Page 72 of The Trophy

“Does she know that?” Luca precedes me again. “Because when she told us about the dick pic you sent her and how you showed up to her apartment, totally naked, she sounded less than impressed.”

The scumbag laughs. “You think you two have a shot with her.” It isn’t a question. “Then you two meatheads must be even slower than you look. I read somewhere that all the concussions you guys get on the ice have an effect on your memory and ability to understand and retain information.”

His tone irks me and I bite the bait he’s dangling in front of me. “Why, what information do you think we’re not understanding?”

“Lakyn wants to get back together, this is why I’m here.”

This time it’s Luca who reacts. “Bullshit. Cazzate. Lakyn is with me. With us. She’s our girl.”

I back him up, the same way I would do on the ice if he was alone against the opponent’s defense. “That’s right. You had your chance and you blew it, buddy. She doesn’t want you back. She doesn’t even want to be friends with you.”

He was just talking about hockey players’ inability to understand things, but I seriously wonder if this guy is really as oblivious as he seems to be. “I’ve seen the photos Bay and Lakyn posted on social media. Why do you think she posted those photos with you at parties, at the country club, at the pier?”

If this is some kind of test, I think I might be failing it. “You tell me.” I growl, my tone hard, not wanting to give him the idea that whatever he might say has any power to rattle me.

His smile widens. “It was to make me jealous,” he informs us. “She knew I had moved on and she wanted to show me that she could do it too. And you know what?”

“What?” Luca bites out, rolling his eyes at the other guy’s smug tone.

“It worked. It made me realize that ending things with Lakyn was a mistake.”

This time my laugh is genuine. I almost feel sorry for this guy. Almost. “That’s the first time you made sense since we had the pleasure of making your acquaintance, dude. You made the biggest mistake of your goddam life by letting Lakyn go. No amount of showing up on her doorstep with roses or bringing her coffee in the morning will convince her to give you another chance when you cheated on her and then you blocked her on social media. If you wanted her to move on, you got your wish. So I don’t give two fucks if you go back to Princeton, or stay here. Just leave her alone.”

Luca comes to my aid. “That’s right. You don’t want us to come to have another chat with you. Next time, we won’t be as nice.”

Damn.

I fight the urge to high five him. If he wasn’t an excellent hockey player and a prince, he would have a future in the mafia.

Finally our words seem to get through to Lakyn’s ex. “Are you seriously threatening me?”

I shrug. “Take our warning however you want, but leave Lake alone. Just in case you didn’t know, stalking is a crime.”

Remember earlier, when I said that this guy had a fucking death wish? I was right.

“And who would be the stalker here? Me? Take it from someone who has known Lakyn since elementary school. If I’m a stalker, she’s a psycho bitch. Why do you think I blocked her? She was constantly stalking my social media, liking my posts with my new girl because she wanted me to know that she was watching me. Then she bought those dates with you to make me jealous and now she’s pretending she doesn’t want me back just to make me want her more.”

Holy fuck.

This guy is deranged. Thank goodness, Luca handles him. I’m too stunned to speak and I’m barely keeping my hands to myself now that I let go of this idiot’s shoulder.

“Did you just call Lake a psycho bitch?” Luca’s scowl rivals mine.

“Take it from someone who knows her better than you, guys,” he says. “Lake and her sister are two psychotic stalkers. Wait until you break up with her or she thinks you’re cheating. She’ll stalk your social media and when you block her, she’ll still find a way to post pictures to make you jealous. She’s fucking crazy.”

Un-fucking-believable.

“Be as it may,” I say, done with this fucker. “The only reason you may ever see or talk to Lakyn again, is if she makes contact with you and wants to speak to you. Show up uninvited anywhere, and you’ll be very sorry. Don’t let us show you how good we are with our sticks.”

We walk out of the bar, still riled up by the conversation we just had.

“What a piece of work,” Luca says.

“The guy’s deranged. How could he twist everything to suit his own narrative?”

Luca agrees with me. “Even if I hadn’t seen the dick pic, I would believe Lake. I feel like in these past few weeks, I’ve really gotten to know her.”

I nod. “Me too. Lakyn isn’t a psycho bitch or a stalker. I’m sure of it.”

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