Page 101 of Hate to Love You

Luke is the only guy I know who has a couple of relationships under his belt. Which means he’s the most knowledgeable one to seek out advice from. Right?

Quite frankly, it’s slim pickings.

It’s either Luke or Jack Schiff, our goalie, and I think Jack has a few screws loose. Unfortunately, that seems to be a requirement to be a decent goaltender. Who else would be crazy enough to stand there and get pelted with pucks by guys who have a ninety-five-mile-per-hour slapshot?

Exactly.

Plus, his girlfriend is just as loco as he is. Yeah, they’ve been together for two years. But they’ve also had the cops called on them twice for domestic disturbances because when that girl loses her shit, she goes nuclear.

Luke is my safest bet.

“Um…” I mutter.

When I continue standing there, saying nothing, Luke cocks his head and stares at me with growing interest. “What’s up?”

I shake my head and drag my fingers through my hair. Spitting out the words is so much harder than I thought it would be.

He laughs. “Brody?”

“You’re the only one I can come to about this, okay?” I lower my voice and shut the door. “And I don’t want to hear any shit about it afterward, got it?”

Looking mildly baffled, but still highly amused, he says, “Um, all right.”

“It’s about Natalie.”

“Shit.” His amusement fades. “Have you fucked it up already? ’Cause there’s a pool saying this won’t last more than six weeks.”

“I haven’t done anything.” Well, I don’t think I have. See, that’s the problem. I have no idea if I’ve done something or not. I draw myself up to my full height and frown. “Wait a minute…A pool?” My brows lower as I narrow my eyes. “What’d you bet?”

He looks sheepish. “Three weeks. Already lost my money.”

I roll my eyes. “Seriously, dude?”

He shrugs. “What do you want me to say? You’ve always been a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of guy. Didn’t you have some sort of schematic for sleeping with the same girl twice?”

It was three times in six months.

But, fine…I see where he’s coming from.

“Can we please stay focused?” I snap.

“Sure.” He shrugs. “What’s going on with Natalie?”

I shake my head and plow my fingers through my hair for the second time in as many minutes. “I don’t know. She’s acting weird. Every time I ask her what the deal is, she brushes me off and says everything’s fine. But it doesn’t seem fine. You know?” I search his face for understanding.

Luke takes a seat at his desk and spins the chair around to face me as I plunk down on the bed across from him.

“Maybe there really is nothing going on with her.” He leans forward, his elbows balancing on his knees. “Maybe you’re reading into something that’s just not there.”

At this point, anything’s possible. But my gut tells me something’s up. “I don’t know. She just seems more distant lately. Sometimes I catch her staring at me, and she’s got this look in her eyes. I keep waiting for her to drop a bomb, but she hasn’t.” And it’s killing me. Every time it happens I find myself holding my breath and waiting.

We’re both silent for a moment before he suggests, “Why don’t you take her out for dinner—or better yet—cook something nice for her.” He points a finger at me. “That shows effort and chicks love that. Get a bottle of wine, and then you can talk.”

Hmmm.

That’s actually not a bad idea.

I want Natalie to understand that even though I’ve been a player in the past, I’m not one now. She can trust me. I want this to work between us. I’m in it for the long haul.

---