Chapter Twenty-One
Reed
Zach stared at me; his arms crossed over his chest. “I’m sorry, but you want me to do what with you tonight?
Since when have you ever been someone who watches sports?
” He had been in the middle of going through his suitcase when I accosted him, and now it looked like everything he had brought to North Carolina was either on my bed or the floor. He never traveled lightly.
“Come to a hockey game with me tonight.” I tried to give him my best puppy-dog eyes while popping my bottom lip.
“Please, Zach. You’re my best friend. I can’t go alone.
I’m sure Beau hates me for what I did to Cole, and I can’t imagine sitting with him and his husband through three periods of hockey.
They’ll probably toss me out onto the ice for hurting their precious son. ”
Jesus, the WAGs were going to be there, too. They were going to chew me up and spit me out. Ezra and Maverick would murder me. They had invited me into their group, and I had ghosted them, too.
Zach rolled his eyes. “You’re being dramatic, Reed.” He sighed. “Wait, Dean Frost is going to be there? Hmmm, that might make it worth it.”
“It’s Frost-Whitaker, but yes. And he’s a married man now,” I reminded him. “Is that a yes?” I raised my brows in anticipation.
Zach grabbed his phone to turn down the Taylor Swift song before he shoved it in my face. “I want to meet him.” He showed me a picture of the Panthers backup goalie, Oscar Lane. “Tonight. After the game.”
“Uh, okay.” I didn’t know much about Oscar. He was quiet. Didn’t do much press and wasn’t known for hooking up as far as I knew. He had been traded from Boston to North Carolina the same year Cole had been drafted. “I’ll see what I can do. I can’t make any promises.”
Zach dropped his chin. “Then I’m afraid I can’t either, babe. Get your Cole to introduce me to Oscar.”
“He’s not my Cole. And what happened to Stephen What’s-His-Name you were seeing?”
Sometimes it was hard to keep track of the guys Zach brought back to our place. Not that I was shaming my best friend or anything, but he didn’t keep them around long. He didn’t like to stay tied down. I often found myself wishing I could be like that, but my heart already wanted someone else.
He shoved some of his clothes over on the bed to sit down. “He was fun, but that was so last week. Which is why I want to meet Oscar. He’s cute. I’ve never been with a hockey player before. I bet his cock is huge. It would tear me apart.”
“Zach.” I sighed. “You can’t sleep with one of Cole’s teammates.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you just can’t!”
Zach dropped onto his back. “Because you want Cole back, and I’ll have to see Oscar again is what you really mean.
It’s okay to admit it, Reed. I understand.
You’re totally in love with him. I could see it in the way you looked at him with big hearts in your eyes.
” He sat back up. “Cole looked at you in the exact same way. Did you know that he used to date that TikTok girl?”
“I’m fucking aware of that,” I growled. “They broke up about six months ago.”
Zach tilted his head. “Oh, you’re so jealous. She claimed she was totally heartbroken when they broke up.”
“She’s a cunt who was doing it for the press and followers,” I muttered before I could stop myself. “Sorry, that was bitchy of me.” But I had hated every second of that romance.
Fiona Sterling was a huge presence on social media, and when she started showing up at Panthers games, it hadn’t gone unnoticed.
She proclaimed herself to be their biggest fan right before she began dating Cole.
I had loathed her immediately. And I still did.
The romance had been a whirlwind, with Fiona forcing Cole into her TikTok’s, her Instagram, and even some of her YouTube videos before she broke up with him for someone new.
That didn’t mean I hadn’t followed along with everyone else.
I just felt like a jealous cow the entire time.
He hadn’t said a word about their breakup.
Ignored every question that had been asked, but I had silently cheered when he had removed their pictures from his social media accounts and stopped following her.
Zach patted the spot next to him. “Babes, it’s okay to be jealous. You shared something special with him. Your first is always special.”
“Cole and I were not virgins when we slept together. I only took his dick virginity.” I slapped a hand over my mouth. Shit, that was not my secret to reveal. Embarrassed tears stung my eyes, and I looked down. “Please don’t tell anyone I said that.”
Zach wrapped his arm around me. “I’m your best friend. I will guard every single secret you tell me with my life. Until my dying breath. You should know that by now.”
“Thank you.” I still felt like an asshole. I had no right to tell anyone about Cole’s sexuality.
He smiled at me. “I wish you had told me this one, though. It feels like you’ve been carrying it around for a long time, and it looks like it weighs a lot.”
“Yeah, well, I hadn’t meant to fall in love with him.” And there I went telling secrets again. “Damnit! Stop making me tell you things I don’t want to.”
Zach tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “You know, Reed, it’s okay to pine for someone. To love them and still let them go. Sometimes things aren’t meant to work out, no matter how badly we want them to.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” I teased.
He snorted. “As if. You know I’m not going to ever settle down. There’s too much of this fine ass to go around.” Zach climbed to his feet. “Now, why don’t we get you all gusseted up so that Cole can’t help but stare at you all night.”
“He’ll be on the ice, babe. I don’t want him to hurt himself. He needs to pay attention to the game, not me.” I took his outstretched hands. “But it would be fun to make him want me. Just a little.”
Zach beamed at me. “Then what are we waiting for?”
I REGRETTED MY DECISION the second I spotted Ezra Carey chatting with Cole’s parents.
I froze. Because, really, it wasn’t Ezra who was going to be the problem.
It was the small, white-haired man to his right who was going to be the issue.
Maverick Olson was married to Jackson Olson, who was the coach for the Panthers.
I spotted him the second we walked in as he sat with Tate, who once again beamed at me and waved happily as we walked into the VIP lounge.
I really should try to catch up with him before I went back to New York.
“Is that...” Zach turned to stare at me.
“You know Ezra Bardot?” He wasn’t even quiet about it, and his voice echoed around the room.
Jesus, Mary, and the donkeys. “Reed, you’ve been keeping so many secrets from me.
You should have warned me. I would have dressed better.
” He smoothed down the front of his designer shirt, which he had paired with white leather pants.
Ezra spun around, his eyes narrowing in on us. “My ears are burning.” He was suddenly right there, those dark eyes of his burning into my soul like he could read my mind. “Who is your friend, Reed?”
“Your biggest fan. Really, I own like so many of your clothes, Mr. Bardot.” Zach was suddenly blushing, and that had to be a first. I had never seen my best friend so red before. He was absolutely starstruck. Over Ezra.
Ezra’s brows shot up, and a smile spread over his pretty face.
Because there was only one way to describe Ezra, and that was beautiful.
Stunning. Drop dead gorgeous. “Well, any friend of Reed’s is a friend of mine.
” He hooked his arms through Zach’s. “We need to talk,” he mouthed at me before he maneuvered my best friend away.
“And please, call me Ezra. Mr. Bardot is my father, and honestly, I only use Bardot for my professional name. It’s Carey now.
Have you seen a picture of my husband? I totally bagged the hottest man alive. ”
I let out a long sigh just as I felt a tap on my shoulder. This was going to be a long night.
“Reed, I heard you were back. It’s great to finally meet you in person.
” Beau Whitaker, Cole’s father, smiled at me, his blue eyes twinkling.
He didn’t look angry or upset. He actually looked happy to see me.
Was this a trap? Was he going to conk me over the head after the game?
And would I wake up trapped in his basement later? I shuddered at the thought.
“Uh, thanks,” I mumbled. “It’s great to meet you, too.”
And when he leaned in to hug me? I nearly started sobbing on the spot.
Then Dean came over to do the same thing, and my eyes swam with tears, and I had to turn away from both of them.
I had been terrible to their son. I had spent the summer wrapped between the sheets with Cole, falling in love and promising him forever before I just disappeared like a thief in the night.
How could Dean and Beau act like they cared about me when I had hurt Cole the way I had?
Was it possible he hadn’t told them what I had done?
Why would he not? I had been a terrible person.
“Cole said you’ve been living in New York. Ballet, right?” Beau patted my arm.
I tried to swallow around the lump in my throat. “Yes.” It was hard to look the man in the eyes because I felt like the guilt was written all over my face. They should hate me the way I hated myself.
“The game is going to start. You should sit with us so we can catch up,” Dean suggested.
And that’s exactly where I sat. Next to Dean, with Zach on the other side of me for the entire game.
I felt like such a fraud while I waited for someone to start yelling at me.
To tell me how horrible I was, and that I didn’t belong here.
But somehow that moment never came. I managed to make small talk, ignore the darts Maverick was shooting at me, and watch the game without crying. I’d call that a win in my book.