Page 97 of Forgive You

“Are you? I told you, you need to get your shit together.” Jason doesn’t yell, but it’s not far off. “Hockey players get a very long leash, but once it snaps, you’re done. You’re hanging by a thread, Ford.”

I clear my throat, offering Ford a small smile before I follow my gut. I swing my arms around his neck, pulling him against my body. “We care about you, Ford.”

“No, we don’t,” Jason sputters.

I glare over my shoulder as I let go. “Yes,wedo.”

Ford twists his gaze from me to Jason, and I cock my head at him, silently challenging him on the lie. I know for a fact Jason loves Ford. One, he said so himself when he found out we were bunking together, and two, we wouldn’t be here if he didn’t.

And I know why. Ford reminds him of Hunter. A troublesome kid with the biggest heart and purest intentions, but fears that are loud enough to drag him down.

They are the ones who need to know they are not alone. Who need to hear how we care more than anything.

My lips press together in a flat line, scolding Jason with my eyes until he rolls his.

“Fine,” he mutters reluctantly. “I care about you.Dickhead.”

“Dickhead?” Ford scrunches his nose, but I nod.

“We had to bail you out, so you’re kinda a dickhead.”

Ford mumbles something I can’t decipher, but Jason cuts him off.

“Just get in.” He clicks his car open, and I meet his eyes. “What?”

Something tingles in my tummy when his grin expands.

He hides his emotions well, always the pragmatic one, but it’s moments like this when I fall for him even more. When he’s grumpy and moody, but would still move mountains for the people he cares about.

“Nothing.” I shake my head while he steps into my space. “You have the biggest heart. It’s sexy.”

Without hesitation, he wraps his arms around my back, tucking me against his body. “Sexy, huh?”

I crane my neck, meeting his lips as they almost touch. He smells like soap and some citrusy stuff he put in his hair from the hotel before we left. I bite my lip, my thoughts shooting back to last night within a heartbeat.

His mouth brushes over mine with a sexy smile.

“I’m thrilled you two finally boned—you’re welcome, by the way—but can we get going?” Ford blares from the open window. “My hangover is killing me.”

“You’ll live.” Jason kisses me until I feel it in my toes, and when he lets go, I’m instantly bummed by the lack of his body in my space.

We get in, but not before I escort Mutt from the passenger seat to the backseat, sitting like a prince next to our hockey kind.

“Who the fuck is this?” Ford backs up against the door as if a rottweiler just bared his teeth at him instead of the small fluffy dog that’s looking at him with a stoic expression.

“That’s Mutt.” I beam, twisting my body at him from the passenger seat.

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

“He is a domesticated carnivore, also known as a dog,” Jason adds, driving from the lot and onto the road. “They tend to bark, much like you, and have a very good sense of smell.”

Ford flips him off in the rearview mirror, and I can’t hold back my laugh.

“Why do we have”—he glances at the sweet dog with a disgusted look—“amutt?”

“He’s a rescue. We’re looking for a new owner.”

“Because Jason wouldn’t do?” Ford jokes.

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