Page 34 of Pucking Off-Sides With My Brother's Best Friend

Jax gestures to Aiden, who still isn’t paying me any mind. “I don’t know what got up his ass, but Aiden decided to make dinner and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

I try to catch Aiden’s eye, but he bypasses me and goes straight to the refrigerator, only sparing a glance at Jax. “You could get your lazy ass up and get the plates.” When Jax laughs, he sighs and finally looks at me. The expression in his gaze isn’t one I’m familiar with, and I don’t know what to make of it. “It’s ready to eat if you’re hungry.”

“Yeah, okay,” I reply with a slow nod. Aiden doesn’t say anything more. He dons a pair of oven mitts and grabs the casserole dish, moving it to the table. I follow, not knowing what else to do in this situation. Suddenly, thoughts flash through my mind, like something’s wrong. Whatever is going on seems way too serious.

“Is everything okay?”

Jax turns around with plates in his hands.“Yeah, everything’s fine. Why? Did something happen at work today?” He walks over to the table and sets the plates down. “Oh, I meant to ask how your date with Mark was. Stacy told me she saw you two out and you were laughing it up together.”

“Who’s Stacy?” I ask as I sit in my usual seat.

“Just one of the puck bunnies that hangs out at the rink. “ Jax replies vaguely as he takes a seat. He passes me an empty plate. “Don’t dodge the question. How was it? Do I need to threaten bodily harm?”

I roll my eyes at his ridiculous display of overprotectiveness. “No. The date went perfectly fine. Mark is a nice guy.” Aiden makes a noise, and I turn to look at him.

“What? He is.”

Jax clicks his tongue as he serves up his plate, staring down at me. “Yeah, but is he someone you want to go out with again is the real question.”

“No.” I don’t hesitate with my answer. I’ve been mulling over the same question since getting home, and I’m just as sure of my answer now as I was then. “I could see us being friends, but I don’t like him in that way.”

I glance up at Aiden when I say that, but I’m surprised to see him scowling at the helping of potatoes on his plate. What’s with him? At least Jax seems to be acting normal.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Jax says with a decisive nod.

I agree, and we settle into relative silence as we dig in. That first bite is like the purest form of heaven. The chicken is spiced wonderfully, and the potatoes are perfect. I don’t even care if I burn the roof of my mouth as I take another bite. I groan at the hint of rosemary and garlic in my bite before chewing furiously and turning to Aiden.

“Oh my gosh. I didn’t know you could cook like this.”

Aiden glances up at me, and for a second, I’m sure he’s not going to say a thing, but when his lips quirk into a grin, I smile back.“I’m a man of many talents.”

I giggle but roll my eyes. “Clearly. I think we should put you on food duty at least once a week if every meal is going to be this good.”

He shrugs before lifting a forkful of potato to his lips. “I’m fine with that. Eating out so much is shit for my game as is.”

“True,” Jax chimes in agreement. I smile at Aiden before turning my attention back to my plate.

“Also, I think I owe you an apology.”

I frown and look up at Aiden’s words. “Are you talking to me?”

He looks pained but determined. “Yeah, I’m talking to you. I’m sorry if you got the wrong impression after our conversation a few days ago. I wasn’t trying to question your ability to take care of yourself or make your own decisions. Jax does that enough, and I know you don’t need me harping on ya.”

“Hey,” Jax exclaims, trying to interject. A look from Aiden has him sighing and going back to eating. I narrow my eyes, wondering where this is coming from.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to get an apology. But I still don’t know how to take it. Aiden has never apologized to me before about anything.

“Thank you,” I say gingerly, feeling it out. “I appreciate it.”

Aiden nods once, quickly. “I forget sometimes how much like my old man I can be. I don’t want to subject either of you to that shit.” That has me perking up. Rarely does Aiden mention his dad, and the few times he has in the past, it’s always superficial.

Jax speaks up before I can.“We get it, man. You don’t have to explain.”

“I do,” Aiden insists. His words are directed at Jax, but his gaze is steady on me. “Just because I get into it with him doesn’t mean I can take it out on you two. You don’t deserve it, and that’s not the kind of guy I want to be.”

I nod slowly, taking in his words. Figuring out what to say is damn near impossible, so I let Jax fill the silence and log away the information that’s just been offered.

There’s something there that I’m not understanding, and yet I can’t help but be gluttonous about another piece of the puzzle that is Aiden being revealed in front of me.

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