39. Sean
CHAPTER 39
SEAN
ONE WEEK LATER
W hen the buzzer finally announces the game is over, I sigh in relief. We won, but today was brutal. I’ve been running on fumes, thanks to burning the midnight oil this past week. It’s the beginning of a new semester, and all my professors are hard asses. My workload is double. I should be thankful the game started early and we’re done by four o’clock.
We all get on the ice to congratulate Darren on the win since he’s the goalie, and as we’re skating toward our bench, Logan moves closer and asks, “You coming to The Heritage?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe? Come on, man. You have to come. I’ve lost my wingman.”
I roll my eyes. “You don’t need a wingman.”
He chuckles. “You’re right. I don’t, but it’s more fun with one. Alex is pretty much married, and Darren and CJ have no game.”
CJ looks over his shoulder. “Fuck off. I have game.”
Logan chuckles. “Sure you do, buddy.”
“Don’t count on me tonight,” I say. “I have a date, and?—”
“Ah fuck. Please don’t tell me it’s serious.”
“Relax. It’s a first date.”
“That’s how it starts. You don’t need to date to hook up. In fact, I haven’t seen you go on a date since…”
I give him a warning glance. He hasn’t brought up my past with Ashley in three years, and I’d rather keep it that way.
“… well, in ages,” he finishes. Good. He caught my silent threat.
I walk away from him as soon as we enter the locker room. I’m not in the mood to discuss my love life with anyone, least of all Logan. I’ve been wrestling with the idea of canceling this damn date ever since I asked out Lavinia, a girl I met while in line to get coffee. She was cute and, impulsively, I asked her to dinner. I should be more excited about the date. Maybe I’ll feel better at the restaurant. I have to see it through, just to prove to myself I can forget Ashley.
W hen I arrive at The Heritage alone, it’s already pretty busy. No surprise there. It’s Saturday night after a Warriors victory. I’m still tired as hell, but after a terrible first date, I need a drink or two. I knew taking Lavinia out was a mistake. The first thing she asked when we sat down at the table was to take a selfie with me to post on Instagram, which I declined. I’m a private person. She wasn’t happy, and then it became clear that she was more interested in dating someone she could exploit on social media than anything else. Hard pass. I ordered the quickest thing on the menu and skipped dessert. The relief I felt when I dropped her off in front of her house was immense. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
I grab a beer from the bar before I carve a path through the crowd until I find my teammates hanging out by the pool tables. CJ and Noah are playing against Alex and Darren while Logan watches the whole thing, smirking. When I approach, he turns and smiles wider.
“Sean, you made it. Where’s your hot date?”
“At home.”
His brows arch. “Did you crash and burn?”
“I’d say she did. Too many red flags to even count.”
“Bummer. Well… there are plenty of girls here tonight.”
“Not looking to score.” I take a large sip of my drink.
Logan taps me on the shoulder. “We’ll see about that.”
Ignoring his comment, I nod toward the table and ask, “How did that happen?”
“What? CJ and Noah playing together?”
“Yep.”
Logan shrugs. “Beats me. I went to the restroom, and when I came back, they were already playing.”
I give the room a cursory glance. “Are the girls here?”
And by girls, all I really want to know is if Ashley is here. She doesn’t come to the games, but from time to time, she’ll come to The Heritage with Gia.
“I think they were going somewhere for dinner. Maybe they’ll swing by later.”
Like a glutton for punishment, my heart seems to beat faster at the possibility that Ashley might come tonight. I see her often, and it always leaves me chafed emotionally. Yet I can’t help but to look forward to those encounters. She hates my guts, and she doesn’t hide that fact. I, on the other hand, feel as strongly for her as I did back when we were together, which only makes my pain ten times worse. It’s a whole different level of agony to desire my own damn sister.
ASHLEY
I’m not one to make a New Year’s Resolution list, but one thing my friends and I agreed on was to spend more quality time together without boys. Now that Gia and Blair are in serious relationships, and Gia will be even busier once she has her baby, we really need to make an effort.
Tonight, we had dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant ten minutes from campus, and we invited Micaela to join us. She just started at Hannaford U after spending the fall semester traveling in Europe. Micaela is Coach Bedford’s daughter, and even though she’s younger than us, Blair took an immediate liking to her and pretty much adopted the girl.
By the time the waiter returns with our separate bills, I’m sleepy. I blame the tiramisu and the copious amount of red wine I drank.
A yawn sneaks up on me, and I try to hide it with my hand. “I need coffee.”
“Me too,” Micaela replies.
Gia’s phone pings with an incoming text message. “Noah is asking if we want to stop by The Heritage.”
Blair is looking at her phone as well. “Alex asked me the same thing.” She looks up, sporting a smile. “Aww… our boys miss us.”
I roll my eyes. “Gag me.”
“Why are you hating on their love bliss? Aren’t you in love with Brian?” Zoey asks, squinting at the bottom of her empty wine glass.
I snort. “In love? Where did you get that notion?”
She shrugs. “You seemed pretty smitten with him at the wedding.”
“He’s nice, but we haven’t been dating for that long.”
Not that that’s a valid explanation. It didn’t take long for me to fall hard for Sean.
“I’ve never been to The Heritage,” Micaela pipes up. “Let’s go.”
“This should be fun! I can’t wait to see the boys try to behave because the coach’s daughter is around.” Gia’s eyes crinkle with mirth.
Micaela frowns. “Do you think I shouldn’t go? I don’t want to make them uncomfortable.”
“Oh, it’ll be fine,” Gia assures her.
Zoey looks at me. “You’re coming, right, Ash? Unless you have plans with Brian.”
I want to bail. I’m sure Sean is at The Heritage, and I’m not in the mood to deal with him. It’d be easy to use plans with Brian as an excuse. He’d be more than happy to see me, and he even hinted he’d be up late. But tonight is reserved for my girlfriends. “No, I didn’t make plans with him.”
“Then you need to come,” Zoey says enthusiastically.
My phone vibrates in my purse. I check it and say, “Speak of the devil. Brian just texted me.”
brIAN: Just finished the paper due tomorrow. How was dinner?
“If he’s up, why don’t you invite him to come to The Heritage too?” Gia asks.
Sean and Brian under the same roof again. God, that’d be a recipe for disaster. It was already bad at Jesse and Riley’s wedding. Sean glowered at Brian the whole time. At The Heritage and with booze flowing, I wouldn’t put it past him to be a total asshole.
“Nah, it’s okay. It’s girls’ night out.”
I reply to Brian’s text.
ME: Dinner was great.
brIAN: LOTR is on if you want to come watch it with me.
Even if I hadn’t already agreed to extend the evening with the girls, I would pass on the invitation. I need to sleep.
ME: I’m heading to The Heritage with the girls for a bit. Then home and bed.
brIAN: Have fun. Text me when you get home so I know you made it safe?
My kneejerk reaction is to say Fuck no . You’re not my keeper . But I rein in the impulse. There’s nothing wrong with him wanting to make sure I’m okay after a night out.
ME: Sure. Say hi to Legolas for me.
brIAN: Will do.
“I just told Noah we’ll be there in ten minutes,” Gia chimes in.
“Are all the boys there?” Zoey asks.
“I assume so. CJ for sure, because he’s Noah’s partner in pool.”
“CJ and Noah as partners?” I arch a brow. “That I have to see.”
Gia chuckles. “Yeah, they won against Alex and Darren and are about to play Logan and Sean.”
My stomach flutters, and my heart does a backflip. For fuck’s sake. I have a boyfriend now. Why do I still react like this when it comes to Sean?