Chapter 30
FIVE CHILI PEPPERS
Trina
Lift my chin. Look him in the eye. Then walk on by.
That’s my plan at least, but the second I head down Fillmore Street, Jasper’s by my side, keeping pace, his dumb man bun bouncing stupidly. “Monopoly money? Really? I thought you were more mature than that.”
I fume, jerking my gaze at him. “Who the hell are you to lecture me on maturity?”
“Who the hell are you to say it was wrong of me to make one mistake, then just go and take something that belonged to me? Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Red plumes of anger billow through me. “Did you just equate cheating on me to taking your hockey tickets?”
“I did. You knew how much I wanted those tickets, and you just stole them. They’re worth a lot of money.”
The gall of him. “Did you need the money for rent, Jaspie?” I ask as we pass Effing Stuff, the mug shop. I’m fresh out of fucks to give, but I’d sure like to throw that mug at his stupid face. “Because that’s all you care about.”
“No, I care about meeting Weston and Samuels,” he says, and I want to shove a bar of soap in his mouth for having the nerve to breathe their names.
He’s a little man brat, and they’re real men.
“That was all I wanted. But the way I see it is we could be even, and I could just forget about it if you give the tickets back to me and I’ll go to the calendar kickoff,” he says, plastering on a nice voice.
I scoff.
But I’m mad at myself. What did I ever see in Jasper the Jackoff? “So that makes us even?”
I power walk down the block, the coffee shop in my crosshairs.
“Yes, and I think you should take my offer. Otherwise I could report you to the cops, you know.”
This guy.
I stop in my tracks in front of the shop, fueled by both righteous rage and utter disbelief. “The cops? Seriously? Do you even hear the words coming out of your mouth? Do you even listen to what you say?”
“Yeah, what did you say?”
I turn around at the sound of Chase’s voice. He’s here in the doorway of the coffee shop along with Ryker, cups in hand.
Chase wears a blue Henley and jeans, his bulging muscles evident under the fabric. His brown eyes are fierce as he stares down at Jasper. Ryker is right next to him, a black T-shirt revealing all his tattoos.
“Oh!” Jasper blinks, then smooths a hand down his plaid shirt. Yes, Jasper tuck it in. That’ll impress them. “You guys are the best and I just really wanted to meet you.”
Jasper sticks out a hand. He actually offers his hand, like they’d want to shake it.
Ryker lifts a finger. “Yeah, we’re dying to meet you too. Let’s get out of the way though so we can chat some more.”
His tone is faux friendly and Jasper has no idea.
I’m flooded with anticipation as the two big, broad hockey players walk along the side of the shop to the parking lot behind it, coffee cups still in their hands.
Jasper follows them gleefully.
I do the same.
They stop on the asphalt, Jasper’s back’s to the wall of the coffee shop.
Ryker tilts his head to Jasper. “So she lifted your tickets. That sucks. What the hell?” he asks, staring at my ex with over-the-top concern.
It takes everything in me to keep a straight face as I stand a few feet away. I won’t reveal they’re on my side.
Jasper points at me, j’accuse style. “Right? Can you believe it? She doesn’t even like hockey, and she stole my VIP experience! How could anyone do that?”
Chase shakes his head like he can’t believe it either. “Bro, that must have been so tough.”
Jasper sighs in relief. “I knew you’d understand. All I want is to come to the calendar kickoff. But hey, maybe you guys could score me some tickets. Help a fan out.”
He sounds so pathetically hopeful, and it’s wonderfully gratifying to witness. I wish I could record this to play it again.
“Definitely. We’d love to help you,” Chase says, then turns to Ryker, like he means everything he’s saying. “Wouldn’t we?”
Ryker crushes his empty coffee cup ominously, then wings it into a recycling bin before he cracks his knuckles. A frisson of heat rolls down my body as the enforcer in him comes to the surface. “We sure would.”
Jasper smiles, still not getting it. “I knew you’d understand.”
Chase steps closer. Ryker does the same. They’re so much bigger than Jasper.
“We understand a lot of things. And we like to operate with…let’s say…ground rules,” he says, then flashes a smile at Ryker. “Don’t we?”
“We love ground rules,” Ryker says, stepping closer too, and I want to shout I adore ground rules. But I keep my mouth zipped as I watch the best show ever. Bring me some popcorn.
“So here are a couple,” Ryker continues, and in a heartbeat, he strips the faux niceties from his voice. His tone is pure feral wolf as he says, “One. Never step foot in either of our arenas.”
“What?” Jasper sputters.
Chase crushes his cup now, then tosses it away while giving Ryker a sympathetic look. “Trina said he’d probably have a hard time understanding basic concepts. Let’s make it easier for him.”
Ryker stares at Jasper like he wants to burn him alive. “You’re banned. Unless you want to wear a jersey saying ‘I’m The Cheating Asshole.’ That’d be your cost of entry.”
Jasper quakes. He actually quakes, finally realizing they aren’t on his side after all.
“Next,” Chase continues, “you aren’t coming around to see her ever again.”
Ryker tilts his head, staring darkly at my ex. “And if you do, you’ll get a VIP experience, all right. You’ll feel like you’re right there on the ice, like, say, you’re in the middle of a hockey brawl. Got that?”
Jasper gulps. “Yes,” he mumbles.
Chase sets his hand against the brick wall, towering over him. “Don’t show up at her work. Or her home. Don’t talk to her. Don’t text her. And do not be such a little fucking piece of shit that you ask her for money. You cheated on her, and you could have hurt Nacho too.”
Ryker growls. “So do not go near her or her dog ever again.” He pauses. “Or else.”
The or else is crystal clear to me. Or else we will hurt you. And it’s pretty crystal clear to my ex too, since Jasper gulps and nods vigorously.
“I didn’t hear you. Did you understand the or else?” Ryker asks in the world’s most intimidating tone.
“Yes,” Jasper says, terrified.
They smile. “Now, say you’re sorry for being a cheating prick,” Chase says.
“I’m sorry I was a cheating prick,” Jasper mutters, looking at his loafers.
Chase rolls his eyes, then points my way. “Say it to Trina.”
They move away from my ex, and Jasper meets my gaze, looking miserable. It’s so delightful to witness. “I’m sorry,” he mutters.
Ryker curls a hand over Jasper’s shoulder. A big, firm hand that squeezes him hard, sending a clear signal—I could crush you with these knuckles. “Say I’m sorry I was a cheating prick who never ever deserved a goddess like you.”
Jasper shakes in his shoes, but then looks at me with watery eyes and says, “I’m sorry I was a cheating prick who never ever deserved a goddess like you.”
I smile, and it touches the sky. “That’s true. You didn’t deserve me,” I say, owning that statement with the full force of my badassery.
“Can I please go?” Jasper asks them, sounding devastated and shamed.
Chase taps his chin, like he’s considering it. “Unless there’s anything else you want to say to him, Trina?”
Actually, there is something. I cross my arms, lift my chin, and smile once more. “Guess what? Turns out I can come like a rock star. Bye, bye Jaspie.”
I wave as he runs away.
It’s so satisfying.
But what’s even better is how ridiculously turned on I am right now from my two guys.
That was five chili peppers hot.