Page 12 of Three Pucking Words
Her deadpan expression is full of disbelief. “I don’t believe you for a second. How long have you been pining over this man, H? Too long. Now you’re free from Max’s clutches and able to do whatever, and whoever you want. So trim your lady bush and hop on.”
I fight the urge to blush over the thought of ‘doing’ Bodhi Hoffman. Has it been a fantasy of mine in the past? Sure. There may have been a few nights when Max didn’t get the job done that I needed to finish myself. And, with a slightly, guilty conscious, I thought of all the things the Ranger’s right-winger could do to me until I finally hit the peak of pleasure.
“I don’t have a bush,” I hiss at her, crossing my arms. “I keep it perfectly groomed.”
Mostly.
“Fine, we won’t talk about your lady forest. Tell me what happened. Your SOS and a million exclamation points left a lot of unanswered questions. Did he say something to you?” Mila asks, concern suddenly thick in her tone. “Do something to you?I don’t know him, obviously, but he has a pretty good reputation. Minus that one photo of him and his teammate’s little sister that went viral for all the wrong reasons a year or so ago. I’ll admit, him not defending her from all the trolls online made some people mad. But it obviously didn’t deter the fanbase since he was voted people’s favorite player. From what I can tell, everyone who meets him loves him.”
Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.Bodhi is nice. Almost too nice. It makes being irritated with him hard. “He wasn’t rude or anything, so don’t go scratching him off your list just yet.”
That makes her grin.
“He’s just…” I struggle to find the right words.
Thankfully, Mila helps. “Drop dead gorgeous? The epitome of a sex God? Drool worthy? A good conversationalist based on your one and only other interaction with him?”
Suddenly, I regret telling Mila about the man I talked to for hours that night. “Yes, all of those things. And I know myself. If I’m around him, he’s going to sense that I’m upset with him, then I’d have to pathetically admit why. Plus, he’ll know that I think he’s hot. Guys like that are cocky about it.”
“There’s nothing wrong with looking, Honor,” my friend reminds me lightly. “You’re not with Max anymore. And so what if he forgot about that night? It’s not the end of the world. It’s not like he stripped you naked and fu—” Her eyes widen. “Oh my God. Did you havesexwith him that night and not tell me?”
I gape at her. “No! I was married, remember?”
Not that it ever stopped Max if the rumors are true. Red hot anger bubbles in the bottom of my stomach at the thought, so I douse it with cold water and bury it with dirt.
I swallow, feeling my heart tighten in my chest. “Plus, the divorce isn’t finalized yet. I would feel gross trying something with someone.”
Mila reaches out to take my hand. “You’ve been separated for a long time. Didn’t you tell me just a few weeks ago that the relationship had been over for a while?”
I did say that. It stung to accept it then, and it still stings now.
Wordlessly, I nod.
Her fingers squeeze mine. “You did nothing wrong. The marriage failing was on Max. That doesn’t mean you get to punish yourself. You can find men attractive, babes. You can look. Hell, you can eventouch. We both know Maxi Pad isn’t holding back.”
Oof.That’s a blow to the chest I definitely didn’t need to acknowledge, even if she tacked her ridiculous name for him on to lessen the impact.
As if she can sense the internal turmoil of my soon-to-be ex-husband moving on with other women, she winces. “Sorry, that was a little harsh. All I’m trying to say is that you deserve a little eye candy in your life, and your dad dropped a six-foot-four right wing directly in your lap. It’s practically fate.”
Something tells me my father doesn’t want me fondling one of his star players. “I’m not so sure that’s what he had in mind when he asked Bodhi to hang out with me.”
Mila shrugs. “It’s all up for interpretation in my mind. I say take every chance you get to stare at that man’s ass. I know I have whenever he posts pictures online.”
I laugh. “Do you even watch hockey?”
Her grin widens. “Nope. But I’m all about the look-and-don’t touch method. And that man’s social media is practically saved in my mental spank bank.”
TMI, but okay. “I missed you,” I tell her, smiling sadly. “It’s good to be back, but…”
She nods in understanding. “I get it. You wish you were back in better circumstances. But this is your fresh start, Honor. You can reinvent yourself and be whoever you want to be.”
That’s the problem.
I don’t want to be anybody else. I want to beme—Honor Ophilia Erikson. A thirty-year-old divorcee with horrible initials, who’s riddled with health problems and a slight addiction to sugar, caffeine, and trash television.
My life is far from perfect. My relationship with my father sucks, and the one with my mother is worse. I lost all the important parts of me to a man I stopped loving a long time ago and I had to come crawling back to the place I swore I’d never return solely out of pride and pettiness.
Despite all of that, I don’t want to be any other version of me.
