6. Sloan
Sloan
I stare at the door to the bar long after Cody leaves. I don’t know what to think or feel when it comes to Cody Robinson. My emotions have been all over the place since I set my eyes on him.
The way he sees through me and can read me like a book… I forgot how much I love it. It feels so nice after dating Jude for the last six months.
Jude is… clueless. He’s a sweet guy and I think he truly cares about me, but he’s oblivious to the world around him.
Like with the account I'm handling at work. His solution is to talk to his dad about it and get me taken off the account. That’s not what I want, I was just venting to my boyfriend about work.
He also gets a little distracted when something excites him… like with Jax. He’s so focused on Jax that he doesn’t even realize I'm angry with how he’s behaving. He doesn’t notice anything other than Jax showing him attention.
“Jax? How long are you planning on staying?” I sigh as I rest my chin in my palm.
“Aw, are you in a rush to leave now that Cody’s gone?” He smirks, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Let’s be honest here, Jax, I never wanted to come out at all. I wanted to go home.”
“Babe, c’mon! How often are you going to get to hang out with these guys!” He motions to the hockey players we’re surrounded by. “Do you know Sloan didn’t even know the Pythons were a hockey team when I asked her if she wanted to come?” Jude chuckles.
“Sweetheart! How did you not know that? Didn’t Cody used to take you to games?” Jax eyes me with amusement. I know there’s always a reason for everything that comes out of his mouth.
We both know Cody never took me to a Pythons game. Jax is only saying this to remind Jude I once belonged on Cody’s arm, not his.
“No, I don’t think he did. It must’ve been a different girlfriend.” I keep my voice emotionless so Jax can’t read any deeper into my words.
“Well, that would be impossible.” Jax frowns before he glances at Bella. “Cody never had another girlfriend, right?”
“Not that I remember. If he did, they definitely weren’t serious.” Bella’s brows crease like she’s really thinking about it.
The noise of the bar fades into the background. All I can think about is if that can be true. Has Cody really been single since we broke up? There’s no way… Is there?
“So, what time should we come over on Sunday?” Jude asks from the backseat of the car. I'm sitting next to him, though he hasn’t even glanced in my direction in the past twenty minutes.
Bella’s sitting in the front seat and Jax is behind the wheel. We just pulled into the parking lot of the stadium and Jax is maneuvering us towards our car.
“Oh my gosh, Jude! We’re not going to Sunday dinner!” I finally lose my cool and snap at him. He hasn’t shut up since he found out I know the Robinson twins.
I'm exhausted and a migraine is pulsing behind my eyes. We couldn’t leave the pub until all the other players left. Jude kept insisting we just needed to stay a little bit longer.
“What? Why not? Jax invited us. It would be rude not to go.” He finally turns his attention towards me and frowns.
“You want to go to dinner at my ex-boyfriend’s house? Where his entire family and extended family will be? Are you crazy?” I stare at him like he’s losing his mind. It’s the only explanation.
“Well… He didn’t seem to care. I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal over this.” Jude shrugs.
When we pull up next to Jude’s car, Jax hops out of the drivers’ seat. He opens my door and tugs me into his arms.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t think he’d run with the idea like he has,” Jax murmurs in my ear.
No matter how much Jax likes to tease me and push my buttons, he’s a good man at heart and I know it’s all playful. He’d never do anything to actually upset me or hurt me.
“It’s not your fault my boyfriend is more obsessed with you than with me,” I mumble under my breath.
“Hey…” Jax pulls back far enough to meet my gaze. He stares deep into my eyes and it’s almost comical how I feel nothing romantic towards him, yet if Cody were looking at me like this, I’d be melting into a puddle at his feet. How can I feel so differently when staring into the eyes of twins?
“What, Jax?” I sigh, but don’t look away. I don’t want him to feel bad about tonight. He was being a good brother. If I had just swallowed my pride and contacted Cody when I returned home, none of this would be happening right now.
You could’ve been dating Cody right now if you had contacted him first…
The thought flies through my head and I want to scream. I can’t think like that. I'm with Jude, my feelings towards Cody don’t matter.
“What can I do to make this better? Do you want me to talk to him? Do you want to tell him it’s not a good idea? I could call you later this week and say we’re sick? Just tell me how to fix it and I will.” He’s practically pleading with me.
He’s always been a softie at his core, but he likes to start drama and push peoples’ buttons.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure it out.” I wrap my arms around him one more time before taking a step away. “It was really good to see you, Jax. I’ve missed you.” I smile as I walk around his car and open the passenger’s door to Jude’s car.
“Hey, Sloan?” Jax calls.
“Yeah?”
“Please, don’t be a stranger. If you are, I’ll come looking for you.”
“I’d expect nothing else.” I chuckle as I shut the door behind me.
Jax climbs back into his car and leaves right away. I wasn’t lying, I really did miss Jax. I love the easy banter we’ve always had. He’s like the brother I never had. The one I wished I could have by my side.
I was always jealous of Cody’s siblings. Even though Charlie’s a few years older than Jax and Cody, she never hesitated to hang out with them. If they needed anything, she was the first to jump at the chance to help.
Even though Sophia’s younger than us, she’s never hesitated to stand up for her brothers. She’d jump into the middle of a fight to protect them. She’s crazy, but exactly what they needed in their life.
Sophia knew how to hype up Jax and go crazy with him, but she could be soft and sweet with Cody.
“This has been the best night of my life!” Jude is practically humming with energy as he starts the engine and takes off towards my place.
He chatters on and on about the players and how chill they all are. He’s talking so fast I can’t even process his words. My head is killing me and it’s only going to get worse. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to focus on my breathing and tune out Jude’s voice. He’s being so loud right now.
“Sloan? Are you even listening to me?”
“Not really,” I murmur, keeping my eyes shut. “My head hurts so badly… Can you lower your voice? I don’t really want to talk about Jax or Cody right now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? We could’ve left earlier.”
“Please,” I let out a humorless chuckle, “Even if I had asked to leave, you wouldn’t have listened to me. You were too focused on the Jax Robinson.” There’s an eye roll in my voice even though my eyes are shut.
The car pulls to a stop and I peek open my eyes to find us sitting in front of my apartment. I quickly unbuckle my seatbelt and tug open the door. I don’t want to talk to Jude. I just want to lie down in a dark room and sleep until my head stops hurting.
Jude scrambles to get out of the car and around to my side. I hold up a hand to stop him before he can utter a word.
“I don’t want to talk right now. I'm in too much pain,” I whisper.
“Let me at least help you get into your apartment. Then, I’ll leave so you can sleep.” Jude lowers his voice and places his hand on my lower back.
He guides me through the apartment complex and when we get to my apartment, he takes my keys out of my hand and quickly unlocks the door.
Jude helps me into my room and takes my pajamas out of the drawer and places them on my bed.
“Get changed while I get you some medicine, sweetheart,” Jude says softly. He kisses my forehead before shutting my bedroom door.
Once I'm changed and I’ve rushed through my nighttime routine, I open the door and climb under my sheets. Jude comes in a few moments later and places a glass of water on the nightstand.
“Here’s some medicine for your head… Do you need anything else before I leave?”
“No, I’ll be alright.”
“Call me or text me if you need anything, ok? I can come back at any time.” He brushes my hair out of my face and stares down at me.
This is the problem… Even though he was awful to deal with tonight, he’s a sweet guy and he really does care about me. It’s hard to stay mad at him when he’s taking care of me right now.