Page 113 of Never You

“That’s good, man. You got the girl. You got the family. You got the job. You got money in the bank. You got it all.” Our gazes meet, and a pleased grin tucks on the corner of his mouth.

“I do, yeah.”

I bring my beer to my lips, the bitter taste of hops landing on my tongue. “That’s good. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks.” The silence sits comfortably between us, before he twists his attention back to me. “I ran into Karl the other day.”

I look up, my eyebrows knitted together, knowing who he’s talking about. Karl Mitchels, head coach of the North Carolina Hurricanes.

“Karl?” I mock. “You’re on a first name basis with the man?”

He chuckles. “I run into him once in a while. You know how it goes.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“He asked if we were still friends. Told me he wants you on his team.”

“He did?” I ask, cocking my head.

“Hmm,” he muses, then points his beer at me. “Butyouragent shut him down before he could make an offer.”

Yeah, that sounds about right. Kay has clear instructions.

“He has aNo-East-Coastpolicy,” I explain.

I know it sounds stupid for most people, but I really don’t want to live on the East Coast. I’d rather take a team in Canada or Russia before I start playing for a team this close to my parents.

“Yeah, I told him as much but you’re really still holding onto that?” Hunter asks, a little surprised.

“Fuck yeah.”

“Why?”

I push out a breath, a grunt following with it. “Because I don’t wanna live on the East Coast.”

He lifts his snapback from his head, running a hand through his brown hair.

I can see the cogs spin in his brain, and I press my lips together into a small stripe. There are unspoken words sitting on his tongue, and I prepare myself for a preaching I don’t want to hear. I’ve heard it all before. I’m annoying myself, giving myself the limitations I did, but I don’t know how to deal otherwise.

“Well,” he starts, his voice small, “are you still set on that now that you have Rae?”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

He rolls his eyes, as if he knows something I don’t. “She liveshere. In North Carolina. She made it pretty clear she’s not going back to LA. You love her. Youjustsaid that.”

I haven’t even thought about that. I’ve been so wrapped up in finding enough balls to face my family to either accept her or go fuck themselves. I haven’t thought about how Rae is not coming back to LA. In my head, we’d been waking up in my bed every single day, but not once had I taken into consideration that we will be miles apart after this weekend.

“You going to go long-distance with her?”

“No.” I blurt, then clear my throat with frustration, rubbing my face, realizing I have no say in it. “I don’t know?”

Fuck, I don’t want to do long-distance. I want to wake up next to her every day. I want to cook her breakfast on Sundays and surprise her with fried chicken whenever the fuck I want. I want to take my Camaro out and have a drive with her to an unknown destination.

“I didn’t think about the how,” I confess, a troubled look on my face.

A heavy feeling now sits in my stomach, while a slight panic creeps up my spine.

Charlotte’s voice trails from the house, calling out to her husband, and he pushes away from the railing, giving me a reprimanding look that doesn’t help.

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