2. Truce
Truce
Connor
H ere they go again.
Bex and Keene are at each other’s throats. I’m bone-deep tired, and all I would like to do is crash for what’s left of the night. Instead, I watch their bickering as if it were a tennis match.
“You’re such an asshole.” Bex’s voice goes up a few octaves.
“You’ve made it abundantly clear that you despise me from the moment we met.
In every interaction we’ve ever had, you’ve been scowling at me, barking insults or making sarcastic comments about me.
You voted against letting me move in, even temporarily, and you knew I had nowhere else to go.
So come on, you tell me what I should think when I got away from that creepy masked guy by the skin of my teeth and when I got out of the art center, there you are.
In the same clothes my attacker had on and with the same mask in your duffel bag. ”
When she puts it that way, it’s hard to argue with her assessment of the situation.
“So that’s it, then?” Keene laughs, sounding incredulous and furious at the same time. “You decided I’m guilty. That I’m a monster who would hurt a defenseless woman. If you’re so sure it was me, why don’t you call the sheriff?”
I intervene before Bex can say anything else.
“Dude, let’s keep our voices down. It’s getting really late.
The last thing we want is to be called into Coach’s office if our neighbors complain about the noise.
As for what Bex said earlier in the heat of the moment, you need to cut her some slack.
She was obviously in shock, and she was scared.
And may I remind you that she didn’t just accuse you?
I had on your same workout clothes and if I recall correctly, Bex said it could have been me behind the mask, too. ”
Fuck. I don’t even know why I said that.
Or maybe I do. Hearing Bex say that the attacker could have been me really hurt. I want her to say that she knows it wasn’t me. I need her to say that.
I regret being a fucking idiot when she got here. I voted no to let her move in, and now I wish I could take that back. I have no other justification than the powerful, unprecedented attraction I felt for her from the moment we met.
I’ve never felt that way before, not even with my ex-girlfriend; even though I thought I was in love with Fiona. The intensity of the pull I felt for Bex scared me because I wasn’t ready to feel that way about anyone. I was still licking my wounds. My heart had been broken, and my trust with it.
The worst part is that it isn’t just my ability to trust others that has been compromised. I thought Fiona was the one. I trusted her, and when she cheated and dropped me like our relationship meant nothing, I stopped trusting myself, too.
So, just the idea of having the constant temptation of Bex living here was enough to scare me into voting against letting her move in.
Now, though, I need to hear that she doesn’t really believe that I could be the one who tried to hurt her.
Because I can’t stop thinking about her.
Since that crazy night when the study session with Jamie turned into the hottest moment of my life, Bex has gotten under my skin even more.
I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can’t skate without picturing how soft her skin is.
Without tasting her on my tongue as she comes for me.
I want her more than I have ever wanted anyone, but she’s with Jamie. I have no idea if what he said about being open to sharing his woman with the right people is something he truly believes, or if it was just a spur-of-the-moment statement when we were about to get it on together.
Maybe I should talk to him and find out. Having been cheated on, I would never do the same thing to someone else; especially to a good friend and teammate. And if he was just talking about sharing Bex as a one off, I better get my fucking feelings in check.
My hope is that Jamie really meant it that if Bex and I were attracted to each other, he would let us explore things as long as she didn’t pick a favorite.
I said it before that I don’t think I could share my woman, but the more I think about it, the more I start to reconsider.
Like Jamie said, it would only work with the right people.
And who can I trust more than one of my closest friends?
Besides, if we were sharing her, everything would be out in the open.
There would be no reason to cheat. It’s a win-win situation.
That’s of course if she doesn’t think I would hide under a mask and attack her.
“Do you still think I would ever attack you, Bex?” I ask, waiting for her answer with bated breath.
To my surprise, Bex grabs my hand and squeezes it. “No.” She says softly. “I’m sorry, Connor. I don’t think you would do that. I was scared and in that moment…”
Right. My relief in hearing that is only partial. She doesn’t fully trust me; I can see it in her eyes, and I can’t really blame her.
“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Keene snorts. “You don’t think it was Connor. So it must be me, right?” His tone is angry, but it’s impossible to miss the hurt in his eyes.
Bex opens her mouth to respond, but Luke intervenes.
“Enough, you two.” His tone is firm, almost stern. “Bex, while I understand why you would think that Keene could be messing with you, if he says he didn’t do it, I believe him.”
Keene’s mouth curls into an “I told you so” kind of smile, but it’s short-lived.
“And you, brother,” Luke’s scowl would give Coach Harrison’s a run for its money.
“I understand your reasons for not welcoming Bex with open arms. And I know I owe you an apology for how I forced your hand into letting her move in. But you know what? I’m not gonna apologize for helping my sister.
I don’t think you would ever attack Bex, not for one second.
I wanted Bex to move in because I know the three of you.
You’re good men. Loyal, honorable and trustworthy.
You don’t have to be Bex’s best friend, but if anyone should understand that she’s been through a lot and she needs some real friends right now, it’s you. ”
His words hit his intended targets.
“You’re right.” Keene says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Even if Bex and I aren’t friends, I should do better. For you. I’m sorry, Bex.”
Bex’s shoulders are tense as she nods. “I’m sorry for accusing you. If Luke believes you, I do too. But I don’t need your pity.”
Irritation flashes in Keene’s eyes, but he bites his tongue. “Noted.”
There’s a tense silence in the room; you could cut the air with a knife.
“It’s getting late.” Jamie wraps a protective arm around his girlfriend, and I track his movements, wishing it was me Bex nestled against. “We should all get some sleep before practice. If we survive whatever punishment Coach has in store for us, we should report what happened to campus security.”
I agree with him. “Yeah. Maybe some of the CCTV cameras scattered around the art center caught some of what happened. There are cameras at the beginning and at the end of our cul-de-sac, we’ll see if there’s anyone suspicious walking around our street.”
Jamie nods. “Regardless of that, I’m ordering some home surveillance equipment to install both out front and on our deck.”
Luke claps his shoulder. “Good idea. I think there’s a good chance that the person who attacked Bex is the same person who broke into your rooms.”
It makes complete sense. “True. Why else would they ignore cash and expensive items and just take some old workout clothes and the same hockey mask Bex’s attacker had on? It’s too much of a coincidence.” I observe.
Keene considers my words. “You’re right. If I didn’t sound paranoid even to my own ears, I would think that whoever did this wanted Bex to think that one of us was behind that mask.”
“True,” Jamie muses. “But who would do that? We can exclude most of our teammates, since we were all at the Gamma house trying to get Tucker to calm down and being lectured by Coach.”
Luke’s gaze darkens when he offers his own theory. “Probably someone with a grudge. Possibly jealous. And I know someone who tried to hurt Bex in exactly the same way.”
“Do you think it could be Kurt?” Bex gasps softly, one protective hand wrapped around her neck.
“It’s the most obvious way that comes to mind. Like Jamie said, it’s late, and we should all try to get some sleep. But tomorrow morning, we can look into your ex’s whereabouts. Maybe his social media will give us some clues. That’s the advantage of being a public figure, right?”
Bex shakes her head. “True. But it’s not as easy as you think. Posts can be scheduled in advance. Unless he posted about coming to Star Cove, I don’t know how we’ll be able to tell where he was last night.”
“I never said it would be easy.” Luke insists. “But it isn’t impossible. We shouldn’t just look at his own posts. Maybe someone tagged him. We could start with a process of elimination, right?”
Bex agrees with her brother’s plan, but she still looks skeptical.
I don’t entirely blame her. Whether she loved that guy or not, she was going to marry him. It’s hard to believe that someone you were about to promise to be together forever would willingly try to hurt you.
I felt the same way about my ex. What hurt so bad was that I couldn’t believe that Fiona would go behind my back the way she did.
We all agree to reconvene tomorrow morning after practice. If Coach Harrison doesn’t kill us first.
As I watch Jamie lead Bex into his room, I can’t help the pang of longing in the pit of my stomach. I wish it were me she felt safe with. I wish it were me who would get to hold her in my arms all night long.
Maybe I can earn her trust the same way Jamie did. The first thing I need to do, though, is to talk to Jamie about my interest in his girlfriend. I hope with everything I have that when he said he could share Bex with someone like me, he meant it.
Bex
My mom used to say that every situation looks better in the light of a new day.
She was right.