24. Jake
CHAPTER 24
JAKE
W e played against the Seattle Saints tonight and lost, but it’s still early in the season, and no one is too upset about it. Well... no one besides Lachy, who always gets bummed out when he allows more than a couple of pucks through. The score was three to one, and so he’s grumpy as hell. I’m leaving him alone.
We’re showered and dressed, but now we have to wait for Ryan, who’s always the last one to finish his beauty ritual. I know he’s taking longer because of June.
Malcolm, who is sitting across from me in the dressing room, lifts his face from his phone. “Hey, T-man. Did you know there was an incident with your girlfriend prior to the game?”
My entire body turns into stone. “What?”
“What happened to June?” Lachy asks, sounding more agitated than me.
Way to play it cool, buddy.
“Wendy just texted me saying June’s ex was stalking her, and they had security escort him out of the arena.”
I check my phone, looking for messages from June, but there’s nothing. Why the hell didn’t she say anything? I press the call button, but from the corner of my eye, I see Lachy with his phone glued to his ear. I kick his leg to get his attention and mouth, Put the phone down .
He glowers at me, but at least he does put his phone away.
“Hey, Jake,” June answers in a cheerful tone.
“June, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
In the background, another female voice says, “June is fiiiiiiine!”
June giggles, clueing me in on what’s going on. “Are you drunk?”
“Define drunk.”
I jump to my feet and head to the door. “Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”
I sense Lachy following me, so I turn around and tell him to get Ryan. If looks could kill, I’d be dead. He was already in a bad mood, but now he’s downright pissed. There’s nothing I can do about it. He isn’t June’s official boyfriend. He can’t act like one in front of the guys.
“I’m in the lounge with Maya.”
“All right. Stay there.”
“Okay.”
On my way to the lounge, I cross paths with Melissa. She notices something is wrong with me right away.
“What happened?”
“I’m not sure. All I know is that June and Maya are drunk.”
Melissa laughs. “Oh... I thought something terrible happened. You have ‘I’m going to kill someone’ face.”
I’d explain to Melissa why I look like this, but I want to get to June as quickly as possible. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Okay, bye!”
June and Maya are sitting on one of the couches, laughing about something. When June notices me, she gets to her feet and runs to me, then jumps into my arms. “Jake!” She kisses me hard, and I forget that we’re in public. I dig my fingers into her sweet ass, pulling her closer to me.
“Jesus, get a room!” Maya calls out. “Actually, I’m going to find my man.”
June breaks the kiss, and waves at Banksy’s wife. “Bye, Maya! Thanks for all the margaritas.”
“Don’t mention it, babe.”
I put June down but keep my arms wrapped around her waist. “Are you okay?”
Her brows furrow. “Yes. Why do you keep asking me that?”
“Malcolm told me your ex was stalking you earlier and security had to kick him out.”
Her smile wilts. “Oh. Yeah, that happened. I was going to tell you, but in person, that’s why I didn’t text.”
My anger returns with a vengeance. “What did he do?”
“He wanted to talk, and I ran away like a scared mouse. He chased Maya and me.”
That son of a bitch. I grind my teeth together, trying to control my temper.
“She flagged a security guard, and he took care of it,” she continues. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“It is a big deal, June. Wasn’t he harassing you before?”
“Yeah, he was calling me, wanting to talk. And Danika sent me some nasty texts. I’ve blocked their numbers, and I thought that was the end of it. I didn’t expect to see them at the game.”
“I’ll make sure they’re blacklisted.”
Her brows furrow. “That’ll only piss off Bill more. He’s been a fan of the Titans forever. And the law firm he works for has a box.”
“I don’t fucking care.” She winces, making me regret my outburst. I cup her face. “I’m sorry, Junebug. I just want to keep you safe. You’re too important to me.”
Her expression softens. “I know. And I’m sorry you found out about it from Malcolm.”
“It’s okay.” I lean down and kiss her again. We’re alone in the lounge now, so I take advantage of that.
“Peaches, are you okay?” Ryan asks, forcing me to end the kiss too soon.
I turn around so he can see my glare. “Peaches?”
His eyes bug out. “What? There’s no one around.”
“I’m okay. Don’t worry. It was just a small inconvenience,” June replies.
“That arsehole has better not come here again, or I’ll turn him into haggis,” Lachy pipes up.
“No one is turning Bill into food, please,” June begs. “He’s not worth a second of our thoughts.”
I trade a look with Ryan and Lachy, and I know we’re all on the same page. If that motherfucker crosses our paths, he’s dead meat.
“Where’s your purse, June?” I ask. “We should get going.”
She looks around with a panicked expression. “Oh, there it is. Phew. I thought I lost it.”
I watch her run to the couch and bend over to get her purse from the floor. It was tucked into the couch’s corner. I realize it isn’t a purse but a large slouch bag. If she’d come into the arena as a regular fan, she wouldn’t have been allowed that big of a bag.
“Let me check that my wallet and phone are still here.” She sticks her arm into the bag and makes a cute face while looking for those items.
Something drops from her purse—a book. Lachy is closer and bends over to pick it up. “ Lost Horizon ? What’s this about?”
June’s face turns bright pink. “Katrina gave it to me the other day.”
“Is it a smutty book?” Ryan arches a brow.
I’m guessing as much by June’s reaction.
“No... I mean, I don’t know. I just started reading it.”
Lachy turns the book over and reads the blurb. After a moment, he grins. “It’s a space fantasy retelling of The Wizard of Oz , and Dorothy gets with the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow. It is a smutty book.”
She snatches the book from Lachy. “Katrina said it’s slow burn. And the plot is super interesting too.”
Ryan laughs. “If you say so, Peaches.”
Lachy and Ryan are getting too friendly with June. It’s easy to forget our arrangement isn’t for the public eye.
I clear my throat. “We should get moving. I don’t want to arrive in San Diego too late.”
My reminder of the trip wipes the amusement from Ryan’s face, making me guilty as hell. I can’t begin to imagine how hard this will be for him. I need to do better.