Rule Number Five: A College Hockey Romance (Rule Breaker Series Book 1)(13)

Alex threw a pillow at me. “You’ve got it bad, man.”

Luckily, I caught it right before it smashed into my face. Bastard caught me daydreaming.

I grabbed my bag from the counter, intent on making an escape. Our house was set up with two bedrooms on the main floor and two upstairs. The best part was each of our rooms had an adjoining bathroom. It was out of most college students’ price range, but with each of our bonuses, we were more than fine here.

Plus, it was fucking perfect.

We’d been living together for the last three years and had a pretty good system going. Not to say we didn’t get on each other’s nerves because we fucking did.

I bunched the pillow in a tight ball and whipped it back at Alex, who stared at the TV, hitting him square in the back of his head. I rushed toward the stairs when he threw it back. It slammed into the wall, barely missing me. As soon as I was in my room, I pressed my back against the closed door and rubbed my hands over my face. I cracked my neck before resting my head against the solid wood and closing my eyes, picturing Sidney’s victorious smile. What the hell was I thinking?

I was supposed to be keeping a low profile to avoid school becoming a circus. Instead, today’s stunt would be blasted all over social media. This fucking girl.

I’d been pissed about her no-kissing rule, but One Night Only should’ve worked perfectly for me. I would make a shit boyfriend. I spent all of my time practicing, playing, studying, or sleeping. My whole life was about making it to the NHL. So tell me why I tried to convince her to break it?

It was bad enough I had to worry about my two oldest friends. Lucas was drafted to the Bruins right after me, Alex and River after that. Something I would never let them live down, and we were heading to Boston together when we graduated.

The thing was, Lucas was head over heels for Piper, and pro sports were brutal on relationships. Between road games, mandatory events, and training camps, a player spent most of their time out of town. Then, when they were home, players still needed to maintain their workout and training schedule. I didn’t want to watch Lucas’s and Piper’s hearts get stomped on if it all fell apart. And let’s face it, the odds weren’t in their favor. Lucas said she was worth the risk, and seeing how they acted together, maybe she was. But if it fell apart, they would end up wishing they’d never met at all.

I collapsed on my bed, resting against the headboard. I couldn’t stop picturing Sidney’s wide-open smile, bouncing hair, and delinquent gleam in her eyes as she booked it up the stairs.

A small smile forced its way onto my lips, and I let out a frustrated groan. I wasn’t that guy; I was the don’t talk to me with a side of fuck off type. Now, with the growing attention around my start with the Bruins, I doubled down on being private. Running through the halls was the opposite of that.

Lucas barged into my room, flopping down on the bed beside me like dead weight. He was still scrolling Twitter on his phone. “So, you’re into her, huh?”

“You know damn well I don’t date, so screw off, man.” Lucas was my closest friend. Meaning, he thought he was entitled to know my shit.

“Whatever you say, buddy. From the way you look in those posts, I haven’t seen you have fun like that with… anyone.” He looked at me like I was some kind of lab rat, and his voice turned serious as he studied me. “At least not since Marcus died.”

Marcus.

My stomach dropped. He would’ve loved this drama.

“What do you want, Lucas?”

He lifted himself off the bed. “We’re headed to the Brewhouse.”

My stomach growled. I’d planned on staying in, but I guess it had other ideas.

Lucas finally tucked his phone in his pocket. “Honestly, though. How was it?”

I tried to shrug it off, but I could feel the smile build on my lips. “It was fun.”

“Just fun, huh?”

“I’m not justifying that with an answer.”

“Whatever helps you to sleep at night, kid.” His teasing tone was back in full force. Ever since he and Piper finally got together, he’d been on our cases about settling down and how wonderful it was. So, we basically avoided him like the plague.

“You think right before we move to Boston’s a good fucking time to date?” Frustration coated my voice. No, it fucking wasn’t. Something I forgot when I got within a three-foot radius of one feisty brunette.

“Hey, hurry up.” Alex banged on my door. “Quit your man hugging in there, and let’s eat.” More banging. “Get your ass out here, Jax, or I’m going to comment on each of these posts.”

He wouldn’t dare, but it was enough to get me up and moving. Even if it was just to knock him out. Sometimes these guys acted like we were brothers, and right now, he was the annoying younger one.

I opened the door, and Alex moved to the side to let me out. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and dragged me with him out of the house.

“Our agent called, and he wants to talk about today.” He air quoted the word talk. “Looks like you’re in shit.”

Rocky had signed Alex first, then took the rest of us on. His primary job was keeping us in line, and he was our go-between us and our future teams. Rocky was a dick but made good deals and knew the business, which was what we needed. I knew how to play, not suck up and PR.

I lifted a brow. “Rocky can fuck right off with that bullshit.”