Page 13 of The Friend Zone

Hey Bay, sorry for the last minute heads up but it turns out I don’t think the bj is my lucky charm after all. If you have any questions, hit me up later. It's probably easier to talk by text anyway from now on, because I’m so busy I can barely find time for anything other than classes and hockey right now. I hope you understand. It’s not you, it’s me. I promise.

Yeah, it’s worse than I thought. Re-reading it, I sound like someone who got his dick wet and moved on the second he got what he wanted.

There’s a dull pain in my chest at the thought, and I should run to the science building, wait for Bay outside her class and hope that she’ll believe a story about temporary insanity.

I can’t though. I have no doubt that if I keep seeing Bay, Topher will follow through with his threat and release my initiation video.

I can’t let that happen, no matter what. The idea of my mom seeing that is enough incentive not to wither under Cole’s furious glare.

“Jagger,” he barks. “Are you gonna fucking say anything?”

I shrug, looking away because I know he’s right but there’s nothing I can do unless I want to destroy my life and my family’s reputation. “It’s not that bad, dude. Bay and I weren’t together or anything, so I’m not dumping her by text. It was just a casual thing. I’ve ended dozens of booty call deals by text and usually none of the girls care.”

I’ve seen Cole hit people on the ice. His fists are clenched so hard that his knuckles are white and a part of me—the sick motherfucker part—wishes he did hit me because I deserve it.

“When I found out about your deal with Bay and I wanted to kick your ass, you said you wouldn’t hurt her.” He accuses me.

“And I’m not,” I lie. “Believe me bro, Bay doesn’t expect anything. I was crystal clear that we weren’t dating. Like I already told you, that’s how I’ve ended all my hookup deals.”

If I thought that would get Cole off my back, I was wrong.

“Yeah, because you usually hook up with party girls and puck bunnies. I’m not fucking judging because that’s what I used to do too. But Bay isn’t a puck bunny. She’s a relationship kind of girl. She’s dated Satan for almost three years, for fuck’s sake. This,” he jabs at my phone with such force that I’m surprised both the screen and his finger don’t shatter. “This is gonna break her fucking heart when she’s still reeling from the breakup with Topher.”

I know.

I wish I had a choice. I’ve never liked anyone as much as I like Bay Woods. It isn’t even just the explosive chemistry between us. She’s beautiful, smart, funny, sweet, incredibly driven and sexy as hell.

If her body is what drew me in after our first kiss, her personality is what made it impossible to stop thinking about her.

The truth is that I need to make Bay hate me. If I told her the truth, I’m sure she wouldn’t betray my confidence and end up getting me in trouble with Topher.

The reality is though, that I don’t trust myself to stay away from her. We would easily fall back into our deal but we’d be more careful. If there’s one thing I learned in the years I’ve lived in the Gamma house, is that nothing stays secret very long in here.

The only way to keep Topher from destroying me, is to do what he says. Bay would hate me anyway if she saw that video, so either way this thing between us would be over.

“I’m sure Bay doesn’t care enough about me to be hurt,” I conclude. “If she was even a little sad about this, that’s where you come in as her best friend.”

I turn on my heels and leave the house before Cole loses his shit for real. We still have a game to play tonight and he needs to hold onto his aggression to use it on the ice. Or at least, that’s my excuse.

JAGGER

It’s crazy how much difference a mere week can make.

The thought hits me as I scan my student ID to enter the athlete area at the arena.

Last week I walked in here hand in hand with Bay, my cock already hard at the idea of what she was going to do once I sneaked her into the locker room.

Now I just turn my phone off. I’m even more of a coward than I thought I was. It’s just that I can’t handle checking it constantly, wondering if she read my text. I need to get my head in the game and concentrate on making sure we bring home the W tonight. So I can tell the guys that our lucky rituals are nothing but silly superstitions and playing every game giving everything is what brings in victories.

It wouldn’t be bad if Tucker could finally wash his lucky pants. I swear not even the metal of his locker can contain the smell after over a year of sweating in them every single game.

My mind is so preoccupied with Bay and the upcoming game, that I barely look around, walking into the locker room on autopilot.

“Hey stranger, I heard you need to release some tension before tonight’s game.”

The feminine voice makes me crawl out of my skin, I drop my phone and keys with a start. “What the fuck—Candace? Bianca? What are you doing here?”

The brunette bunny who called the strike a few weeks ago, after I refused to turn our hookup into a date, shoots me a seductive smile. “What do you think?” she giggles, dragging a long, pointy nail down my chest and playing with the buttons of my shirt. “You need your lucky bj to win tonight’s game and we’re in the mood for some fun.”

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