Page 7 of Charming Crosschecks

Miss-Know-it-All crossed a line when she got rid of his donuts, replacing them with holistic beet brownies. He finished his workout, wanting to go have a bite of something sweet, only to discover the box of donuts that was a daily ritual between the fellas was gone – and replaced with brownies. He picked up one, nearly moaning at how soft and moist they were, his mouth watering as he took a massive bite and gagged.

“What the…” he spat – and then did so again in the sink nearby, not caring if it got clogged or not. “What in the – WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE BROWNIES?!” he hollered in disbelief, only to see the dietician walk in with Molly.

Of course!

“Where’s my stuff?” he snapped hotly, already knowing somehow that she was involved.

“What stuff?”

“My donuts.”

“We arranged for you to have these brownies instead.”

“These taste like crap.”

“Expensive crap,” she smirked, crossing her arms over her chest – which he was now focusing on against his will. He really liked her wearing that pale blue sweater because it made her eyes glow and hung on her curves.

What amI thinking?!He thought in horror and looked at the brownies – then at Molly. “You drugged me!”

“I did no such thing,” she sputtered, looking shocked at the accusation as he turned, grabbed a paper towel, and wiped the ‘brownie’ off his tongue, trying to get the taste out of his mouth.

“I hate thesefrownies…”

“They are brownies.”

“No - those arefrowniesand exceedingly awful.”

“They are delicious,” she countered. “I had one myself, and you can barely taste the beets inside and…”

“YOU PUT BEETS IN THE FROWNIES?!”he yelped, turning back to the sink. Yanking up the faucet, he rinsed his mouth and put a finger down his throat, ignoring her as she spoke behind him.

“Beets are delicious, and you are being childish. They are full of vitamins, make the brownies moist, and I didn’t bake them. You don’t have to make such a scene. I had a bakery make them especially for you and…”

“For me?”he said in disbelief. “What on earth makes you think I wantfrowniesmade withbeets? That’s a vegetable! Where are my sugary, fattening, delicious donuts?”

“No more donuts,” she said simply, crossing her arms.

“You’re fired,” he snapped bluntly, only to pause as she got this look on her face. That look was definitely a four-letter-word-eatin’-grin, as his grandpa used to say when no one was around.

“You can’t fire me, Gerry.”

“But Coach can…” he started, moving to wipe his mouth again as he shivered in disgust before pushing past her.

“Coach supported my purchase and ate two of them not twenty minutes ago – if you really want to know. Coach Mike said they were delicious.”

And Gerry came to a stop in his tracks, slowly turning toward her in shock. Betrayal coursed through his veins at the way she was neatly side-stepping him, humiliating him, and getting everyone to side against him. He thought this position was a dream for him because he was supposed to be bulky, supposed to throw around his weight on the ice, but now they were making him second-guess and triple-guess what they expected.

Was he letting down the team?

Maybe this was why Giroux was called the ‘Golden Boy,’ and when the photos were of the three of them – Giroux, Batiste, and himself – he was always referred to as the last in the group – the third wheel. Maybe they humored him hanging around? Did they pity him because he wasn’t as pretty as Giroux or as charismatic as Batiste? Those doubts wrapped around his heart painfully because he loved this team and these guys like they were his own family. He felt included… until she showed up.

Molly.

“I hate you…” he whispered, his voice raw and broken. He saw her flinch as her eyes looked like she was about ready to cry. He felt guilty for his words and felt like a lesser man, but the doubts, fear, rage, and frustration were bubbling over, and he had no outlet for it – no safe place to get it out of him.

“G-Gerry…” she breathed, extending a hand toward him, looking as devastated as he felt – and he backed away.

“No,” he began again hoarsely, looking away so she didn’t see the truth in his eyes, the shame. He felt completely emasculated, ashamed, and lower than a piece of trash right now because he wasn’t good enough for the team – and sure wasn’t good enough for someone as gorgeous as she was. Obviously, she was there because she pitied him, and he was heartily sick of people’s pity and sad looks. “Just leave me alone… please.”

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