Page 36 of Friendzone Hockey
He lays his head on the counter, ready to go back to sleep. I check the time. He can’t go back to sleep. He needs to eat something and get ready for work.
“Pretty sure I just saw Casey walk that way in his underwear,” he mumbles.
Casey’s my brother, though, and I’m not attracted to him. Not attracted to Dash either just because he’s wildly attractive.I’m a dude with healthy testosterone, that’s all. Clothes prevent things like, say, shoving Dash against the wall and exploring his mouth with my tongue.
Take a breath, Alderchuck.
I move to the fridge. Cooking will distract me from everything—his pretty eyes, his full lips, what he might be wearing under that sweatshirt. Oh, god. He is wearing something under that sweatshirt, yeah?
Don’t wanna know. I will not become a monster.
Fuck.Distraction might have to become a way of life for me.
Chapter
Six
NOW
2 Days Later
Dash
There are two assholes I need to text. Two assholes who could have fucking warned me.
You couldn’t have told me about the fucking blonds … I type.
Ugh. I sound like a jealous boyfriend.
Delete.
Me
Soooo, Stace bought a Hummer, eh?
I leave it at that and get ready for work. It’s been two days since the morning Stacey dropped that bomb on me. I think I’ve mostly shaken it off. I sat through an entire breakfast with one twin in Stacey’s lap and I didn’t drown the man after.
Progress.
Casey
It’s sweet, huh? Sutter likes it. Says it can climb over vehicles. We might get one too.
Me
You can have this one.
I type and send without thinking. Shit. Not good. That’s not my decision to make. I just also happen to know that when I don’t like something, Stacey thinks twice about it.
But I know better than to text Casey about shit like this. I know that if it’s between me and his brother Casey’ll choose his brother, which means I’m not getting information out of him on this one. But there are times Casey can’t help himself and he likes to stir shit and that overrides loyalty sometimes. Guess that’s not the case this time. If so, there’s only one reason he’d keep his trap shut. I must have hurt Stacey, and that fucking kills me.
Dirk smacks his hand on the inside of my bedroom door. “C’mon, Dashie. Let’s go.”
“Yeah, I’m coming.”
Dirk’s become a bit of a drill sergeant this season. Without Stacey around—our usual house captain—he naturally took the lead. He reminds me a little of his older brother, Hunter, when he’s like this. Now that we’re home, he can tone it down. While he can play manager, it exhausts him.
We take over from the lunch shift. Dirk’s acting kitchen manager while Dad’s away and I’m an acting floor manager. They’re positions we can have, but since we’re not here most of the year, Dad has regular managerial staff. We take his shiftswhen he’s gone. Yeah, as two people. We’re basically him in two bodies.
