Page 59 of The Love Trick

“Blaze,” Addy says with a sigh, pulling down her hair and raking her hands through her soft curls. “I just want to be alone for a while. We’ve spent the last however many days together, and I just—”

“Want me to leave,” I finish for her, my eyes dropping to my feet. “I get it. I’m sorry.”

“That makes me sound like a villain.” She rubs a hand over her face. “It’s not like that. I’m just tired.”

I nod, masking the hurt. “Yeah, no, I totally get it. Totally. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you tomorrow. You know, because I always see you on Mondays…”

She gives me a weird look. “You see me almost every day. Go get some sleep.” With that, she sweeps her arm in the general direction of the door. With slumped shoulders, I walk out.

And I’m barely outside before she slams it behind me.

Does she hate me now?

Worry spills into my mind, and I try to push it away as I get back to my Jeep. I rip the door open and climb inside, not wanting to go home. If I go home, that’ll just mean more alone time with my thoughts…

And I can’t stop thinking about her—in all the ways I shouldn’t.

I fish out my cell phone and call Cam, tapping my finger on the steering wheel as I wait for him to answer. Finally, on the fourth or fifth ring, he picks up.

“Hey, Blaze, what’s up?”

“What’re you doing? Can we hit the gym or something?” I don’t even bother trying to explain that I’m back from Hawaii and all that. He has no idea what I was up to—other than going with Addy to a wedding.

“Uh, actually, I’m with Nila right now. We’re about to go out to dinner and spend the evening together. Sorry, man. But maybe we can get together later this week? You know how off-season is, we gotta take the time we can.”

“Oh yeah, I get it,” I say nonchalantly. “Not a big deal at all. I’m just bored.”

There’s a pause. “Since when are you bored? You’re always with Addy.”

I choke out a laugh. “Uh, yeah, but she’s tired from the flight and all that. You know, typical jet lag.”

“Oh yeah, right. Okay, well, Dylan might be available. You might wanna hit him up. He’s literally never doing anything with his life.” Cam laughs, and I hear Nila laughing, too. “Have a good evening,” I tell him before hanging up. I take a deep breath as I pull up Dylan’s number, hoping like heck he isn’t too busy.

“What’s up, man?” he answers immediately. “You back from theislands?”

“Yeah, what’re you doing?” I ask, then check the time. It’s nearly seven in the evening now, and this is usually when Dylan starts his days.

“Uh, I was just about to head over to Freddy’s to grab dinner, then maybe head out to some of the bars. There’s karaoke night at a few places. You know how much I love karaoke. Wanna join?”

I cringe. I’m not in the mood to listen to his terrible singing, but… “Yeah, okay. Let me swing by my house, shower, and then I’ll meet you at Freddy’s. Can you give me like forty-five minutes or so?”

“Sure thing. Good to know that I won’t be going alone tonight. Kade is up someone else’s butt right now.”

“A girl?”

“No clue.” Dylan chuckles.

I stroll into Freddy’s, a nice local pub, at 7:30 p.m., and while the fatigue pulls at me like never before, I’m relieved to see Dylan. He’s already perched in a booth and waving me down. For whatever reason, I really don’t want to be alone right now.

“You look like crap.” Dylan bursts into laughter as I slide in across from him. “I already ordered your usual. What’s going on?”

“Uh, it’s a long story. And I think I’ve royally messed up.”

Dylan sets his beer down. “Oh? And how couldyouhave possibly messed up? I’m pretty sure you don’t know what failure is on or off the ice.”

“I kissed Addy in Hawaii—twice,” I blurt out before I can stop myself. “And the second time, Ireallykissed her. If I hadn’t realized what I was doing… I might’ve… I don’t know…”

Dylan doesn’t look even slightly surprised. “Okay?”

---