Page 66 of The Body Checker

“Fuck off.” I whack his stick way, in no mood to talk. “I’m not moping.”

He laughs. “Yeah, you fucking are.”

“I’ve just…got things on my mind,” I say and look around, catch our coach watching us. Man, I need to get my shit together before he benches me.

“Like what things? My sister? The divorce papers?”

“Yeah, exactly.” I’m about to skate away, but he reaches out and stops me.

“If you don’t want to sign them, Jonah, then go do something about it.”

I stiffen, and my heart jumps into my throat. “What are you talking about?” I study his face, take in his amused expression. He wouldn’t be amused if he knew what I’d been doing with his sister, right?

Zander skates around me, giving me a good push from behind, and I jerk forward. “Jesus Christ, asshole. How stupid do you think I am?”

Fuck man, he knows. “Ah…” Zander is far from stupid. Why did I ever think I could keep something from him?

He stops in front of me, shakes off his gloves, and I brace myself, waiting for a fist to the face. But it doesn’t come. Instead, he puts his hand on my shoulder. “Look. You love her. She loves you. I’ve stayed quiet long enough, waiting for you two to work it out. But clearly you’re both too afraid to make the first move.”

My stomach coils. Jesus, is he going to hate me? “How long have you known?”

“That day I showed up unannounced and Quinn was in your bed.”

“Shit.”

He rolls his eyes. “After that, everyone knew, Jonah.”

“Everyone?” I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Zander, it just…sort of happened.”

“Bullshit.”

Great, here it comes. Not only did I lose the girl I’m fucking crazy about, now I’m going to lose my best friend, too.

“It’s not—”

“Give me a fucking break. You’ve been crazy about Qu

inn for as long as I can remember. It just took the right circumstances for you to finally do something about it.”

“Is this where you kick my ass?”

He laughs. “I’m a lover, not a fighter, Jonah. You’re the fighter, always had my back.”

It’s true, I am a fighter. I fight for what I want.

So why the hell aren’t I fighting for Quinn?

Because you’re not what she wants, dude.

He goes serious, all humor gone from his face. “Quinn needs a good guy in her life.”

“You think I’m that guy?” This is all coming at me so fast, my head starts spinning. Here I thought Zander would kill me, yet he’s encouraging me to go for his sister. “Wait, you’re not going to kick my ass?”

“I should.” He taps his head. “For being so thick up here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you ever stop to wonder why your mother and father suggested the two of you get married in the first place?”

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