Page 67 of My Best Bet

I squinted at her, trying to read her face. “You’re not serious?”

She rolled off me and sat up against the wall, hugging her knees. “We can talk about it when you feel better.”

“No, Mer,” I said gently, hating the space between us. My hand wandered to her calf and I squeezed her muscle, massagingit. “I thought the plan was to move into a one-bedroom?” She’d been excited about that plan. She’d been excited for the independence. She wasn’t going to college until after her Olympic run, so having her own one-bedroom would kind of simulate having a dorm room.

She shrugged. “This would be cheaper. I know you’re mad, but this feels like an easy fix.”

“I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at the situation,” I clarified. “Why does he have tolivewith you? That’s… that’s weird.”

“No, it’s really not.” Her eyes stayed on my hand. “A lot of partners are roommates. Piper and Patrick are rooming together right next door to us.”

Us.

As in her and Andy.

It felt like I was going to be sick again.

“Patrick is gay, babe. And Patrick’s actually a nice guy,” I tried to reason with her. WeknewPatrick. He’d grown up with us at Centre Ice. “The jury’s still out on Andy.”

She shrugged, looking small. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to argue,” she said quietly. “We barely get any time together.”

“C’mere.” I gently tugged her to lay back down on me.

Hugging her against me, I dropped my head against my pillow and closed my eyes. She wanted this so bad… and if Andy was going to help her get to the Olympics, I couldn’t be the one to stand in her way.

“No, I’m sorry. It’s just a shock to hear, ya know?” I swallowed hard. “Your lock works, right? On your door? And the one for the bathroom?”

“Yeah,” she said with a light chuckle like I was being ridiculous. “But it’s Andy. You’ve met him. He wouldn’t do anything.”

I stayed silent. Because I didn't trust him. I couldn’t trust anyone with her. She was mine to protect. And I felt like ashit boyfriend being four hours away from her. This was why I needed to play better. I needed to be so good that I could call the shots and play on whatever team I wanted.

“It’ll be okay. He knows I have a boyfriend,” she told me with finality.

Boyfriend.Right.

“We should get married.”

She burst out laughing. “We’re literally 20, Colt. We can’t get married.”

“Fine,” I blew out a frustrated sigh. “When can we then?”

Her lips did a funny little dance, like she was trying really hard not to grin. “After.” She traced my eyebrow with her finger.

I breathed out a sigh and curled my fingers around her wrist, gently swiping my thumb across it. “I can’t fuckin’ wait,” I said, to which she just giggled.

After a couple of minutes of watching TV, I gently tugged on a couple bobby pins and her ponytail to undo her hair. She sighed when I massaged her scalp. A chuckle popped out of me because she was like a puppy, moving her head around so I’d get different spots, but when she let out a breathy little moan, all humor died.

“You can’t be making sounds like that, Bennett,” I grunted out, trying to shift my hard on.

“Sorry.” She giggled.

“Gonna give me blue balls,” I muttered, a grin tugging at my lips.

She pouted out her bottom lip in mock-sympathy. “Poor baby.” She smoothed a hand over my hair and planted a quick kiss on my forehead.

“Yes, that’s right. You should feel bad,” I joked. My hand snaked down her body and I playfully squeezed her butt, but her body jolted violently.

I paused, paralyzed in shock as my mind raced to replay what just happened. I pulled back and studied her eyes in the dimly lit room. “You good?”

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