Page 71 of Bad Teammate
He couldn’t. He was acting so strange.
Which reminded me of someone else who was acting strange.
“Did Sasha say something to you?” I asked.
“What? No.” Panic leaped into his eyes. “It’s got nothing to do with him.”
“But I thought it hadeverythingto do with him. Because he’s my brother and he’s so good at hockey, and you can’t risk upsetting him. Wasn’t that the whole source of your conflict last night?”
Flustered, his eyes grew shifty. “No—I mean—you’re wrong. That’s not all there is. There’s, uh, more to it than that.”
“Okay, so what is it?”
“It’s …” He choked on his words. He forced himself to look away from me and tried again. “I’m trying to save you some heartbreak here, Katerina. Forget about me. I don’t like you the way you deserve to be liked—I’m only trying to get laid. That’s it, understand?”
My jaw fell.
“It’s true,” he said. “I’d only disappoint you in the end. I sleep around. I’m probably never going to settle down. You were absolutely right to try to stay away from me. I’m a piece of shit. So … just move on. Find the person you’ve been waiting for. He’s not me. As much as we both wish it was.”
I turned away so he wouldn’t see me cry.
“Asshole,” I snarled as I jumped out of my chair. My temper got the best of me and I stormed through the kitchen, tossing one tray after another to the floor with aclang, ruining all the food I’d cooked.
“Katerina, please, don’t.”
“I’m only doing you a favor,” I said. “This food is all disgusting trash. Now you don’t have to eat it and pretend you like it.”I flung the last tray to the ground.“There. Happy?”
He stared at the floor. Couldn’t even bear to look me in the eye.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I really am.”
“You’re a coward,” I said, seething.
I ran to the bedroom and started packing my bag.
26
Derek
Breaking hearts comes with the territory when you’re a pro athlete. They always want more than you’re willing or able to give. I’d ended things with a lot of girls over the past decade.
Not once,not once,did it ever hurt me.
Until Katerina.
I didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was because I still liked her so much. But lying to her—telling her I didn’t like her—was such a dreadful thing to do, I felt like I’d just pulverized my own goddamn heart. I couldn’t imagine how it made her feel. I hated myself for saying that, but … if I was ever going to patch things up with Niko … it had to be done.
I hated that she’d spent her whole day cooking, only to trash it all because of me. I wanted to clean up all that food on the floor and save what I could. On the other hand, I wanted her brother to see what he’d made me do.
Katerina rushed out of her room, dragging her wheeled suitcase behind her. “I’m leaving.”
“Wait. Don’t go.” I got up and tried to stop her, but she brushed right past me. “I’ll get a hotel room, that way you can still stay with your broth—”
She slammed the door shut behind her. She didn’t care about anything else I had to say or offer.
I sighed.
The condo felt awfully empty and quiet now.
