”

Hands thrown up, he follows the command, but he’s wearing a bewildered frown. “What the fuck?”

I sigh. “I’m meeting Sara up there.”

“Is Lennox going?” He sits up again, his palms pressed to the mattress on either side of him. “Did she say she doesn’t want me to be there?”

“Oh my God, dude. Dump Jill and talk to Lennox.” I swat at him with my board shorts. “This is pathetic. No, Lennox is not coming. I’m going to spend some time with my girlfriend. Alone. Okay?”

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