Page 54 of Our Bender

I wish I could’ve snapped at him, but I sat there stunned. Like, I fully knew my salary wasn’t as high as other jobs, but that was a pretty damn rude thing for him to say. He made it sound like he was paying because he pitied me or something. And I’m sorry, but being a single woman who enjoyed her job and brought home a respectable salary was not something to ever be pitied.

I was suddenly exhausted from forcing conversation with Jeff all night and from trying to stop myself from thinking about Tyler… And most of all, I was annoyed with myself for being so wrong about the two of them.

All I wanted was to be back in my bed in comfy sweatpants so I could turn on Gilmore Girls for background noise while I binge read my latest romance novel. I had a feeling the only thing that could overshadow this date and allow me to continue being interested in men would be spending some time with a fictional man written by a woman.

17. Tyler

Casey blew his whistle then let it drop from his mouth. “Again!”

“Jeez, dude, really?” Duke asked him with wide eyes. “How many times are you gonna make them run this drill?”

Casey looked at him like he was stupid. “Til they get it right, duh.”

I had my eyes on his twins playing in the corner with some of the players. Beau threw off his gloves and was boxing up, ready to fight one of the guys. Ty was lightly slashing the back of guys’ legs with his little stick.

“Looks like Beau takes after you,” I told my brother.

Casey rubbed a hand over his scruffy jaw to cover a smile. “Okay, let the counseling commence. Duke, what’s goin’ on with you and Claire? Give me the details.”

Duke blew out a sigh and hopped up on the boards to take a seat. “It’s bad,” he said, tugging on the brim of his hat.

“Yeah, I don’t doubt it,” Casey said, keeping a sharp eye on his players. “Halsey!” he yelled to a defenseman. “That was your guy! He cut right through the middle!”

“Well, it started last week when I was having pizza for dinner and she was eating her dumb meal prep stuff again,” Duke started. “I told her since she’s not competing right now, she could have some pizza if she wanted it, it wasn’t a big deal. But she flew off the handle the way Claire does…”

“And I’m guessing you did too.”

He cringed. “Maybe.”

“Yeah, you did. Take responsibility,” Casey demanded.

“I had to defend myself, dude. I wasn’t talking about her weight or anything, she’s just still eating so damn restrictive all the time. She ramped up before the Olympics and she’s never stopped. Now for the rest of my life every time I indulge she’s gonna give me sad eyes at my food and grumpily eat a protein bar? I don’t think so. Like, let go and eat the fuckin’ pizza with me sometimes,” he said miserably.

“Dude, you’re being atotalasshole,” I told him.

“And that’s why she doesn’t want to eat in front of you, dickhead,” Casey added, giving him a menacing glare.

“I know, it was bad. I regret it. And things got worse…”

“Worse than that?” Casey asked, briefly taking his eyes off his players to stare at him.

“Separate occasion,” Duke explained.

“Go on, we need all the facts,” Casey said in a low tone.

“Well, she announced she was going to retire and go into coaching, and I…”

“What?” I pushed.

“I made a joke that she’s maybe a little too intense for coaching,” Duke finished.

Casey rubbed a frustrated hand over his forehead. “So what it seems is you’re just criticizing her life after skating while she’s trying to find where she fits in and what works for her.”

Duke’s face morphed into a look of horror. “It was a joke!”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re in the wrong, bud. You’re being super critical instead of helpful,” I chimed in.

“Fuck. I wasn’t trying to be mean.”

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