Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
Why is she looking at me like that?
I raise an eyebrow, turning my head slightly as I try to get a read on her expression.
“You two have fun,” Avery says as she backs out the door and pulls it closed.
Brogan’s gaze snaps to the door before coming back to me. “Looks like it’s just the two of us.”
She seems uneasy. As if this situation is uncomfortable for her. But that’s just too damn bad. We had a deal, and if I know her like I think I do, she’ll stand by her word.
“Looks like it,” I tell her, watching with skepticism as she drops the crust of her pizza in a trash bin beside a desk. “You just wasted a perfectly good crust.”
“Oh, I don’t eat the crust.” She speaks casually as she walks around her bed and sits down on the side opposite of where I am. “It’s gross.”
Baffled, I turn my body just enough to see her. “What do you mean it’s gross? You eat the rest of the pizza, right? You do realize it’s made from the same ingredients?”
Getting comfortable, she tugs the comforter until it’s nestled around her lower half. She pats one side, tucking it under her body, before tucking in the other side.
“I know that. But the crust doesn’t have any toppings. It’s not the same.”
I’m half tempted to reach into that trash bin, pull out her crust, and eat it just to prove a point, but I won’t go to those extremes. I’m beginning to realize, no one can change Brogan’s mind about anything once it’s made up. And even if she were wrong in a situation, I’d probably still let her be right. Not without giving her a little shit first, of course.
Scooting up the bed, I sit beside her with my back against the headboard. With my ankles crossed and my hands folded in my lap, I watch as she squints at the tv, glancing over at me out of the corner of her eye. I don't even ask her if it’s okay to sit here beside her because being the stubborn girl she is, she’d probably use the opportunity to tell me to move in which case we’d start a full-on argument.
Because of my schedule, I don’t watch much tv, aside from bits and pieces of live sports. Now that I’m sitting here watching a movie, I’m certain I wouldn’t want to watch it with anyone else right now. My only wish is that I was on the other side of her so I could see her while I'm pretending to watch the movie.
Brogan’s voice slices through the silence, amidst the movie playing. “Have you ever watched Hocus Pocus ?”
“Ugh, yeah,” I tell her, eyes on the screen. “My mom loved this movie. It’s a shame she’ll never get a chance to watch the second one.” I look at her, noticing her pinched expression. I save her the discomfort of having to ask and say, “she passed away when I was seventeen.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I can’t imagine how hard it is to lose a parent at such a young age.”
I nod. “It’s not easy. That’s for sure.” I shift the subject off of me and onto her. “Are your parents still together?”
“Nope.” She moves her body up until she’s sitting flush beside mine. “My mom remarried two years ago to a really good man and I gained four stepbrothers.”
Those must have been the guys I saw in the pics. I had a feeling they were family.
She continues, “My dad is dating a model in her early twenties whom I’ve met twice. So that’s fun.”
I snort a laugh. “Wow. Is your dad Richard Gere, by chance?”
“No,” she chuckles, “but he is a good-looking man with money.”
Lifting a finger, I say, “Ahh. That explains it. And how is he as a father?”
“You sure are asking a lot of personal questions.”
“You don’t have to answer,” I tell her.
After thinking for a minute, she says, “He used to be a good dad. Or at least, that’s how I remember him. When he and my mom got divorced, it sort of felt like he divorced us too. We still talk. And don’t get me wrong, I love my dad very much. We’re just not as close as I think we could be. What about you? Are you close with your dad?”
“I don’t really know him,” I tell her truthfully.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” There’s pity in her voice and I don’t like that. The last thing I want from anyone is pity.
“Don’t be sorry. I’m not. I know who he is. I know where he lives. But I really don’t care to know him .”
She nods, not taking any offense to my annoyed tone. “I get that. Not everyone who comes into our lives is meant to stay and we don’t have to feel bad about that.”
“He never even came into my life until the year my mom passed away. Up until then, I didn’t know or care if he was dead or alive. Then one day, he just appeared and decided to try and be a hero.” Shaking my head, I ball my hands into fists, trying not to let the memory of that moment overwhelm me. “I put that asshole in his place real fast.”
Brogan sits up, turning toward me. “And you haven’t seen him since?”
“Oh, I see him. He likes to show up whenever it’s convenient for him just so he can make himself look good to his wife. We don’t talk at all, but I know he’s there.”
Brogan puts her hand on my arm, her fingers gently grazing my skin. I look down, and she pulls away, but the warmth of her touch lingers.
“So,” she says sharply, cutting through the tension. “Did you live on your own after your mom passed away?”
Shaking off the feeling of her touch, I clear my throat. “I lived with my aunt. Well, technically, my mom and I both did. I didn’t have much of anything growing up. My mom couldn’t hold a job long enough to make a deposit on a rental, so we stayed with her sister for like…three years. When she passed away, I continued to stay there until I graduated high school and moved here.”
Brogan crosses her legs, fully abandoning the movie in favor of giving me all her attention. I find I like it more than I expected to. “I’m glad you had your aunt to get you through all that.”
“She didn't get me through anything. I got myself through it. My aunt was always part of the problem so don’t give her too much credit.”
I squirm a bit. I don’t even know why I’m opening up to her like this. I thought I’d be okay with it, but this is the stuff that feels raw, scary even.
She looks over at me, studying my expression. Sometimes I swear she can read my mind with how perceptive she is.
I need to change the subject fast. “How many sisters do you have?” I ask her. “I was stalking your FlashChat page and noticed some family pics.”
“Two sisters.” She smiles and her eyes light up. “Elodie and Lake. Elodie is in college and Lake is a senior in high school.”
“I gotta say...” I chuckle. “You and your sisters have some unusual names.”
She laughs along with me. “Yeah, my mom wasn’t very kind to us in that regard. Lake is actually short for Lakin and Elodie is my mom’s middle name.”
“And Brogan?”
“Brogan is my mom’s maiden name.”
“Hmm.” I nod. “That's actually kinda cool.”
“It is. I sort of like having a name no one else has. Less confusion.” She swats me playfully. “And you’re one to talk. Hayes isn’t exactly on the top ten list of popular boys' names.”
“I can’t even argue that one. I have no idea where my mom got my name.” I scratch the back of my head, smiling. “It was probably some old school tobacco or liquor brand.”
“Well, I like it.” Her smile makes something in me warm, like I’m finally earning that magic my mom talked about. “I think it suits you.”
I lift my chin, biting the corner of my lip. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Legs.”
Her face drops and she swallows thickly. “I must be pretty damn cruel if that’s the nicest thing I’ve said to you.”
“You do like to give me a hard time.” I nudge her, trying to lighten the mood again.
Her neck cranes back. “I do? Yeah, you’re right. I do. I guess it’s the middle child in me.”
“Being an only child, I don’t have that problem. Instead, I have the attitude of the oldest, middle, and youngest.”
“Ahhh. That explains a lot.” She starts to laugh and I find that it might be my new favorite sound. “Well, at least you have the brothers of your fraternity.”
“Fraternity?” I spit out, confused. “I’m not in a fraternity.”
Her body shoots forward and she turns to face me, legs crossed. “Yes, you are.”
“No,” I deadpan. “I’m definitely not. I live in the house, but I'm not part of the brotherhood.”
Confusion cripples her features. “Why do you live there then? Why aren’t you in the dorms?”
I shrug, no shame in my voice as I say, “I got kicked out of the dorms. I’m surprised your buddy Jared didn't tell you?”
“No. He didn’t tell me anything, except to stay away from you.” She taps the tips of her fingers together devilishly. “I bet it’s good though. So what is it, what did you do to piss Jared off?”
“To put it simply, I fucked his ex-girlfriend in our dorm and she may have been high as a kite at the time, but I had no idea she had drugs on her when it happened. I was tested multiple times because of hockey and it all came up clean, but it all kinda went downhill from there.”
Her mouth drops open. “Wait a damn minute. Jared’s gay. He’s been seeing a guy named Luca for the last couple weeks now.”
“He’s bi. He and his ex actually dated for a year before he dumped her.”
“That’s horrible, Hayes!” She glowers at me with judgment in her eyes. “Why would you do that to him?”
“In my defense, I didn’t know who the fuck it was. It was dark as hell and this chick climbed in my bed, rubbed up on my dick and I was at her mercy after that. Had no idea it was her until Jared came in and flipped on the lights.”
Her face scrunches. “Is that really grounds for getting kicked out of the dorms?”
“No, but because she had drugs on her at the time and she was in my bed I was guilty by association and I didn’t have money or influence to help me out.”
She curls her nose. “But why Kappa Rho? Why not just find an apartment and get a roommate?”
“Can’t afford it,” I say mildly. “I don’t have the luxuries a lot of students have. I’m not here on a scholarship. The dad I told you about, he’s paying my tuition. I didn’t wanna accept the favor, but I had no choice if I wanted a future in hockey. So I took the money with the plan to pay him back every single penny if I go pro.”
“ When you go pro,” she corrects me. “Speak it into existence. Manifest that shit.”
I turn to face her, loving this side of Brogan, the side that wants to put up a fight. “I stand corrected. When I go pro, I’m paying him back. Until then, I work part time during the off-season just to eat and afford the rent I pay for that hole in the wall at Kappa Rho.”
She goes quiet for a minute, that look of pity in her eyes again. But it quickly fades and she smiles. “Well, I’m really proud of you. A lot of people would call it quits and drop out, but you do what you have to do to keep going.”
“Damn, Legs. I think that’s the second nicest thing you’ve ever said to me”
“See.” She grins, pushing me gently with her hand. “I can be nice.”
My eyes skate downward, from her eyes to her mouth. The tip of her tongue darts out slightly and she drags it between her lips. I wanna kiss her so fucking bad. I wonder how she’d react…
“Wow,” she blurts out, snapping me from my thoughts. “The movie is already over and we didn’t even watch it.”
I glance to my left at the tv. “Oh yeah. So it is. Guess that means we’ll have to try again another night.”
She nods quickly. “It has to be before Halloween, though. Because once that holiday is over, it’s Christmas all the way.”
I look at her through squinted eyes. “Don't tell me you’re one of those?”
She chuckles. “One of what?”
“A Christmas Creep.”
Her brows furrow and I want so badly to reach my thumb up and smooth them out. “Now you’re just making stuff up.”
“No. No. It’s a thing. Christmas Creeps jump straight from Halloween to Christmas, completely skipping over Thanksgiving.”
“Nobody skips Thanksgiving,” she says with defensiveness in her tone. “It still happens and it’s still celebrated. It’s just that, Thanksgiving is a day that’s celebrated. Christmas is an entire season of joy and laughter. It’s filled with lights and love and hot cocoa and all the good things.”
I know these Christmas Creeps are dead set in their ways, so I put up my hands up in surrender. “I won’t argue with you, Legs. I’m just gonna let you win.”
She smirks. “Now you’re catching on.”
There’s a beat of awkward silence before I cut through it and say, “I guess I should head out so you can get some sleep.”
As much as I don’t want to leave, we’re in a good place, and I should probably quit while I’m ahead. Besides, I’ve got a full two days with her coming up.
Brogan licks her lips and I find myself watching the action, again. The fire inside me intensifies with each passing second with this girl and if I don’t leave now, I might not be able to refrain from kissing her. But it’s too soon. She’s fresh out of a shitty relationship and her heart is guarded more than ever.
So, instead of making a move, I play it safe and fling my legs over the side of the bed and stand.
Leaning down, I press a chaste kiss to the top of her head and whisper, “see you at my game tomorrow.” When I stand, I give her a wink before heading to the door to put my shoes on.
“Your game?”
“Our two days together begin tomorrow.” I slide one shoe on, then the other before pulling open the door. “Your seats will be waiting.”