Page 4 of Scoring with my Bestie's Ex

“Ex?” Mike grimaces. “That’s a bummer.”

I gesture for him to come into the cabin with me. We head inside, and I open the fridge to grab a soda.

“To be honest, I don’t think they’ll hold it against you,” I tell him. “But you should know Bella is going through a rough time, so I don’t think now is the best time.”

Mike nods slowly. “And you and Ellen?”

“The breakup was… friendly enough,” I admit. “We both agreed that we weren’t right together. She’s great, though. Friendly, warm. We just didn’t work.”

“Right.” Mike cracks open a soda. He drinks deeply, a thoughtful look on his face. “What sort of rough time does this Bella have?”

I shake my head. “Not my place to say.”

Mike smirks. “Then maybe what they need is some distraction. I’m sure we can make them feel better.”

“Hey, now. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“You said that the breakup was friendly. So why not?” Mike grins at me and grabs a couple more sodas.

“No, I’m serious.” I grab his arm. “We shouldn’t interrupt them.”

Mike shakes me off. “I’m not going to be pushy about it. I’m just going to offer them some sodas on this hot day.”

He’s out of the house before I can protest again. Grimacing, I follow him out.

Bella and Ellen are both sitting up as we approach. Ellen wears a huge floppy hat and pushes it back.

A huge smile spreads over her face as she jumps to her feet.

“OMG! Aaron! I thought that was you. Bella told me you were around, but I didn’t expect you to be our neighbor.” Ellen puts her hand on her hip, jutting it out to the side.

It’s been a while since the last time I saw her, but when we were together, this action would mean she was uncomfortable with the situation.

“Hey,” I say. “This is Mike, he’s on the team.”

Mike holds out a soda. “I thought you might like a cold drink.”

Ellen’s smile brightens as she takes the soda. “Thanks! I’m Ellen, and this is my partner in crime, Bella.”

Bella lifts her hand to accept the soda, but her attention is focused on Ellen. Her gaze is wary.

“I think I might have some ice inside,” Ellen says. “Want to come in and get some?”

Oh.

I rub the back of my neck as Mike follows Ellen into the cabin.

Bella’s expression becomes irritated. She grabs a cover-up and pulls it on as she stands. “And there goes the rest of the day. If she starts scheming to keep us here another night just because you introduced her to some hot hockey player, I might have to stage another dramatic escape!”

She shakes her head.

“I didn’t mean to. I told him to leave you two alone,” I say. “Honestly, I would have stopped him if I could.”

Bella slips on a pair of flip-flops. “I can’t blame you. Ellen noticed him earlier. She kept waving and winking every time he looked over. She was clearly inviting him.”

“Right.” I shake my head slowly. That tracks.

“She was trying to convince me to stay longer already, too,” Bella continues. “It’s hard with Ellen sometimes. But then, you know that.”

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