19. HUNTER
19
“ D amn, that Jensen guy got some serious skills. I’d be surprised if he’s not drafted soon.” Jason takes another bite of his burrito, his eyes set on the TV.
“Are you kidding me? I heard the Knights already have their claws into him. He’ll be in the NHL before he graduates from California State.” I settle deeper into the velvet blue couch, relaxing my shoulders while rubbing my hand over my stomach. “Damn, I’m stuffed.”
Jason glances over his shoulder, then throws a fist into my side that has me grunting. “It shows. When’s your next fight? You’re getting fat, buddy.”
“Shut up, dickhead. You wish you were as ripped as me.”
“And dodging fists for some cash? No, thanks.” He holds his face with fluttering lashes. “I’m too pretty.”
“As pretty as a doorknob.” We both rear our heads over the back of the couch with a glare. Jacob stands in the kitchen, an annoying grin spreading his cheeks.
Being a college quarterback, his frame is broad and his arrogance through the roof. Pale blue eyes glint at us from above his water bottle as he takes a sip.
He looks like a fucking douchebag.
“Shut up, Jake.” Jason quickly turns with a clenching jaw, not wanting to give his big brother even an ounce of energy. But I can’t resist .
I hang my arms over the couch, twisting my body to face him better. “How are you doing, Jake? Sorry, you didn’t make the play-offs.”
His jaw ticks with a dark expression washing over him, knowing I’ve hit a nerve. “Shut up, you pathetic fighter boy. I’ll talk to you when I’m in the NFL and you’re still doing underground fights.” Jacob runs a hand through his short blonde hair. It’s eerie how much he looks like Jason, even though they are nothing alike.
My chest elevates with a loud laugh, daringly holding his gaze. “If you keep playing like that, you’ll be lucky if you can get a janitor job at the Raleigh Rebels.”
With a death stare, he runs his tongue along his pearly white teeth.
Jacob Spencer doesn’t scare me. He’s a bully to his younger brothers, and he was a bully in high school, but he knows I can take him any time of day if he’d give me a chance. He might be a few years older, but that doesn’t mean shit.
“You need better friends, fuckface ,” he calls out to Jason.
“I need a better brother,” Jason counters.
“Whatever.” He screws the cap back onto the bottle, then throws it at our heads. I can easily duck, and it lands in front of the TV.
I shake my head with a taunt. “You’re gonna need to put a little more practice in that arm if you ever wanna become a Panther.”
“Good idea, Hansen,” he says, an ominous expression in his narrowed eyes. “Maybe I’ll ask Julie to help me with that tonight.”
Jason snaps his head to his brother. “What? You’re going to Julie’s?”
“What’s the matter, baby bro? Jealous?” Jake coos with a look that I want to wipe off his face .
“Don’t treat her like shit!” Fire fills Jason’s eyes as he points a piercing finger at his brother. His jaw is solid, and I frown at the lack of context I have.
“Find your own girlfriend, fuckface. I’m out.” Jake leaves the room with a mock salute, and Jason turns, then rests his elbows on his knees.
“He’s dating Julie?”
“More like Julie’s dating him . I saw him with some exchange student from his class last Tuesday.”
I push out a breath. “Of course, you did. Did you tell her?”
Jason and Julie are not friends like Charlotte and I are. But I know they have been friendly ever since Charlotte and I started hanging out.
He gives me a bit of a pained expression, conflict bouncing in his eyes. “No. He said it wouldn’t happen again.”
“Jason.” I tilt my head.
“What, man? He’s my brother. She’s, technically, nothing to me.”
“He’s an asshole and you’re her friend.”
“I can’t just rat him out like that. It was just one time. He said she was helping him with some kind of paper.”
My eyebrows move into my hairline. “And you believe him?”
“I’m not stupid, Hunt.” His eyes drop to the floor before they flick back up. “I’ll tell her if it happens again. Don’t tell Charlotte!”
“You’re really gonna do me like that?”
“Come on, man.”
I lift my snapback from my head, rubbing a hand over my hair. “I don’t know, man. I don’t wanna lie to her.”
“It’s not lying. Just don’t tell her.”
I glance at my best friend, whose frown gets deeper by the second. I’m not sure why he’s trying to cover for his dickhead brother, but then I remember I’d probably do the same for Logan if he was still here. I’d kick his ass for cheating, but I wouldn’t rat him out either.
“Fine,” I growl. “She won’t hear it from me. But if she asks, I’m not going to deny it,” I add with a little more force. There’s no way I’m going to flat out lie to Charlotte.
Her trust means too much to me.
“Thank you.” His shoulders relax a bit and the corner of his lip curls in a crooked smile.
“Oh, God.” I roll my neck. “What now?”
“Are you and Charlotte making it official yet?”
“We’re friends ,” I splutter, even though the word “friend” starts to leave an acid taste in my mouth. For someone who doesn’t want to lie to the girl who means the most to him, it sure feels like I’m lying every time I say it.
Jason gives me a dull stare. “You really gonna sit there and tell me you don’t want to tap that?”
Before my brain registers my movement, my palm connects with the back of his head. “Don’t fucking talk about her like that!”
“Geez.” Jason chuckles, rubbing his scalp. “I didn’t mean it like that, asshole. There’s no disrespect. I’m not my brother.”
“You better not.”
“All I meant was...” he continues, “did you make a move yet?”
“No.” I fix my gaze back on the screen. “And I’m not gonna.”
“Why not?” He says it with a level of ridicule, as if it’s as weird as a summer storm in December.
My lashes lower a bit as I roll my lips together. Because making a move could end in disaster . I need her more than I need to have more of her. It makes perfect sense in my head, but I know it sounds stupid when I speak it out loud.
“For what it’s worth, I think she feels the same.”
I jerk my head, colliding with Jason’s blue eyes that hold somewhat of a dare .
I hope she feels the same. I think she feels the same. And trust me, there have been numerous moments in the past month when I wanted to say fuck it and finally give in to that desperate urge to seal my lips with hers.
But we graduate in two months.
“School is almost over.”
“And….” Jason drawls.
“And I’m leaving,” I rebuke with a tone that says duh .
“I mean? You could stay?”
Stay? I could stay? It hasn’t even crossed my mind, but as soon as it sparks a little hope in my chest, I fling it away.
“As much as I’d do anything for that girl, I can’t stay.” Staying would be selfish, because I know I can never give her the future she wants. She deserves. “As soon as we graduate, I’m taking my truck and I’m out of here to find whatever fight I can find until I get the AFA’s attention. Staying in Braeden isn’t an option.”
“Why not?” Jason argues.
I don’t miss the little squint of his eyes that tells me I’m being stupid. But he doesn’t get it. He doesn’t get that a girl like Charlotte deserves to have it all. My all will never come close to that.
“Because I’ll never be good enough for her.”