Page 43 of Pucking Off-Sides With My Brother's Best Friend

The doorbell ring startles me from my thoughts, and when I turn to look, I catch Aiden staring at me from across the table. Has he been watching me this whole time, and I just didn’t notice? What is he thinking about?

Those stormy gray eyes are so impenetrable that I don’t have the first clue.

When the doorbell rings again, Jax stands up, grabbing my attention.

“Who the hell is that?” He gestures towards the door before turning to look at me. “Are you expecting a package or something?”

I shake my head. “Nope, not me.” I’ve been on an Amazon hiatus. “Haven’t ordered anything in a couple weeks.” My brows shoot skyward because all I can think about is the new toy Aiden caught me using the other night. “Aiden?” I gesture with my hand, swallowing hard before glancing back at him, hoping my face isn’t as red as it feels.

His eyes are still trained on me, and there’s an intensity there I haven’t noticed before. I shiver as if the weight of his gaze touches me like the brush of his fingertips or a whisper of wind igniting sparks beneath my skin.

“I ain’t expecting anyone,” he mutters.

The way he says that makes me pause. It’s almost accusatory, and I don’t understand why. I don’t know what it is about today, but somehow, whenever there’s an unexpected knock at the door, we act like there’s a zombie apocalypse waiting on the other side.

The three of us freeze for a flash second, exchanging wary glances at each other.

Jax raises an eyebrow. “Is Katarina coming over?”

I shake my head, trying to ignore how Aiden’s knee brushes against mine under the table. “She’s out on a date tonight. If she needed something, she would have texted our codeword for me to save her.”

“Codeword?” Aiden smirks, his eyes meeting mine for a split second too long. “Let me guess... ‘Hockey stick’?”

I roll my eyes, fighting a smile. “As if… It’s way more subtle than that.”

Trying desperately to ignore the shivery feelings racing down my spine, combined with the overwhelming curiosity of who the hell it is, I move to stand. “Go check it out, Jax.”

“Oh yeah, send the guy to go get killed first by the crazed person on the other side of the door.”

“I’m here too,” Aiden chimes in.

Jax whirls around and points a finger at Aiden. “Yeah, I notice how you didn’t get your ass up, either… Pussy.”

“Fuck you,” Aiden retorts, looking as gorgeous as ever, and I quickly look away before that gets locked into my memory banks too. I already have to deal with the fixed flash of his satisfied face seared in my brain when he came.

And that’s as much as my traitorous body can handle before it spontaneously bursts into flames. Then again, if that happened, at least it would put me out of my misery.

“No offense, dude, but this is your house,” Aiden adds.

I don’t know what it is about those words that has me speaking up, but my lips are moving before I realize what I’m going to say.

“It’s yours too, Aiden.” He looks at me for a moment as if unsure if I actually said that.

The uncertainty has me speaking up again. “Last I checked, you live here too. This place is as much yours as it is ours. It’s home.”

Unbelievably, something in his steel gaze softens, and the smirk turns into something warmer and comforting. It’s a look that makes me want to say to hell with our normal and wrap him in my arms. I’m not used to jumping to Aiden’s defense, but all I want to do at this moment is comfort him.

I’ve never felt this feeling before, but it’s so strong that I almost find myself moving in his direction. Only self-preservation and the sound of Jax’s voice keep me from doing something very foolish.

Like hugging Aiden.

With a huff, Jax walks toward the foyer. I know I should look away, but Aiden is almost gravitational. I don’t think I could move if I tried.

The muffled sound of the door opening fills the space, but Aiden and I are unmoving as we watch one another until familiar voices drift into the room.

“Mom? Dad? What are you two doing here?”

“Oh honey,” Mom exclaims as she hustles over, enveloping me in a tight hug. I squeeze back, totally confused as to why the heck she’s here in the first place.

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