CHAPTER 4 YOU’VE BEEN WARNED
TALON
The diner was crowded, practically brimming with people.
It was a relatively small restaurant, but it seemed extremely popular.
Because it was slightly off campus, most of the patrons were students.
Honestly, it kind of reminded me of Kerby Lane in Austin.
A wave of nostalgia hit me thinking of my home; it had been a long time since I had even been back to Texas.
I definitely owed my mom and brothers a visit.
The seven of us were quickly seated and handed some slightly sticky menus.
I knew I was meant to be focused on selecting an order, but my attention was on the woman across from me.
A layer of dirt and sweat still covered her skin, but it didn’t take away from her beauty.
Despite her small frame, she was muscular.
She seemed so carefree about her appearance which was weirdly charming.
I barely knew this woman. Fuck, I didn’t even know her, and she somehow was getting under my skin.
“Do you know what you want?” An older waitress asked, poising her pen to write.
“Um, yeah,” Davis said, “Can I have a decaf coffee,
strawberry waffles, and a side of bacon?”
Orders circled around the table before it was my turn. “Orange juice, over easy eggs, sausage, and wheat toast please.” The waitress nodded and headed off.
“So, are you regulars at the soccer games?” The young woman with two curly balls on her head asked, directing her attention at Zeke and me.
Zeke gave a small nod. “Sorta. We only show up for this one.” He put his hand on his brother. “Plus, it breaks up the monotony of games and practices.”
“And how do you know Davis?” This time the woman with black hair asked. She took a sip of her water.
“We all played hockey together in college.”
“What!” Curly-haired practically shouted. “Davis,
you never said you played!”
“Down, Dre.” Davis snorted. “Clearly I wasn’t as talented as these two.” He looked down, probably remembering his career-ending injury.
I rolled my eyes. “You picked school; you always pick school.”
Aife finally looked at me, her gorgeous hazel eyes scanning over my face.
It was apparent she was sizing me up, but I couldn’t read the emotion in her eyes.
She was a little difficult to read. Maybe she just wasn’t able to open up around strangers?
She was an enigma, and I strangely wanted to know more.
The waitress came back and delivered our food.
I took the opportunity to see what Aife had ordered.
Chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, ham, and apple juice were in front of her.
At least she wasn’t shy about eating. Women that only ordered salad around guys annoyed me.
Picking up my fork, I dug into my food and tried to not stare at the woman across from me.
“School over hockey,” Dre said incredulously. “Did you get drafted?”
“No. Let’s drop it, Dre.” Davis’s tone quickly turned cold.
Zeke’s ears perked up. The pest in him wanted to poke the bear. “He got scouted and drafted. Why are you hiding your past, D?”
“Move on, please.” Davis pushed his food around his plate.
Hockey was still a sore subject for him.
He had been an extremely talented player until his injury, just not as passionate as the two of us.
The injury was a touchy topic, as it should be.
Davis sincerely could have gone pro, but ankles were important in hockey, and injuries were a bitch.
Unlike Zeke, I wouldn’t hound Davis over something out of his control.
Before Zeke could open his mouth again, I whacked the back of his head. We shared a heated look where I tried to convey the fact he needed to shut up. He seemed to understand as he too began to eat. Davis shot me a grateful look.
“New question,” the other woman, Nat, said, “How are your papers going?”
Davis groaned. “Let’s not go there on that one either, Nat. I think it might kill me. My advisor tore my intro apart.”
“Mine’s been a breeze.” Aife stuck her tongue out at him. “Just learn to write better.” Her tone was joking.
He nudged her shoulder. “We can’t all be amazing at writing. You do it more than I do anyway.”
“What papers?” My curiosity about this woman was getting the better of me again.
“Our dissertations. Aife is getting her PhD in social work.”
Fuck, she was smart too. I licked my suddenly dry lips. Why was this woman getting to me? I’d been successfully ignoring women for nearly two years. Yet somehow, this one was getting under my skin with every new piece of information I learned about her.
“That’s impressive,” I said voice low. It was quiet,
even for me.
A blush lit up her cheeks. Was she affected by me too? “Thanks. It’s really not that impressive though. Plenty of people go on and get their doctorates.”
Before I could respond further, someone’s phone went off. Aife jumped and pulled her cell out, frowning at the name on the screen. “Excuse me for a moment.”
I watched her get up and head outside to take the call.
My eyes roamed her retreating form. She had a perky, muscular ass, toned legs, and strong shoulders.
I found myself wondering how soft her skin was.
Fuck, I mentally slapped myself. Women were a distraction I didn’t need.
Her especially. Clearly, I wanted her, and not just sexually.
“Stop eye fucking her, TJ.” Davis’s stern voice finally brought my eyes back to the table. “She doesn’t need a relationship, and you aren’t willing to be in one.”
Ducking my head, I just offered a nod. We both knew he was right.
Relationships were not my speed anymore.
The last one I was in nearly broke me as a person and player.
Zeke and Davis had seen that and pulled me out of the depths of my despair.
None of us wanted that again; it had nearly destroyed me.
We waved goodbye to the women and decided to head to my condo.
It had been a hot minute since the three of us had hung out, just us.
Jefferson decided to head back to his own dorm and finish some homework, and I was excited to spend time with my two best friends.
Despite seeing Zeke nearly every day, we didn’t get to just hang out and be stupid anymore. I missed it.
The three of us sat down on my couch, beers in hand.
Despite the silence, it didn’t feel awkward.
We were one hundred percent comfortable with each other.
When we had seen each other naked as often as we had, there was no being uncomfortable anymore.
We were brothers in all but blood. And because of that, I knew Zeke and Davis were going to interrogate me about what had happened with Aife.
They knew I was attracted to her, and they also knew my past and my feelings about being in a relationship. It just wasn’t my thing—not anymore.
“So… that Dre girl is fairly cute.” Zeke sipped on his beer. “She really knows hockey too.”
“Her entire family loves it. Nat says bringing up hockey around Dre usually turns into a full-on rundown of the past three Stanley Cup wins,” Davis said with a touch of humor to his voice.
“Speaking of Nat…” Zeke trailed off, eyeing our best friend with suspicion.
Shrugging, Davis chugged his beer. It was his attempt to deflect the conversation. He was never one for attention or the spotlight, even amongst friends. “There’s nothing to speak about.”
“Your little smirk around her says otherwise,” Zeke said.
I watched my friend flush light pink. It was obvious he had a crush on this Nat woman; he could barely keep his eyes off her.
There were often times in the game where he was trying to impress her.
Perhaps Davis was blind, but I thought it was obvious Nat liked him back.
Her eyes constantly sought him out too. Clearly, they were too shy to admit that to each other.
“I don’t smirk.” Davis ducked his head to avoid our eyes. “She’s not into dating right now.”
“Says who?”
“Dre every time I even act like I might ask Nat out.”
Davis sounded exasperated. “Sometimes that lady is way too overprotective.”
I scoffed. “You aren’t some random player trying to get into her pants. That’s not you. Zeke, sure. But not you. Have you talked to Dre about it?”
He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “No,
and I’ve got too much on my plate right now. The last thing I need is to lose myself in a relationship like I seemingly always do.”
“Yeah or you could shoot your shot.” Zeke pointed his beer at Davis. “Like the GOAT said, ‘You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.’”
“Alright, relax Gretzsky.” Davis laughed, easing some of the tension in the room. “Let me work through my dissertation, and we can re-evaluate after that.”
“Well, since we are on the topic…” Zeke’s eyes met mine. “You seem oddly taken with that tiny soccer girl that keeps kicking my brother’s ass.”
Fuck. If Davis hated the spotlight, I resented it.
Attention I could handle for short periods of time, but I didn’t like being in the hot seat.
Having all eyes on me outside of a hockey rink put the hairs on my neck up.
It was extremely unsettling. As long as there was a stick in my hand and skates on my feet, I was fine.
Outside of that, anxiety gripped my throat.
I never wanted to be famous and thankfully, hockey provided me some anonymity.
It wasn’t that big of a deal in the U.S. Even though these were my friends, the idea of talking about my feelings with them made my limbs twitch.
My eyes narrowed as my breath shallowed.
Black dots popped into the corner of my vision as I attempted to suck in air.
“Don’t.” It was the only word I could choke out. Davis looked me up and down. “No, we aren’t side stepping this conversation. Don’t you dare try shit with her, James.”
“I won’t.” I grit the sentence out between my teeth.
My vision wavered as I fought anxiety and anger.
“I fucking mean it.” He stood up and grabbed another beer. “Her life has been chaotic enough. She sure as shit doesn’t need you in it turning it upside down. You are not in a place to be good to anyone.”
A pang of hurt rushed through my chest. Davis seemed weirdly protective of Aife.
I wasn’t some playboy like Zeke, and he knew that.
Why was he making me feel bad about being attracted to her?
Why was he making me feel bad about the shit that happened two years ago?
What did “chaotic” mean? Davis had only piqued my interest more while also making me feel terrible.
“Jesus,” Zeke said quietly, anger edging into his voice. “TJ isn’t a stranger or an enemy. We barely know these women. We fucking roomed together for years. Be less of a dick, Davis.”
He once again rubbed a hand down his face; Davis rarely got upset. “Sorry, man. Aife is just a very special person. She deserves the world. You are still roughed up from she who shall not be named.”
I cringed and blinked hard, feeling a sting in my eyes.
He just had to mention her. The mere thought of my ex could immediately destroy my mood.
Hate was not a word I used lightly, but I hated that woman.
She’d broken me in a way I didn’t think was possible.
Sometimes, it still felt like her claws were dug into my chest.
All my current insecurities could be traced back to my time with her.
I downed my beer and decided I needed something stronger.
Normally, I wasn’t a big drinker, but my ex brought that out in me too. It was going to be a rough night. “I get it.” Pouring myself a whiskey, I settled back on the couch.
Davis’s eyes softened as he looked at me. “You’re a good man, TJ. Right now, you’re just not capable of being a good partner. Even you and Zeke can admit that.”
Truth rang in his words. My last relationship had shattered my heart, soul, and mind.
My ex had waltzed in, gripped my heart tightly, and broke it harshly on the ground.
Since the end of the relationship, I’d completely withdrawn and closed off my heart.
Frankly, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to be back in a relationship. Aife just intrigued me.
“I don’t disagree.” My eyes met his.
Davis nodded. “Look, Melody was a raging bitch…”
“Sure, let’s go with that word.” Zeke interrupted. “Point is,” Davis said, shooting a glare at our red-
headed friend. “That lady completely wrecked you. There was a solid couple of months that you were impossible to be around. I can’t tell you how badly I wanted to punch you. Even now, there are times I want to. Talon, you still aren’t stable enough to love and respect someone right now.”
I frowned, opening my mouth to respond. It irked me he’s used my first name, a sign of how serious this was to him. Davis proceeded right over me.
“Dude, I know you respect everyone, but you would take too much. Aife needs to have someone that is willing to pour into her, not constantly take from her cup that’s already empty. Be honest with yourself. Can you do that? Pour and not take?”
“Damn, Davis. A little harsh, don’t you think?”
Zeke quirked an eyebrow at us.
“Yeah, we can psycho-analyze you next.” Davis sighed. “Just leave her be, okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” I flipped the TV on so we could focus on literally anything else.
In my opinion, Davis was being a little too overprotective.
Aife was an adult. If she wanted to get to know me, I would be open to it.
As it stood now, we’d only met twice. We were still strangers, but a piece of me hoped we could be more.