Page 143 of Never You

When the lights go out, Kayla comes back holding three beers and a cup of tea, with a sweet smile.

Confused, I eye the three beers.

“Look who I found!” she booms, excited.

Without waiting for my response, a tall figure pops his head out from behind her back, two more beers in his hand and a hot dog in the other. I cock my head to look at him closely, and it takes me a second before I make out a red flannel shirt and brown styled hair.

No way.

“What are you doing here?” I give Bodi a shocked look while my heart rate speeds up once more. My head snaps back and forth between Kayla and Bodi. If I wasn’t one-hundred percent convinced something was up, I am now.

Wondering if Jensen is here too, I glance past Bodi, a bit dazed.

Part of me is dying to see him.

The other part is terrified.

“Don’t worry.” Bodi soothes. “He’s not here. I brought you a hotdog.” He holds up the bun as a peace offering of some sort, as if he’s scared I’m going to bite his head off.

Narrowing my eyes, I grab the hotdog out of his hands. “I thought you went back to Atlanta.”

“I did,” he explains while both he and Kayla sit down. “But Kayla asked me to come, and I never say no to a good game.” He winks, then switches his gaze to Julie and Jason.

“Jason! How are you, mate?” He moves past me, pulling his friend in a tight hug, then slaps his back like guys do. “How long are you in town for?”

“Long enough for a night of bar hopping,” Jason smirks, followed by a snort of Julie beside him.

“Bar hopping suggests multiple bars, Jason. You’d need to raise your tolerance before you’ll be able to move your ass to another bar after two drinks.”

“Ignore her.”

“What’s up, Jules?” Bodi leans in to kiss her cheek, replied by an unimpressed look from her. “You wanna come for drinks?”

“Nah,” she taps Jason's thigh. “Don’t wanna ruin his self esteem by outdrinking him.”

“You can come, Jules. My self esteem can handle it. Just make sure my brother doesn’t freak out when he hears you’re out on the town with his little brother.” Jason’s reply is playful, but I sense a sharpness in his tone that briefly raises my eyebrows.

“Shut up.” Julie rolls her eyes, then takes the beer from Bodi before taking a big chug. Bodi offers the other to Jason, then takes the one Kayla’s holding out for him, his hazel green raking over mine.

“Relax, Goldilocks. You’re gonna be fine.” He then takes the seat next to Kayla.

“Right.” I don’t believe a fucking word he’s saying, so I turn around to Charlotte staring at the ice. When she notices my eyes on her, she smiles.

“Look, I've been hurt many times. Conveniently, by the man I now happen to be married to. I understand your fear, but I’d never do anything to upset you.”

“I’m not scaredyouwill upset me,” I mumble, when I notice Hunter walk onto the ice, then point my thumb at my cousin and Bodi next to me. “I’m scared they will.”

“It’s just a game, Rae. Eat your hotdog,” Kayla mumbles.

I take a bite of the thing, doing my best to push away the nerves that move through my stomach like wildfire. When the meat of the hotdog attacks my taste buds in the most delicious way, I devour the entire thing within a minute, until I let out a satisfied moan while Hunter starts to welcome the crowd.

He’s wearing his signature snapback with a Hurricane jersey and some washed out jeans, and glancing at Charlotte, I can see the pride dripping from her face.

“He’s not playing, is he?”

“No, they just asked him to make a guest appearance to promote the charity. Introducing the new team and new roster. He’s training the Peewee’s.”

“Better?” Kayla asks, while I slouch down in the chair, not really registering what Charlotte is sharing.

---