Chapter 12
TWELVE
HARLEY
Cane parks his truck beside the new burger place just off campus, and I grab my bag from the floor. Before he gets out, he flashes me a boyish grin.
“Ready?”
“Almost,” I reply, knowing that what I’m about to do may freak him out, but if he wants to be my friend—or fake friend—he’s going to have to deal with it.
Holding up my insulin and a syringe, I shrug.
“I have to give myself an injection first. If it’s going to bother you, you can wait outside the truck.
Normally I don’t have to do this each time, but I’ve been trying to …
conserve my tubeless insulin delivery system, so this will just take a minute. ”
Instantly, he seems caught off guard. Not in a way that says he’s clearly uncomfortable, but more so that he isn’t sure what the correct answer is here.
But after a few more seconds, he shakes his head.
“I’m good. I’d like to learn how you do it.
” He pauses. “If that’s okay, I mean.” He gives me a tiny grin.
“You know, since we’re friends and all.”
My eyes lock on his for a moment. I don’t really know what to say back, but it’s refreshing that he isn’t grimacing, looking at the needle in my hand like some people do. There’s no judgment in his eyes, and to be honest, I’m really freaking glad because that gets old.
I push my T-shirt up just over my stomach with my free hand. “I’m going to do four units today,” I say, sort of to myself and a little to him, turning the dial on the syringe four clicks.
Pulling the cover off the syringe so that the needle is exposed, I pinch the sliver of exposed skin. I look at him to find his eyes deeply entranced. He’s not just half-assed paying attention to what I’m doing or saying. He’s taking mental notes, I swear.
My thumb rests on the plunger before I insert the needle into my skin, pushing down on it until the appropriate amount is dispensed.
“Now I just have to hold it here for a few seconds,” I whisper, keeping the needle in my abdomen and counting down from ten in my head before, finally, I pull it out.
When I’m finished taking care of my supplies safely, I find his eyes still on the injection site.
“Wow,” he whispers mindlessly. “You really are badass.”
I hold back a laugh before shrugging. “Obviously,” I say before opening my door. “Let’s go. I could eat a whole cow.”
CANE
Once we’re both done eating and stuffed from the food we just devoured, I stare across the table at a woman I already thought was pretty fucking hot and really cool, but now I think so even more.
I’ve creeped her social pages enough to have seen her videos on giving herself insulin and educating people about type 1 diabetes, but seeing how calm she was, giving herself that injection in my truck? She didn’t even flinch.
I’m a fucking baby every time I have to go get my blood drawn during my physicals. I almost pass out, yet she was smiling through it.
“How do you feel about that charity auction this weekend?” I ask her, wondering if she’s dreading it as much as I am.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m all about the cause. I think it’s great that former NHL player Brody O’Brien’s foundation raises money for kids less fortunate to be able to play sports. I just think that auctioning off a bunch of college athletes is fucking bizarre—that’s all.
She cringes. “Look, I am all for the mission of the One Wish foundation. But do I fear that a middle-aged man named Jim will bid on me in front of everyone and I’ll be stuck going on a date with him, where he’ll tell me about how good he used to be at football and that he made the winning touchdown in high school?
” She nods dramatically. “Yes. I am not looking forward to that. At. All.”
Without meaning to, she gives me an idea.
My eyes widen, and a big grin spreads across my face. “Damn, Catch. You just reminded me of something.”
“What?” she says, suddenly nervous. “I’m scared.”
“This auction will be in front of everyone. So … if I bid on you and you bid on me—”
“Everybody will see it,” she says, finishing my sentence. “And then think we’re friends.”
I relax in the booth, winking. “Would that be so bad, Meadows? I mean, could be worse. It could be Jim, who threw one winning touchdown.”
“I guess you’re right,” she says before looking down. “It’s just … I don’t have the money to bid on you, Cane. So, I can’t really do that. I’m sorry.”
Instantly, my hand is across the table, lying on hers.
“Hey, it’s fine. This comes into the whole helping me look better play on things.
So, this should be my responsibility to pay for.
” I squeeze her hand, but when her eyes fly to it, I slowly pull back.
“No matter what the price, just bid on me, okay? I’ll pay after.
” I shrug. “And as for Jim? He won’t be an issue. ”
“You’re going to bid on me?” she whispers.
“I think it’s the least I can do. You’re helping me out to make me look better.” I say the words, hoping she’ll believe me, but the truth is, that’s not it.
I just can’t bear the thought of anyone else bidding on her, but I’m not about to tell her that.
She shifts around nervously before tucking a few loose strands of red hair behind her ear. “Well, now that we’ve settled that … you watched me give myself a shot, and I poured my heart out to you earlier, so now I get to ask you something.”
“I guess that’s fair,” I say. “Go ahead.”
“What’s it like, having a dad who’s a retired professional athlete?” she asks, genuinely curious. “Going out to dinner and stuff must be kind of hard.”
I think about Tripp and how much that dude doesn’t like the attention on him, and yet he’s always polite, even when I can tell he wants to be left alone.
“Honestly, even though it has its times of being pretty crazy, he’s never let it affect our family.
The thing about Tripp is, it was never about the money or fame for him.
” I relax in my seat, smiling. “The dude just loves hockey and was really good at it. He wanted to provide for his mom, so he did. And he really does love his fans, and when they come up to him, he’s always nice to them, and he signs whatever they give him, but that isn’t Tripp.
He doesn’t need any of that.” I fold the paper from my straw mindlessly.
“For a lot of athletes who set out to go pro, it is about that. Tripp’s not one of them. ”
“He sounds like a really good guy,” she says, her eyes boring into mine. “He’s been in your life for a while, right?”
I nod subtly. “Since I was twelve. That’s when he met my mom.”
“How did they even meet?” she asks, resting her chin on her knuckles.
“He was volunteering at a hockey clinic that Cash went to.” The corners of my lips turn up as I imagine my little brother showing up at that arena and catching everyone there off guard as the next big thing.
“Tripp took notice of his skills, and when my mom picked him up”—I chuckle—“guess he also took notice of her too.”
Her eyes are softened now as she takes in my story. The hardness she always carries, trying to come off as tough, seems to have melted away.
“That’s so cute,” she whispers. “A real-life love story.” She stares at me for a moment before looking down. “Well, I mean, I know he’s your stepdad. I hope you didn’t think I meant your parents’ story wasn’t—”
“It’s okay, Catch,” I say, giving her a small smile. “My dad died years before they met. He and my mom loved each other very much, and while I wish he were still here, I’m thankful she found Tripp.” I pause, chuckling. “Or that Tripp found her, I guess.”
I hold back the information that they got married for insurance reasons because, given the situation we’re in with me paying for her meds, I’d say she may fear I’m trying to repeat history or something.
Her expression is heavy now, even though she’s clearly trying to fight whatever emotion is hitting her.
“Yeah,” she utters, chewing her lip. “That’s really great that she found your stepdad.” Looking around, she glances at the clock. “We should probably get going. I have some schoolwork to finish at home.”
I don’t know what I said that caused her demeanor to change, but she’s uneasy now. And I fucking hate it because we were having a good night. I don’t want to make things worse though, so reluctantly, I nod.
“Yeah,” I agree. “Let’s, uh … let’s go, and I’ll get you home.”
As we slide out from opposite sides of the booth and head for the exit, I’m not even staring at her ass as she walks in front of me. No, I’m too busy trying to figure out what the hell I did to upset her.