Page 1 of A Little Jaded

CHAPTER ONE

EVERETT

Adrenaline lingers in my veins as I slide my jeans on after my shower. The locker room buzzes with energy after our three-to-one win against the Grizzlies. It was a rough game, but since the Hawks came out on top, it was more than worth it. I roll my shoulders as the ache from a particularly brutal hit spreads up my neck and down my spine. Yeah. I’m gonna feel it even more tomorrow.

I’ve been playing hockey for as long as I can remember. My dad might not have played professionally like my uncle and my friends’ families, but I’m still convinced it runs deep in my blood. Making me who I am while holding my future if I can maintain the willpower and determination to stay in top form.

“Good game, man,” one of my teammates offers.

As I rub my white towel against my damp hair, I lift my chin and reply, “Thanks,” when the heavy metal door bangs against the locker room's cinder block walls.

It’s followed by someone yelling, “Ev!”

“What?” Cameron, another teammate, answers for me.

“Where’s Everett?” the person demands.

It’s Reeves.

My roommate. Teammate. And more recently,friend. Still holding onto my white towel, I button my jeans the rest of the way as Reeves looks around the corner and comes into view.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“Come out here.”

“Why?”

“Come on,” he pushes.

Forgetting about my shirt still hanging in my locker, I stride closer. “What is it?”

“Remember our deal?” he asks. “There’s a girl outside. She needs your help.”

Aaaand, there goes the high I was riding from our win.

Yeah, I know exactly what my buddy’s talking about, and it doesn’t give me any warm fuzzies. Reeves and I have always been at odds with each other, and that’s putting shit lightly. But after sticking my nose in his relationship with our best friend’s little sister, I decided I owed him one, and he cashed in on it big time. How? By making me agree to take over his side gig for the next six months. Normally, I wouldn’t complain about taking on a little something else, but when it involves fake dating girls under the guise of protecting them from their shitty boyfriends? Well, I’ve been less than enthusiastic about the whole thing. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a heartless bastard. But why can’t they just…leave? Or, I dunno, maybenotdate assholes in the first place?

Damn, maybe I am heartless.

It’s not that I don’t care—I do. But when I’m already busy keeping track of my baby sister and her friends on campus or calling my dad to make sure my mom’s okay, it’s…exhausting. Having one more person rely on me feels like it might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. But what the hell do I know?

Reeling in my annoyance, I throttle the towel in my hand. “Fuck, man. I don’t have time?—”

“And I don’t give a shit.” Reeves grabs my arm and shoves me out the door to the arena’s main hallway. Then, he scans the premises with an urgency I’m not used to. Reeves doesn’t give a shit about anything or anyoneexcept his girlfriend, Dylan. Or at least, it’s the persona he leads everyone to believe. Over the last few months, I’ve caught glimpses of the real guy and learned his heart’s bigger than any of us ever gave him credit for. But right now, something has him on edge, and I don’t like it.

When his attention lands on the back of a small-framed girl in a black jacket, he repeats, “Come on,” to me while jogging toward her at the end of the hall and calling out, “Hey, wait up!”

Her body freezes, and she slowly turns to face him. “Look, I’m sorry I bothered you?—”

“You didn’t bother me,” he argues. Glancing over his shoulder, he gives me a look telling me to hurry the hell up.

I grumble under my breath but pick up the pace, wishing I’d thought to slip on my sneakers before rushing out. Who knows when the last time these floors were actually cleaned.

Gross.

When I reach them, my muscles lock as I take in the strange girl. Long, dark brown hair. Highlights. She’s pretty. Andsmall.Hell, she barely reaches my shoulder. Sunglasses cover her eyes, and I want to push them away so I can see what color they are. I don’t really care, but having them covered when we’re indoors causes warning bells to ring in my head. It feels like she’s hiding something, and if Reeves’ response is anything to go by, I’d say she is.

“This is Everett,” Reeves adds, introducing me to her. “And you are…?”

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