Chapter 6
OWEN
I sat on the wooden bench, fingers working the laces of my skates. The locker room was empty except for me and the millions of voices in my head.
You can’t break up with Cam right now.
Harlow’s words circled through my brain like a vulture.
Was this a great idea or the worst plan ever? The jury was still out.
I pulled my laces tight, tighter than necessary, feeling the bite against my fingers.
Three more days.
We leave for the beach house tomorrow. The problem was I’d never been good at pretending, and I hated lying. But Jax and Kaia deserved their perfect wedding, and they didn’t deserve to have all of my relationship drama fucking everything up.
Harlow was right. If this blew up now, it would be catastrophic. It could be what destroys real friendships.
At least that was the lie I kept selling myself at 3 AM.
I moved to my right skate, my hands steadier now that they had something to focus on. The locker room door creaked open. I didn’t have to look up to know who it was. Bennett had a way of existing loudly even when he was trying to be quiet.
“You ready?” He held the door open, one eyebrow raised. “We got an hour.”
“Yep.” I pushed up from the bench. “Let’s do this.” I followed him into the hallway. “Is anyone else coming?”
He nodded. “Yeah, Jake and Ty are waiting at the gate.”
We met them at the entrance to the rink. Jake was mid-story about some girl.
Their laughter bounced off the walls while my thoughts circled the drain.
All I could think about was how much I’d fucked up. How I was avoiding Cam because of the guilt. How I was pretending everything was fine to save a wedding that wasn’t even mine. How Cam would hate me after I confessed, and how Harlow was barely speaking to me.
That one landed differently. Heavier. For reasons I couldn’t explain and definitely wasn’t ready to examine, I really didn’t want Harlow to hate me, and yet I kept digging myself deeper, like an idiot with a shovel.
My skates hit the ice, and my gaze lifted, connecting with Cam’s.
My heart launched itself into my throat and started doing backflips as we skated toward each other.
“Hey.” Her lips curved into a smile that was trying so hard to be casual, it almost hurt to look at.
“Hey.” My eyes met hers for half a second before the awkwardness grabbed me by the throat. I looked over her shoulder where a figure skater was attempting a jump. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean?” She laughed, but it sounded forced. “I’m always here in the mornings.”
No, she wasn’t. Not since we’d started dating. “Not lately.”
Part of me wondered if she’d been avoiding me as much as I’d been avoiding her. Maybe we were both cowards. Maybe that’s why this never worked.
“True.” She shifted her weight, skates scraping against the ice. “I actually came because I wanted to see you.”
My throat went dry. “Uh…” I glanced back at the guys, who were pretending to stretch but were absolutely, one hundred percent eavesdropping. “I’m kind of busy this morning. We’re running some drills.”
“Okay.” Her words came out slowly. “What’s going on, Owen?”
“What?” My chest tightened, but I arranged my face into shocked innocence, like I had no idea what she was talking about.
“You’ve stood me up twice.” Her voice was quiet. “I’ve hardly talked to you since Jax’s bachelor party. You’re avoiding my texts, my calls…”
“Cam, I’m really busy right now.” The words tumbled out way too fast. “School and hockey, plus Jax’s wedding…” I shook my head, eyes darting everywhere but her face. “It’s nothing.”
The lie twisted in my gut like a knife, but even if I could tell her the truth right now, this definitely wasn’t the place. Not with Bennett, Jake, and Ty listening.
“So.” She lifted her chin. She didn’t look convinced. She looked like someone who’d been lied to before and recognized the taste. “Do you want to go to dinner with me tonight?”
The question was a test, and we both knew it. I didn’t want to go to dinner with Cam. I wanted to avoid her until the wedding was over and we could really talk.
“Yeah.” I forced a smile. “Why don’t we go to Harry’s for seafood?”
Her face split into a grin. I knew she loved seafood and Harry’s was her favorite restaurant.
“And we can figure out driving arrangements to the beach house for this weekend,” I added, because apparently I was committed to this performance until the bitter end.
“Okay.” She nodded, something like relief softening her features. “I have to get to practice.”
“I’ll see you tonight.” I shifted to leave, escape, really, but she grabbed my wrist.
Her fingers were warm against my skin. I stopped.
“Do I have to ask for a kiss?”
Fuck. “Oh.”
Kissing her was wrong. It felt misleading and cruel and…
But then again, so was her fucking Trystan the night before we started dating.
I shook my head at the thought and leaned in. Pressed my lips to hers in a kiss that was quick and friendly and absolutely nothing like what a kiss should be.
Then I disappeared and didn’t look back.
The guilt wrapped around me so tight I could barely breathe. My skates cut lines in the ice as I pushed away, each stroke taking me further from her.
This whole situation was so cosmically messed up.
Because it wasn’t just me who wasn’t being honest. It was Cam, too. She wasn’t lying to me; she was lying to herself. Had been since the first night.
It didn’t feel like she was using me to make him jealous. It was worse than that.
It was as if she were using me to forget him. Like she was so desperate to move on, so determined to prove she was fine, that she was willing to settle for less than everything she deserved.
Even if she didn’t realize it.
She deserved someone who was head-over-heels obsessed with her…
And that wasn’t me.
I reached the guys and grabbed my stick.
“So,” Bennett said, not even trying to hide his smirk. “That looked fun.”
“Shut up,” I muttered.
Jake laughed. “Trouble in paradise, bro?”
“There is no paradise,” I said. “There’s just ice and bad decisions.”
“That’s deep, man.” Ty clapped me on the shoulder. “Really deep.”
I wanted to tell them they had no idea that I was drowning in three feet of water while everyone watched. That there was a chance I was going to ruin my best friend’s wedding, and possibly every friendship I had.
“Let’s skate.” Because that’s what you do when your whole life is on the verge of imploding. You keep moving.
I stared at my phone as Camryn’s text lit up the screen.
Camryn: Are you running late?
My thumb hovered over the keyboard, but I couldn’t bring myself to type. I sank deeper into my couch. She was already at Harry’s waiting for me and probably starting to realize that I was going to stand her up. The thought made my stomach twist.
My phone buzzed, and her name flashed across the screen. I sent it to voicemail.
“Fuck,” I muttered. I couldn’t go to dinner with her and sit across from her pretending everything was fine because it wasn’t. Nothing was fine.
My fingers moved across the screen before I could overthink it.
Owen: I’m so sorry, but I can’t make it. Practice ran late.
The lie tasted bitter even through text. Practice ended hours ago, and I came straight home, planning to shower and meet her. But I couldn’t. I just… Sat there. Avoiding her.
Camryn: I can wait for you. We still have plenty of time to eat.
Owen: Sorry, Cam. I’m exhausted. I’ll pick you up tomorrow, and we’ll ride together to the beach house.
Camryn: Okay. Good night.
My fingers hesitated over the keys. I should say good night back. I should call her. I should end this, tell her what I did, and then ruin everything this weekend, but instead I set the phone down on the table and leaned forward, elbows on my knees, head in my hands.
I regretted everything…
I regretted saying yes that night by the pool, knowing damn well that she wasn’t over Trystan and getting so drunk at Jax’s bachelor party that I ended up hurting Harlow.
But what I didn’t want to do was regret ruining my best friend’s wedding.