Page 33 of Breakaway

“Oh, that sounds fun. Want some crashers?” I teased. Reese looked horrified at the idea, making me laugh. “Ah, you no longer want to hang with your big sister. You’re officially grown up,” I pouted.

Reese cringed, their face reddening more by the minute. “It’s not that. It’s just… you’re Braden’s coach, so he won’t relax if you’re there. He can’t separate the fact that you’re my sister and his coach.”

“And do we want him to know me as your sister? Is there more there?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Reese hedged, turning and looking around. “I can’t believe Cameron came all the way out here to play hockey,” they said, changing the subject.

“He’s pretty cute, too. He has a good head on his shoulders, and his parents are nice. I like him.”

“Yeah. He’s great.” Reese cleared their throat, and I smirked.

“Okay, okay. I’ll drop it, but you can talk to me about these things. I won’t judge. If you like them both, or if you only see them as friends and like someone else, or even if you like Briana instead, I’ll always accept you.”

“I know. And that’s not it at all. I’m not sure how I feel. I like spending time with several people.” Reese rubbed their fingers through their short hair, adjusting their glasses. “I don’t want to mess anything up. Things are good right now, and for once, I have real friends. It doesn’t seem worth it to change the dynamics yet.”

“Love is scary, and there’s never a ‘perfect’ time to start a relationship. So, don’t hold yourself back out of fear. You might get hurt, but it’s not the end of the world. A relationship should add to your life, not be your life. If there are any words of wisdom I can give you, it’s that. Don’t be afraid to love because it’s amazing when it’s with the right person or persons.”

“You don’t regret dating Dakota? Even after all he did? Is still doing?”

I paused, stopping to look them in the eyes. “I don’t like what he did or how he treated me. But I don’t regret dating him. I might regret staying with him as long as I did, but not the relationship in general. It taught me a lot and showed me who I was. I might not have been as strong as I am if I hadn’t gone through that pain. Even knowing how it would end, I’d still say yes to dating him because it led me to where I am. And here is the best place I could ever be.”

“You make it sound easy.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Not at all. It’s scary and messy sometimes, making you question yourself and your beliefs. But it’s also exhilarating, showing you new parts of yourself. Yin and yang. Offense and defense. There are two sides to everything. You don’t stop playing hockey just because you might lose, do you?”

“No. I guess not.”

“And you learn something from each game you do lose?”

“Yeah.” Reese smiled, their shoulders relaxing.

“Hockey and love are the same. Both take risks and have amazing rewards. You might not get a hat trick every game, but when you do, it’s glorious.”

“That’s not a reference to a sexual thing, is it?” Reese asked, scrunching up their nose.

“You’ve been hanging out with Reed too much,” I grumbled, pushing their shoulder and making them crack.

“Gotcha!”

I rolled my eyes, slinging my arm over their shoulder as we went to Keaton and Fletcher, the only two people left. Oops.

“Ready?” Fletcher asked.

“Yep. We gotta drop Reese at Sera’s first. Thanks for everything, Keaton.”

“I feel like I should be thanking you both,” Keaton said, showing how sweet he was.

“Nonsense. Tell Scar hi for us,” I said, hugging him.

“Of course.” His face blushed. “I went over the schedule for the videographer with Fletcher. You’re all set to start on Monday.”

I grimaced, hoping it wouldn’t be like today. “Awesome.”

The three of them laughed at me as we headed to the parking lot, reconsidering my consent to do the video project.

Oh well, it couldn’t be worse than the one I did naked.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

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