Page 104 of Lace 'em Up

Of course, he doesn’t know the circumstances of my particular brand of bullshit—seemingly buying into the hockey is my life lines I’ve fed everyone around me—but, sadly, we had a similar implosion of the committed relationships we thought would last forever.

Mine being my ex making me realize that I’ll never live up to the grand expectations in my mind, never be able to live up to the legacy of my family…and then going on to fuck someone else. While Jakob’s ex-wife chose a far more cliché path of expression, fucking her personal trainer and then moving to Hawaii to find herself.

Fun times.

But this is why I shouldn’t have sent that text.

If my brother knows that Mom wasn’t behind my relationship…knows that there’s something more, something deeper?—

Cue panic.

Mine.

Because if he knows that this isn’t my mother’s influence, then?—

My cell starts ringing again.

That.

He’s going to want to know every fucking detail like the nosy sibling he is.

I groan softly and push out of bed, careful to not wake Rory as I slip out into the hall, waiting until I’ve quietly closed the door behind me before I swipe my finger across the screen.

“Tell me you’re fucking kidding,” Jakob snaps.

“Quiet,” I mutter, holding the cell away from my ear—because, Goddamn, my brothers are loud. “Rory’s sleeping.”

A blip of quiet, filled with befuddlement before he roars, “Excuse me?”

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter, moving more quickly down the hall?—

Come to me, coffeepot.

I need sustenance for this conversation.

And copious amounts of caffeine.

I shove in a pod, stick a mug beneath the spout, and slam down the top, listening with relief at the sound of the coffee brewing, the hint of the earthy scent hitting my nose only moments later.

“Tell me, King,” Jakob snaps.

I swap the mug for an empty one, even though it’ll mean more dishes to wash once I’m fully caffeinated, and quickly down the contents, sighing in relief when the hot brew hits my taste buds. “Is there a reason you’re pissed about this?” I mutter.

“Yes,” he says, the word still snapped out, but the rest of what he says is drowned out by the sound of his boys. They’re loud enough in the background that I hold my cell away from my ear again.

Jesus.

They come by it naturally.

“Yo!” Jakob shouts over the din, “I’m on the phone. Take it outside and solve it with Thumb War, yeah?”

My lips twitch.

If I had a penny for every time I heard my mom say that over the years, I would have…

Well, a lot of pennies.

Mostly because I’m the oldest and smartest and only participated in Thumb War battles I knew I could win.

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