Page 64 of Never You

Fucking cockblocker.

“You need me to fill her up?”

Rae awkwardly moves her body back up, and I let my head hang, pressing my forehead against her shoulder as I push out a breath. She rakes her fingers through my hair, the sensation making it even harder to straighten my body when the guy knocks on the window again.

“Yes!” I whine, rolling my eyes at him. “Fill it up!”

Getting back into my seat, I rub my hands over my face with a groan, then look at a still smiling Rae.

“You get an A+ for effort.” She smirks, then opens her door.

“I’m going to get it out of you, baby!” I call to her when she gets out, slamming the door before sticking her tongue out at me.

I laugh.

Cheeky little brat.

17

I’m staying in the car while Rae is inside to grab us some snacks when I pull my phone out of my pocket. I sigh when I notice the dozen calls from Emily before I see the missed call from my agent.

It feels weird to notbelongto a club. I told the Coach right after we won the Cup, and when he asked me why, I couldn’t give him an answer. I don’t know why I don’t wanna play for the Knights anymore. Frankly, it makes no sense, because all I ever wanted to do was play hockey and now I’m quitting a team before I know where I want to go in the first place. But the last couple of months I’ve had this anxious feeling that I needed to do something else.

To play somewhere else.

Curious, I call him back, holding my phone close to my ear in anticipation, as I nervously tap my finger against the wheel.

My jaw ticks in excitement, knowing there has to be some serious interest from different teams. The dial tone sounds harsh until Kay answers the phone.

“You’ve been ignoring me, Jensen,” he speaks, a bit grim. “Heard you’ve been busy.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’ve been ignoring everyone. What do you got for me?” I ask, running a hand through my hair.

I have no desire to waste time with small talk and certainly not to discuss whatever might be going on with Rae.

“There are offers from the Bruins, the Penguins, and the Devils.” The words come out of his lips as if he’s telling me the items on a McDonald's menu, and my ears heat up at the sound of it.

He’s shitting me.

He has to be.

“I think I heard you wrong, Kay. Because I could’ve sworn you just saidthe Devils. As in the Jersey Devils?”

He keeps quiet, and a sharp pain of agony going through my chest. With impeccable timing, Rae gets back into the car with a smile splitting her face as she holds up a bag of gummy bears and some barbecue chips. I send a small smile her way, then pinch the bridge of my nose.

“Come on, Kay,” I drag out the words, feeling fucked. “What was the one thing I’ve always said?”

“No Metropolitan Division.”

My frustration echoes through the car. “That’s three teams from the Metropolitan Division!”

There is no chance in Hell I’m going to move back to the East Coast. You might as well ball and chain me right now and put a fucking gag in my mouth while you’re at it.

“What do you want me to say, Jensen? These are the teams that are interested right now. You just won the Stanley Cup. You’re wanted back home.”

“I sure as fuck am not going back home,” I counter, adamantly.

“Just think about it for a few days. They are all offering a shit ton of money.”

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