Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Mollie
When I come downstairs, the tug to make enough coffee for both of us is strong. I know Thorne’s schedule well enough by now that I’ve timed it… and that information I’ll be taking to my grave.
My rule about not dating hockey players was supposed to protect me from exactly this. Memorizing a dude’s schedule, noticing when he hasn't eaten, making coffee for him because it’s a nice thing to do. Hockey players aren’t interested in that.
I’ve spent enough time around Beck’s teammates to have absorbed, like a sponge, the way they treat women. It’s not always gross, but seven times out of ten it is.
I know exactly where behaving like a girlfriend leads. You make yourself useful, accommodating, and easy. Then one day, you realize that nobody is paying that kind of attention in return and that your crush has moved on.
So I make enough coffee for me and Indie, who picks me up for the ride to the cabin the team has rented. Beck, who’s still dealing with a sick Rosie, gave me all the details. It should be a really nice weekend.
It's been ten days since the fire. Ten days of Thorne's guest room and Thorne's coffee. Gordie has been looking at me like I'm the best thing that's ever happened to him, which is more than I can say for Thorne himself.
Pretty sure he still hates me.
"Wooooowwww." Indie's eyes are huge as she pulls into the circular driveway of the main lake house. "It's huge! And it's literally steps away from the lake."
She gestures to Lake Union, which the house and all the cabins that go along with it are snuggled up against.
"Jessa’s email says we should park wherever we find a spot.
" We're going to have to fight for parking; it looks like everyone and their mama is here.
There are forty or fifty expensive SUVs pulled up already.
"Jessa said that the Havoc are sharing this with some of the Seattle Wolves and the Seattle Sentinels.
Something about trying to foster community? "
“Mmm, football, hockey, and baseball players?? Don’t mind if I do.” She creeps along the rows of cars, looking for a spot, then snags one about halfway down the frigging driveway.
"I hope your bags aren't heavy," she mutters. "We have to hoof it quite a ways."
I grab my zebra print weekender bag and hitch my backpack over my shoulder. "I bet we can make it."
As we hike to the main house, Indie looks at me, a blush tingeing her cheeks. "I'm so excited to be here, you have no idea. Thanks for the last-minute invite."
"You're the only person I want to spoon while I'm drunk," I tease her. "And it will give me a respite from my current roommate situation, which is disgustingly male."
"Gross." She offers me her fist and I tap it with mine. "I'll be on my best behavior. This is a vacation, not an influencer fest. Even if I will be around a ton of hot hockey butts..."
"And football butts."
"And baseball butts!" she says with a grin. "I'll be so respectful."
"I appreciate that. Now let's find our cabin, dump our stuff, and go check out who's grilling. It smells amazing out here."
Cabins are distributed by rank, apparently, because ours is very nice.
But it's divided in two, us on the left, someone else on the right.
We put our bags down, barely taking the time to admire the king-sized bed and cute loft before we hustle our butts off to investigate the smell of meat and charcoal.
We don't even make it all the way to the porch before Gordie comes barreling over to me. Guess Thorne beat us here.
"Gorgeous Gord," I croon to him. Scratching him behind the ears, I bend down and hug him. "Who's the goodest boy?"
A sharp whistle pierces the air, drawing the dog away from me. Thorne is standing on the porch, holding a beer by the neck, pointedly not looking at me.
What the hell did I do wrong?
"Indie!" Theo pops his head out of the house, as excited as a yellow lab. "I didn't know you were coming."
Indie nibbles on her lower lip, trying to hide a grin. "Mollie brought me."
"Mollie, what's up. Let me grab you something out of the coolers. You want a Coke, a Celsius, a White Claw, or a Corona?"
We climb the porch and spend a few minutes chatting with Theo and sipping White Claw. Indie shows him a video on her phone; I drift away, glancing at Thorne out of the corner of my eye.
He scowls and chugs the remnants of his Corona. I sigh.
"What?" I ask.
"Did I say anything?"
"Not saying anything is still saying something."
Jett comes out onto the porch, looks between the two of us, and then backtracks without a word. Thorne lifts a hand at the vacant doorway as if to say, see what you did?
I grind my teeth. "What is your malfunction?"
"I think I've made it perfectly clear that you are my only problem." He stalks over to the cooler and grabs another beer, opening it with a decisive twist.
"Is it old age?" I ask. "Have you finally lost your last marble?"
"I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I huff a laugh. "You're impossible."
"Dude." I look over and realize that Moose, one of the team's vets, is slumped in a rocking chair. He stands up, eyeing Thorne. "You two need to bang one out or something,” Moose growls. “You're bringing the vibe of the party down."
"Sorry, Moose," I squeak. My face feels hot. Moose shrugs and walks off, leaving me and Thorne alone on the porch.
He glares at me. I give as good as I get. It's a Mexican standoff of smugness.
Silas and Hunter walk out, bringing meat and veggies for the grill. Thorne heads over and helps them. I pointedly ignore him as the Coven comes outside.
"It's so summery!" Jessa says. She's wearing an oversized white coverup and she raises her hands to the sky, breathing it in. "I love it."
Juliet has abandoned her shirt and wears a pair of jean shorts and a barely-there pink bikini. She grins. "I'm so ready to go down to the dock. That's what we're all doing right after lunch."
"Agreed." Ivy is in jean shorts and a loose T-shirt that shows off her tanned shoulder. "I'm ready for the men to feed me."
"Where's Scout?" I ask.
"She's lying down. She has a migraine," Juliet answers. "If I had known that red wine hangovers were a trigger for her, I would've chosen differently last night when we went out to dinner."
A smile stretches my face. "You guys double date? That's cute."
"That's so sweet," Jessa says. She darts a look at Jett, Hunter, and Silas, who are having a heated debate about hamburgers versus hot dogs. "Speaking of siblings. How's your brother, Mollie?"
I'm starting to think that Jessa has a serious heart-on for my grumpy big brother.
"He's good. He sent me a photo of him and Rosie recovering together by watching Encanto for the millionth time."
"We don't talk about Bruno," Ivy croons. "Rosie has great taste. Is she feeling better?"
"So much better that we may get a visit from Beck this weekend.
My parents love Rosie more than they ever cared about either of their own children, so they've been hounding Beck to let them keep their grandbaby overnight.
" I smile, thinking of my brother. "Beck can't stand to say no to his baby girl.
And she's super clingy when she's sick. I bet the last few days were absolutely no fun. "
"Doesn't your brother have a nanny?"
"So far, no. My parents have stepped in to fill the gaps. I'm not jealous at all of her getting their undivided attention."
"You liar." Indie suddenly appears at my elbow.
I laugh. "All right, I'm sort of jealous."
"Food's ready!" Jett calls. "Who wants a hamburger?"
"I want a veggie burger," Ivy says, crooking a brow at Jett. "You'd better have the special ones I brought."
Jett waves to the grill. "They're right here. Chill."
"I'll fight you," she fires back. "Tell me I'm overeating next."
The back door opens, suddenly spewing an influx of tall, muscular, handsome men. Indie squeezes my arm. "The Seattle Wolves are here!"
"’Sup, ladies," a tall, mop-haired blond says. He looks at me, then winks. "I'm Brad."
"Hi," I say breathily. Brad has cheekbones for days. His unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt shows off tanned pecs and abs.
"Are you here with someone from the Havoc?"
I bite my lip and shake my head. "No. I work for the Havoc."
"And I'm Indie," she offers, shooting her hand out. "I'm not here with anyone either."
He shakes her hand, mischief dancing in his brown eyes. "Nice to meet you.”
"Do you want to grab lunch with us?" Indie asks.
"Hell yeah. Let's go." Brad waves us on, touching my lower back for a brief moment. "You can help me decide between a hamburger and a hot dog."
"You're only having one?" I ask, eyeing him like he’s a crazy person.
A grin splits his face. "Oh, I like you."
"Thanks." I laugh. "My name's Mollie, by the way."
We chat as we fill our plates. I catch sight of Thorne shooting a black look our way. But fuck that. As if I need him acting all big brotherly around me right now.
He can sit and stew.
After eating, the crowd migrates down to the dock.
This is obviously one of the main attractions here because it's huge, with deck loungers, jet skis, and a speedboat anchored to it.
We spread out in little clumps. Indie gravitates toward Theo; not surprisingly, given his Golden Retriever energy.
I sink into a lounge chair with an umbrella and Brad drops into one right next to me, grinning.
"This is the life, huh?"
I shade my eyes and smile as I peel off my wrap dress, leaving me in a geometric print bikini. "It's pretty dope. Hand me that sunblock?"
I try not to stare at Brad as I slather myself diligently from head to toe. Being a redhead, I sunburn in the shade, so I take my skincare seriously.
He looks me up and down as I'm rubbing sunblock into my thighs.
"You look like you want to say something."
His mouth curves up in a smile. "I know enough to realize that I shouldn't."
"And if I wanted you to?" I arch a brow. Am I flirting with this guy? I definitely feel a vibe between us.
His smile widens. "Then I would say that you're very cute and that I hope we hang out the entire weekend."
I can feel the blush spreading across my face. "Maybe we will."
I lay back on the deck chair, casting a secret glance at Brad. He's tall, barrel-chested, and incredibly muscular. He's also seen a barber within the last decade, something the guys on my brother's team seem allergic to. Even pretty boy Thorne could use a good trim-up.
So, the fact that I'm flirting with this good-looking baseball player is.
.. nice. Thorne may have flat-out rejected my proposal to sleep together, but Brad hasn't.
He doesn't seem to know that I'm an almost-24-year-old virgin who's locked up tighter than a nunnery at night.
Do I want this total stranger to take my V-card?
No. But the flirting is definitely nice.
It feels good to meet dudes that aren't married to their hockey sticks and also happen to have panty-melting smiles.
I hang out on the dock with Brad for the entire afternoon.
He's funny in an off-the-wall sort of way, making jokes and catching me off guard.
I laugh a lot and diligently reapply sunscreen every hour.
The summer sun is high and full at the beginning, but by the time it has slipped from its zenith and the afternoon heads into early evening, I'm starving.
Brad says, "It's almost time for dinner, right?"
"You read my mind. I was just thinking about that."
"We're on the same eating schedule." He slides me a sly look. "Good to know. Most girls can't keep up with me."
"I'm assuming that you eat enough food to feed a small village?"
"Correct." He winks. "It's important to feed all these muscles."
"It sounds like a challenge," I joke. God, it feels amazing to be someone a hot guy finds attractive rather than just an annoying little sister. I'm still thinking of the next flirty line I want to dangle in front of Brad when a dark shadow covers me.
I look up and find Thorne standing there, arms crossed, his expression unamused.
He doesn't tease me, and he doesn't deflect from his attraction.
He just looks at me with his full attention, the kind he usually gives to everyone but me.
Except right now, he's giving it to me and I genuinely don't know what to do with that.
"Can we talk?" His eyes flit to Brad, narrowing. "In private?" he continues.
A little laugh escapes me. "Go away."
Brad stands up, sensing the tension. Thorne not-very-smoothly moves between us and says, "It’ll only take a minute."
Brad starts toward the main house. "I was on my way to change before dinner anyway. Mollie, catch you then?"
"Looking forward to it!" I call. Nibbling my lip, I watch Brad walk away for a few seconds before I turn on Thorne. "What could you possibly want?"
"I'm saving you from him." He glares after Brad. "That guy has a reputation as a major player."
"What, you recognize a fellow manwhore?" I say with heavy sarcasm.
"I'm protecting you," he says. "That dude is bad news."
"Really? It seems like you're just interested in getting in my business. I swear, you're just as bad as Beck."
"Someone has to look out for you." He gives me an irritated glance. "That guy likes to count the notches in his belt, Mollie."
"Listen, you heathen. I asked you to help me out by being my... first. But you weren't interested. So now I'm moving on to other options. You can't cockblock me with every single guy."
Thorne's eyes widen. "You're planning on sleeping with him?"
I stride over to him and stick a finger in the middle of his chest. "Don't worry about what I'm going to do and who I'm going to do it with. I told Beck this and I'll tell you the same. Back off."
"Squeak..."
I pluck my sunscreen and cover-up off the deck chair and head toward the house. Thorne stays put, but I can feel his eyes on me the whole way to the cabin.
I huff as I change clothes. Beck and Thorne are two peas in the same caveman pod.
They're doing the same thing that they always do.
The same thing that everyone always does.
Treating me like a little kid who can't make decisions instead of a young woman with a good head on her shoulders and a life to live.
But it's more than that and I know it. This is exactly what I was afraid of. The way the hockey world reaches into every corner of your life and makes itself comfortable. Suddenly you're not a person anymore. You're someone's sister or girlfriend or wife, and nobody asked you if that was okay.
I have to find a new apartment soon. Then I'll be able to start making my own decisions again... decisions that have nothing to do with Thorne or Beck.