Page 64 of Dirty Pucking Tease

"I've known your mom for a long time, and I think if sixteen-year-old Jax had started dating a much younger Kai, your mom would have flipped, but adult Jax dating adult Kaia isn't going to get the reaction you're expecting."

"Maybe." I sighed.

"I don't really believe this has anything to do with your mom." He shrugged. "If you can't commit to her the way she wants to be committed to, then move on, bro."

The problem was that I wanted to. I wanted to give her everything she wanted, and everything about that terrified me.

"We should go introduce ourselves," Owen suggested, and before I could stop him, he was pushing off the ice and heading their way. I dropped my helmet on the bench as I pushed to my feet to follow behind Owen.

I glided up behind Owen, and jealousy burst through my chest. The way she looked at him and smiled felt so intense that I thought someone had reached into my chest and ripped out my heart. I'd changed my mind; I wanted to run.

"Hey, Jax." Cam smiled, and I groaned. There was no backing out now. Kaia's gaze flicked up to me as her smile faded.

"What's up?" I asked, forcing a smile. "You guys getting in some ice time."

"Yes," Kaia said.

"Jax," Cam said. "Have you met Alex? He's here with Kaia." My jaw flexed as I flashed her a warning look before my gaze flicked to Alex.

"Yeah, we've met."

"We should get on the ice," Kaia said.

"You didn't have practice today?" I blurted out, not wanting her to go yet.

"Uh yeah." She smiled. "Early this morning before your practice." She paused for a minute, and I thought it was over. "I went in your room to see if you needed a ride, but I guess you didn't come home last night."

My gaze flashed to Cam and back to Kaia. My heart rate picked up. She thought I had spent the night with some random girl. I could see it in her eyes, and Cam must have realized it, too, because she blurted out, "He got trashed and passed out in my car."

"Oh," Kaia said, a hint of relief in her voice.

"Been there, man." Alex huffed out a laugh.

"We should hit the showers," I said, slapping Owen on the arm, but I didn't wait for anyone to respond. I spun and skated away before I did something I couldn't take back, like punching Alex in the face.

43

Ican't believe you brought Alex to Jax's game," Cam muttered. She'd said that four times since we'd made it to the arena, and I still didn't understand the big deal. Cam twisted around from the concession to hand me a large popcorn. "Is he staying at the hotel tonight?"

"Yes, but he has his own room." Cam and I drove three hours to watch Owen and Jax's game. We'd booked a room at the same hotel where the team was staying, mostly because Cam wanted to be near Owen and because it was the same thing we'd done since we were old enough to drive. "We should hurry; the game is about to start."

"Is Alex a hockey fan?" she asked as we pushed through the crowd back to our seats.

"No." I shook my head. Alex wasn't into sports at all other than fighting.

"Then why did you invite him?" I shrugged, popping a piece of popcorn in my mouth. "I didn't exactly invite him. I told him what I was doing, and he wanted to come."

"I think this is going to be an issue, Kai."

"An issue for who?" My brows pinched. She cocked her head to the side, her eyes screaming, 'really, Kaia?' "Jax?" I snorted a laugh. "Jax's doesn't want me, Cam."

"If you say so..." I did say so because if Jax wanted me, he would have fought for me, but he didn't. He wasn't willing to move forward, and the truth was I wasn't sure he ever would be able to. His commitment issues ran so much deeper than I realized.

We slid into our seats.

"I was starting to think you got lost," Alex said, flashing his perfect all-white smile.

"Concession lines are always terrible before the game," I said, matching his energy with my own smile. Our gazes flicked to the ice as the players emerged. My eyes immediately landed on #32, Jaxtyn West. Every game since he'd rescued me that night, he'd done the same thing when he hit the ice, and that was looking for me, but today he didn't. It was also the first time I wasn't wearing his jersey.

---