Suck My Puck (Denver Bashers Series #3)

32. Bella

Chapter 32

Bella

B raden and I walk down South Pearl Street in the Wash Park neighborhood, Maizie trotting between us.

A butterfly flies by and Maizie lunges forward, tugging at her leash to catch it. It flits away before Maizie can grab it.

“You’re a ferocious beast, girl. You had that butterfly shaking in his boots,” Braden says.

I burst out laughing. Braden has a day off between games, so he suggested we take Maizie for a walk this morning. He sips the iced coffee he ordered from the coffee place we stopped at earlier.

“How is it?” I ask.

“Pretty good.”

He offers it to me and I take a sip. I make a face and shake my head.

He chuckles. “The coffee queen doesn’t like it?”

I roll my eyes and shove his shoulder lightly. “That iced coffee just doesn’t have very much flavor. It wouldn’t take much extra to make it so much better. Like, they could brew a batch of drip coffee and freeze it into ice cubes and use that instead of regular ice cubes. Then it wouldn’t taste so watered down and you’d get that extra boost in flavor. And caffeine. Or they could do ice cubes of frozen creamer. That’s what I suggested we do at the coffee shop I work at. The customers love it.”

When Braden doesn’t say anything, I glance at him. A small smile tugs at his lips.

“What?”

He shakes his head. “I just think it’s really cool that you’re so passionate and knowledgeable about coffee. And you’re not a jerk about it.”

I smile. “At the end of the day, it’s just coffee. I’m not saving lives.”

“I mean, some people can’t function without caffeine every morning. I bet they think their coffee orders are more important than life.”

I laugh as we make our way down the tree-lined street, passing beautiful brick shops that house a funky boutique, a farm-to-table restaurant, a wine bar, and a small gallery.

It’s the middle of November and when I’m not working at Spanky’s or the coffee shop, I’m with Braden. When we get back to our apartment building, we’ll go to my place or his and lounge in front of the TV, Maizie cuddled between us. After she falls asleep, Braden and I end up in bed together.

It’s the most fun I’ve had with a guy in forever. And we’re not even officially a couple. We’re just two friends and neighbors who share a pet and who like hooking up and hanging out.

My stomach does a somersault at just how much I’m loving spending all this time with Braden. At how much I like him .

Goosebumps flash across my skin when I think about just how well things are going between us. I was so wrong about him. Yeah, he’s a professional hockey player, but he’s not a jerk like I assumed he was when we first met.

He makes me laugh constantly. And he’s so sweet and generous. He buys all of Maizie’s food and treats. When I tried to pay him my share, he refused to take my money. And he ordered a bunch of my home-roasted coffee from me to keep at his place so I have the exact coffee I like when I fall asleep at his place.

He’s also the best I’ve ever had in bed. We haven’t even had full-on sex, and being with him is still hotter than anything I’ve ever done with anyone else. Unlike other guys I’ve been with, he’s always down to use my toys. He asks me what I want, what makes me feel good and actually listens. And he always makes sure I come at least once before he comes.

My phone buzzes with a text, pulling me out of my thoughts. It’s a message from Amy, Ingrid’s mom.

Bella! Could I double my coffee order for my delivery tomorrow? So sorry to ask on such short notice, but some family is coming to visit us at the last minute this weekend. They’re coffee snobs and I want to impress them with your coffee :) I’m happy to pay double, triple, whatever you’d like!

I grin down at my phone and tell her that’s it no problem at all.

“What’s that smile for?” Braden asks.

I put my phone away. “Ingrid’s mom asked to double her order for this weekend.”

He beams at me. “Atta girl!” He looks so happy and proud that it catches me off guard.

I chuckle .

“You’re kicking ass with your coffee business. I’m so proud of you.”

There’s a tenderness in his tone that hits me straight in the center of my chest. He really means it.

And then I realize why it means so much—because Matt never sounded this proud of me, no matter what I did.

I blink quickly and swallow back the sudden emotion that surges up my chest. Braden’s not even my boyfriend and he’s proud of me in a way that my ex never was.

We stop when Maizie pauses to sniff a patch of wildflowers.

“I mean it. You’re building your own business and it’s already doing so well. You’re amazing,” Braden says to me.

His gaze is soft as he looks at me. Gently, he swipes aside a chunk of hair that’s fallen in my face.

That feeling in my chest expands and deepens, turning warm. I try to brush it aside. I shouldn’t be catching feelings for Braden like this. We’re just friends who hook up sometimes. It’s not supposed to develop into anything more…

But even as I silently tell myself that, it feels wrong.

Just then, my phone rings. I pull my phone from my jacket pocket and see that my Aunt Lucy is calling.

I answer it. “Hi, Aunt Lucy. How are you?”

“Doing fine, but…honey, I’m sorry to say I’ve got some bad news about my apartment.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to need you to move out.”

“What?” My voice is so sharp that Braden jolts back slightly.

My stomach starts to sink as I listen to my aunt.

“I know this is terrible timing, but my new tenants who were supposed to move in during the spring asked me if they could move in at the end of this month instead,” she says. “They need a place to live right now, and if I don’t let them move in early, I’ll lose them as tenants entirely. I’m so sorry to spring this on you, honey.”

“It’s okay, Aunt Lucy. Really. I understand.” I try my best to hide my disappointment. She has every right to do this. She was more than generous by letting me live here for free for the past month and a half.

“I just hate to think of you moving back in with your parents. I know you all aren’t getting along right now.”

“Don’t worry about me, okay?” I force myself to smile so I sound happy on the phone. “I’ll be fine.”

She apologizes again, but I tell her it’s all okay. “You were so generous to let me stay at your place at all. I’ll be just fine,” I lie, despite the chipper tone I attempt.

“You sure, honey?”

“Positive. I’ll have all my stuff out before Thanksgiving.”

“Thank you, honey. I hate that I’m doing this to you.”

She sounds so sad. It makes me feel awful.

“Please don’t feel that way at all, Aunt Lucy. You’ve already done me a huge favor.”

Just then, my phone beeps. I look and see I have a call on the other line from my mom. I think about ignoring yet another call from my parents, but I’ve been dodging their calls and texts for weeks. They’re already annoyed with me. And I should probably at least try to get on their good side since I’ll need to move in with them again.

“Mom’s calling me,” I say to my Aunt Lucy. “I should probably answer it.”

“Oh honey, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Aunt Lucy. I love you.”

“Love you too, honey.”

I hang up and answer my mom’s call. “Hi, Mom. ”

“Finally. Bella, do you know how many times your dad and I have tried to call you?”

“I’ve been busy, Mom,” I say.

“Oh, don’t take that tone with me, young lady. You’ve been ignoring us.”

“I’ve been working a lot. I can’t just pick up the phone whenever you call me.”

“But you could call us back,” she says, her tone sharp. “And you wouldn’t be working so much if you hadn’t made the mistake of moving in with that awful ex-boyfriend of yours. How many times did your father and I tell you that was a terrible idea? If you had just listened to us, you wouldn’t be in this mess, working so much that you can’t even return a call or text from your own parents. I thought we raised you to be smarter than that, Bella.”

I bite my tongue and fight the urge to tell off my mom. I’m not in the mood to hear another lecture from her.

Frustration simmers inside of me. I can’t deal with her right now.

“Mom, I have to go.”

I hang up before she can say another word.

“What’s going on?” Braden asks, his brow knit in concern.

“I have to move out of my aunt’s place.”

“What?” His voice hitches up.

A family with a double stroller walks past us. Maizie starts to sniff at them, but Braden gently pulls on her leash so she moves away. We step aside so we’re not blocking the sidewalk.

I sigh and work my bottom lip between my teeth. I explain that my aunt’s tenants are moving in four months early, so I need to move out.

“Are you serious?” I’m heartened at how sad he looks .

I nod.

“Where are you moving to?” he asks.

I yank at my ponytail. “Probably back in with my parents.”

“Where do they live?”

“In the suburbs, about forty-five minutes away.”

“You don’t sound happy about that.”

“You heard my conversation with my mom just now. My parents and I aren’t really getting along at the moment.” I cross my arms. “I lived with them before I moved into my aunt’s place, and it was a disaster.”

His eyebrows furrow in concern. “Why?”

“Because they constantly lectured me about how stupid I was to move to Toronto to be with Matt. They would tell me all the time that if I had just stayed in Denver and broke up with him, I’d have my savings still. Which I mean, yeah, they’re right. But it doesn’t feel good to be told by your parents what an idiot you are. We argued about it constantly.” I shake my head, annoyed with myself. I sound like a whiny teenager.

“Sorry, I’m sure I sound ridiculous right now,” I say. “They let me stay with them for free. That was really kind of them. And I know they’ll let me stay with them again if I ask.”

“You don’t want to see if you can get a place in your aunt’s building?” Braden asks.

I let out a weak laugh. “You live in a luxury building in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Denver. There’s no way I can afford it. Even with all the extra money I’m making with my coffee roasting business, it wouldn’t be enough.”

He’s quiet for a long moment. Maizie moves between us, her tail wagging. I lean down and scratch her behind the ears, trying to think of a way to convince my parents to let me bring her with me. That’s if Braden is okay with me taking her.

I shake my head, my brain foggy as I try to sort through everything I need to do. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be such a downer,” I say to Braden.

He’s quiet for a moment. And then he looks at me and says, “Move in with me.”