Page 143 of Wrong Pucking Player

It most certainly wouldn’t benefit Kenzie.

I’m trying to tame the cyclone that’s begging to escape. The burning violence would do anything to come out and show the world how dangerous I really can be.

Steady breaths. I can’t be helpful if I lose it now.

“Did you find her?” A mere glimpse over my shoulder reveals Leo and Cyrus. They’re breathless and drenched in sweat, confirming they went up and down every flight of stairs in search of Andrews.

And she’s not here…

“Where could she have gone?” Cyrus looks distraught, but I can’t feel pity for him right now. He lit the match and ignited the blaze that finally took a hit of the future he’s always emphasized wanting with Mackenzie.

The real problem is he may have just burned every possible chance of him getting the future he wanted.

“You don’t think she’d leave, right?” Leo’s directing the question to me, his widened eyes of green projecting his hidden fears.

Our hidden fears.

When Kenzie left the first time, things were different.

We didn’t have this dynamic, nor did I carry these fluttering feelings for her. They might be considered a weakness now, but back then, I wouldn’t allow myself to think of Andrews as someone I could have.

She was too unobtainable.

A diamond I could never afford.

I loved admiring her from afar or even envisioning a future with the fierce, smart, and hot addition to our Heartbreaker Crew, but there were just too many differences.

She wouldn’t possibly accept the real me.

Yet the present isn’t quite the same as the past circumstances,

Everything is different now.

I want to take the chance of her getting to know the real side of me.

Instead of answering, I turn my attention to Cyrus.

“Do you even know why she left the first time around?” I want to know how ignorant he really is.

“She… we…” He takes a few seconds to take a deep breath and let it out. “We needed the break. Needed to be away. I realized I was being toxic in some sense. I knew I’d have to acknowledge that… but when I wanted to confront her, she was already gone.”

“Already gone where?” Leo questions.

“She left for Ontario for her schooling. I didn’t find out about it until I walked into a coffee shop and saw her aunt was there. Talking about all the opportunities and scholarships she’d earn by going to a more popular city than this dumpster.”

“Of course,” I mutter.

The fucking aunt really needs to disappear… permanently.

“Wait. She’s not going to leave again… right?” Cyrus is looking between us as though we can answer his question. “I know I fucked up. I get it. I’ll apologize… but she wouldn’t leave.”

“And why shouldn’t she?” Leo counters. “You think you make her feel wanted? Protected? Worthy? Heck, Cyrus. You just see her as some sex doll.”

“She’s not a sex doll! I wouldn’t perceive her in such a degrading way.”

“You treat her like a puck bunny,” I mutter in an attempt to keep my cool. “She’s vital when you’re in the mood, but once everything is said and done, and the daylight is bright in the sky, you’re acquaintances. Borderline friends who everyone asks if you’re together. It looks like one big secret of sorts. It’s only a matter of time before one side wants more while the other wishes for it to remain the same. Do you think Kenzie came back here to come back to this?”

“She came back… ‘cause of her interns—”

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