36. Bella
Chapter 36
Bella
D akota’s boyfriend Jake walks up to us and says hi, pulling me out of my thoughts. I refocus on the moment and say hello. He’s wearing a plaid shirt and Dickies. His shaggy light brown hair is combed to the side, almost hanging in his eyes.
She holds his hand and smiles. “And here’s the Howard half of my couples costume.”
We all say how great they look. Jake smiles, but it looks forced. He lets go of Dakota’s hand pretty quickly.
“This is such a cute costume,” Sophie says to Dakota before turning to me and Lauren. “Dakota started watching The Big Bang Theory in middle school. She got me hooked on it too.” She looks back at Dakota. “Remember how we’d sing along to the theme song to annoy your brother?”
We all laugh.
“I never was really into that show,” Jake says, awkwardly halting the conversation. Dakota’s smile falters, but she recovers a second later.
“It’s okay. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea,” she says .
A weird silence follows for a few seconds before Ingrid speaks.
“But hey, you get boyfriend points for dressing up as your girlfriend’s favorite TV show characters,” she says in a light tone.
Jake sighs before flashing another tight smile. “Yeah, I guess I do. I’m gonna grab a drink.”
He walks off. Dakota’s smile turns sad. She crosses her arms and looks at us. “Sorry, guys. He’s kind of in a mood.”
“About what?” Sophie asks gently.
“He recorded a demo for a freelance producer hoping that it would lead to a studio session, but the producer didn’t end up liking it,” Dakota says. “He’s taking it pretty hard.”
“Oh,” I say. “Sorry, that sucks.”
We’re all quiet for a second. Yeah, it definitely sucks that he’s dealing with that rejection, but he doesn’t have to act like a disinterested jerk around Dakota.
I want to say that to Dakota, that she doesn’t deserve to put up with all this, but I keep my mouth shut. She probably wouldn’t like me giving her unsolicited relationship advice.
The dance music playing over the sound system suddenly cuts off. An opera song starts playing, and Ingrid frowns.
“Spotify is so annoying.” She leaves to find her phone. Maya heads to the bathroom.
“I need to pee too,” Lauren says. Sophie tells her where the other bathroom is.
“Hey, Bernadette.” I look up and see Sam walking up to Dakota.
Her brown eyes are wide as she takes in the sight of his nearly naked body. She rakes her gaze down his torso, pausing at his crotch. I hold back a laugh at how mesmerized she clearly looks.
When I look at Sophie, she’s biting back a smile as she looks between Dakota and Sam.
Dakota’s tan cheeks are flushed pink. She clears her throat and blinks, the look in her eyes focusing. “Wow. Look at you.”
Sam shrugs and flashes an easy smile. “I lost a bet with your brother.”
Dakota laughs. “You two are ridiculous.”
“Can’t argue with you there.”
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Seattle?”
“We have a few days off till our next game, so I came back to Denver to visit my sister and her kids,” he says. “I love your costume, by the way.”
Dakota beams, her cheeks still pink. She runs her fingertips along the hem of her skirt. “Yeah?”
“Definitely. I watch my favorite Big Bang Theory episodes all the time. It’s my favorite way to wind down when I’ve had a rough day or a tough game.”
“Same. Whenever I have parent-teacher conferences, I always have my favorite three episodes queued up and a bottle of my favorite wine ready to go.”
Sam grins. “I have the biggest crush on Bernadette so this is really doing it for me.”
Dakota giggles and playfully shoves his shoulder. “I would have thought you’re more into Penny. She’s the hottie of the show.”
“Oh, she’s pretty for sure. But Bernadette is hot. She’s smart and feisty. And a little nerdy. That’s more my type.”
Dakota lets out another giddy laugh. It suddenly feels like I’m eavesdropping on a date. I look at Sophie, who looks like she’s thinking the same thing.
“Bella, do you want to grab a snack with me?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Together we walk to the dining room table and graze on the appetizers.
I glance back at Dakota and Sam, who are still chatting and laughing with each other.
“So what’s the story there?” I ask Sophie.
Sophie sets a stuffed mushroom onto her plate. “Oh gosh, it’s a long one. Sam has a major crush on Dakota. But she refuses to see it.”
“Why?”
“Not sure. It’s obvious that he likes her.”
“Yeah, I mean, even I see it, and I’ve only just met both of them,” I say. “Has Sam ever come right out and told Dakota that he likes her?”
Sophie takes a bite of stuffed mushroom and shakes her head. “Nope. Probably because he’s best friends with her brother Del and Del is the most protective big brother ever. And he’s notorious for hating every guy his little sister has dated. I mean, in his defense, a lot of the guys Dakota dated haven’t been that great, so I get why he doesn’t like them.”
“What were they like?”
“Typical fuckboys. They make her pay for everything, they lead her on, or they cheat on her.”
I frown. “That’s horrible. She seems so sweet, she doesn’t deserve that.”
“She really is. Dakota is someone who sees the good in everyone. It’s what makes her the most amazing kindergarten teacher. She’s kind and patient and forgiving. The perfect person to work with kids. I just wish she didn’t extend that grace to jerks who hurt her or betray her trust. As her best friend, it’s hard to see her go through that.”
Sophie’s shoulders slump. I feel for her.
I pat her arm. “I’m sorry.”
She offers a small smile. “It’s okay. I know Dakota really cares about Jake. And at least he’s not like the guys she’s dated in the past. But she deserves so much better. She deserves a guy who’s head over heels for her. Who treats her like a goddess.”
I nod. “Totally.”
Sophie sighs and brushes her long, strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder. She glances over at Sam and Dakota. “Hopefully Sam will have the guts to tell Dakota how he feels about her before she gets serious with someone who doesn’t deserve her.”
A second later, the guys and Dakota walk up to us. Xander slides his arm around Sophie’s waist, pulling her close before dropping a kiss to her mouth.
Sam smiles at me. “Jessica Rabbit. Very cool.”
“Thanks. Not as cool as your costume. You’ve got quite a few fans at this party,” I say.
Sam lets out a flustered chuckle. I notice Dakota’s cheeks turn pink while she sips her drink, her eyes still on Sam.
A few of the guys get pulled away to play beer pong. Dakota’s gaze follows Sam as he walks off.
“I think I need another drink,” she says.
She and Sophie walk off to the kitchen island.
Braden presses his hand on my hip, pulling me closer to him.
“I’m a pretty big fan of your costume, pretty girl,” he says in a low, rough voice that only I can hear .
My stomach dips. Tingles spark over my skin where he’s touching me.
“You have a lot of fans too. Lots of ladies checking you out,” I tease.
He doesn’t chuckle like I expect him to.
“I don’t care about anyone in this room but you.”
My breath catches at the firmness of his tone, at how he’s looking at me like I’m the only one here.
Intensity flashes in his gaze. It makes my heart skid in my chest. He’s looking at me like I’m his.
My chest expands; my heart beats faster.
I like the way he’s speaking to me, the way he’s looking at me, the way he’s touching me.
I like being his.
In that moment, my rules about never dating a hockey player and never having a serious relationship feel silly and pointless. And wrong.
I open my mouth to tell him how I feel, but before I can get a word out, someone bumps into Braden. He stumbles to the side and I take a few steps back so he doesn’t run into me.
“Oh my god! Braden!” a tall, pretty blonde dressed as Marilyn Monroe says. “I thought that was you!”
He turns to face the woman, his brow raised like he’s surprised. “Lacey. Hey.”
Her eyes are glittery as she looks at him. “How long’s it been? Over a year?”
He shakes his head and shrugs. “Uh, yeah. I think you’re right.”
I look between the two of them, trying to figure out if she’s an old friend or something more.
She steps closer to him, and places a hand on his chest. Definitely more than just an old friend.
Jealousy flashes through me. I have no right to feel this way. He’s not my boyfriend. It’s not like I have any claim over him.
But that doesn’t make it any easier to watch this woman glide her hand up his chest and flash him a sexy smile.
I notice the look in her eyes is dazed. She’s tipsy.
“I saw that you had a bit of a rough start this season.”
He frowns. “Yeah. I did.”
A naughty smile pulls at her lips. “I think I know why. You weren’t fucking me.”
My mouth falls open in shock at what she’s said.
She glides another hand up his chest. “I was your good luck charm for a while there, remember?” She wiggles her eyebrows.
It feel like I’ve been clobbered in the stomach.
Good luck charm.
Braden said I was his good luck charm…it made me feel so special. I should have known better than to feel that way.
Braden’s expression is neutral as he looks at Lacey; his mouth is a straight line. I can tell he’s uncomfortable. But why isn’t he pushing her away? Why isn’t he telling her to back off?
“I can keep you going on your winning streak if you come home with me tonight,” she says in a sweet voice. “I’ll do that thing with my tongue that you like.”
That flash of jealousy inside of me turns into a full-blown fire.
I’m thrown back to every single time Matt flirted with a fan in front of me, how he disregarded my feelings. How much it hurt me. How much he didn’t care.
Because he’s a hockey player. Stuff like this happens to guys like him all the time. Fans and groupies are all over them constantly .
Pain shoots through my chest. It feels like it’s about to crack open.
I can’t handle this. I know I can’t.
I don’t want to feel like this ever again.
This is exactly why you said you’d never be with a hockey player again, remember?
My body goes on autopilot as I spin around and walk out of the house. Over the booming music, I hear Braden calling my name, but I ignore him. I push through the crowd of bodies and head out of the house and down the long, winding driveway to where my car is, biting the inside of my cheek so I don’t cry.