Page 20 of Face Off
She tries to pull her wrist away as my grip slightly tightens. “You don’t need those guys in your life. You can and deserve so much better,” I mutter against her ear. “I can be a better boyfriend than them if given the chance.”
I release her wrist and turn away from her, making my way toward the door. I glance back at a breathless Hayley still sitting on her desk as if in a daze. Wishing I would have gone further with her but knowing that the way to win this battle is to give her time and let her come to me. I open the door with one last glance before leaving the arena altogether.
Hayley
“You’re being weird. Ya know that?” Cassidy says, climbing into my bed and holding out a cup of coffee to me before settling next to me. “What the fuck gives?”
I take a sip of my coffee, eyeing her over the rim. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Lies.
I know exactly what she’s talking about. I haven’t been myself since Brooks had his mouth all over mine.You don’t need those guys in your life. You can and deserve so much better. I can be a better boyfriend then them if given the chance.His words echoing in my mind every second of the fucking day.
Do you know how hard it is to do your job when you’re constantly aroused by just the mere sight of someone? Yeah, it’s pretty damn hard. I’ve tried to busy myself with Camden’s return to school and the start of the regular season happening in just a few days, the home opener being the second game of the season. Yet, my mind keeps wandering back to Brooks. How his touch was gentle yet domineering. How his lips felt against mine as my tongue begged for entrance, to dance with mine.
God! Why can’t I just get him out of my head.
Cassidy eyes me with suspicion as if she’s waiting for me to continue. “What?” I snap, getting up from the bed to grab the remote.
“Well, according to Channing, you have Brooks basically losing his mind. Which can mean one of two things,” she says, popping her lips like an annoying teenager. “One, you slept with him. Or two, you slept with him.”
“One and two are the same thing. And for the record, I did neither.”
She snorts as if unconvinced. “Liar.”
“Seriously,” I say in frustration. “I didn’t sleep with him, but we did have a moment.”
A moment that has me now questioning everything. A moment that has been forever burned into my mind, playing on repeat every second of every day.
“So, spill the tea,” she says, bouncing on her knees on the bed like a child.
I sigh, dropping my back on the bed, Cassidy staring down at me with a shit-eating grin. “He kissed me in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms. Of course, it was after I took out my frustration on him.”
“Meaning after you discovered that both men, who coincidentally broke your heart, got engaged.”
“Yeah,” I scoff. “I think we’re gonna need something much stronger than coffee if we continue this conversation.”
Cassidy jumps from the bed, pulling a flask from her purse in the corner of the room. “So, why are you acting all weird about it? You like him, don’t you?”
No. Yes. Maybe a little too much to admit.
“You do,” she squeals, running back to me. “Hayley, you don’t have to commit to the guy but give him a chance. Have a little fun. You don’t have to be in love or commit to every guy you open up to.”
Easier said than done.
I know how my heart is. It falls for the romantic babble bullshit, dropping its walls completely just to be trampled on. That’s what Boyce did. That’s what Tucker did. And I know if I give Brooks the chance and let down my walls that just started to heal from the last dickwad, I’ll be right back where I was two minutes ago. Heartbreak city.
“I’m not a no-commitment type of girl, Cass. Maybe I just need to be alone for once,” I say, pulling a pillow over my face.
She smacks me on the stomach, causing me to toss the pillow from my face at her. “You’ve been alone for almost ten years. And yeah, the first guy you let into your life since Boyce was a dick, but that doesn’t mean you give up,” she says, handing me the flask. “You’ve already played with fire, left a taste in his mouth. So, go for it. Fuck what anyone thinks or says.”
???
Flying is the worst, and what’s worse than flying? Flying with a bunch of hockey players. Our first game of the season is against the Anaheim Sterlings, a team fresh off a losing season last year, looking to rebuild. It’s my first official game as the team physician and the first time traveling with the team as an employee. I traveled with the team when Camden was little, attending some away games in hopes that I may run into Boyce on the road. That he’d see Camden and want to try to be a part ofhis life. Yet I never saw him, and I stopped coming along for the ride. Until now… now, I’m obligated to be here.
The plane erupts into a symphony of catcalls as I walk on the plane. I guess wearing the black pencil skirt with white silk top and my black Louis Vuitton shoes was the wrong decision. The coach settles the hungry dogs down as I struggle to get my carry on into the overhead compartment.
“Here, let me help you.” His voice startles me from behind as I drop both my carry on and oversized purse onto the ground.
