64 A love bubble

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

A love bubble

RILEY

I was in a love bubble. But the thing about bubbles is that they eventually burst. Sometimes it’s quick. Other times it’s slow, the air gradually leaking out until it’s empty.

This was somewhere in between.

WILL: Sorry, babe. Going to have to bail on lunch. Coach wants to work on some things before tonight’s game. But I’ll see you later. You’re still coming, yeah?

I stared at the message, trying to ignore the voice in the back of my head that screamed it’s happening again .

Of course sometimes hockey was going to get in the way. Just like any person’s job often got in the way. But hockey was such a sore spot for me that it was difficult to think rationally. Which meant one thing – I shouldn’t think.

I exchanged my jeans and knit for running shorts and a crop. Zipping up my jacket, I swiped my headphones then hit the sidewalk.

I’d admittedly been running less this past week. The four-thirty a.m. alarm was tempting to turn off when Will was wrapped around me. Especially when he offered to go down on me if it meant I wouldn’t get out of bed. As had been the case this morning.

I was having so much fun with him, which made me envious of the time we’d missed out on. Maybe if I’d been honest, if I’d explained where my fears were coming from, then things would have been different last time.

I was adamant about them being better this time around, which meant I needed to tell Will about dad and Tanner. I had no freaking clue how that was going to go down. It was a fairly big bombshell. One I was sure was going to have some repercussions.

Edging along the sidewalk, I headed for the local dog park. This time of day, there would be plenty of fluffballs around, awkwardly running after sticks and balls.

Growing up, I’d begged my mum for a dog, but she was allergic. So when that failed, I’d asked dad for a puppy each Christmas. One that could live at his house when I came to visit. But of course, as Christmas was partway through the season, I often didn’t see dad over the holidays. In fact, some years he forgot to call entirely. Something mum attempted to cover up by making excuses for him.

I was at a loss whether I was willing to resent dad for the rest of my life, or whether I wanted to try and work through things. When Will and his friends spoke about my dad, there was a fondness there. Like they knew a side of him that I didn’t. Though they didn’t shy away from the fact dad was a total hard ass, they clearly had a lot of respect for him. I was envious. What I would have given to receive even half the attention his players did.

In Colorado I’d snuck off one morning to have breakfast with dad. Away from home, things had felt easier. Like we could laugh and talk without the past twenty-one years weighing us down.

Being around him this hockey season had been kind of nice too. He knew how to have fun when he was in a hockey arena. Did I feel bitterness towards him for that, or did I sympathise with him? It’s all he knew.

I had no idea how he would react once I told him about Will. The first time I’d met Will had been in the Athletes’ Centre during a hockey conditioning practice.

In freshman year the girls on my athletics team had relentlessly gushed about Levi. Even back then he was exciting news – the hot new hockey gun guaranteed to go pro. All I’d seen though was Will. His dark blonde hair. His quiet temperament. His hot as hell body.

Apparently he’d only seen me too. After a week of staring at each other across the gym, he asked me out. It was that simple.

He liked me. I liked him. Let’s go out .

Falling for him had been quick and easy. We clicked. We fit. But when his hockey gears shifted, my fears surfaced. Then mum got sick and everything became chaos.

In all of that though, I’d never stopped thinking about him. Or wondering what he was up to. Or caring about him. Or loving him.

Whenever dad subconsciously brought Will up in conversation, I’d fish for more details like an addict. I’d never thought he would be back in my life. Now that he was, I vowed not to let things explode again.

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