Misadventures of a Rookie (Misadventures #11)(46)

I was getting used to it. Getting used to feeling good about a relationship and for the first time in maybe forever, feeling good about myself. I still felt I needed to be on high alert, that I needed to prepare myself because there was no way this would last. But the more time I spent with him, the harder that was to do. I wanted to get lost in him—fall over the edge and just be. But I could not get rid of that nagging voice that reminded me that not only was he Gus Persson, the guy with one hell of a track record of loving and leaving them, but also the same Gus the Bus Persson who had a one-way ticket to the NHL.

And where would that leave us?

It scared me. It all scared me. I knew too well and too acutely how fast something that felt so good could not just end but shatter me.

Exhaling hard, I typed back quickly.

Bo: I don’t know. Just be cool.



Gus: I’m always cool.



Bo: You know what I mean! Like just greet me but don’t make a big deal about it.



Gus: So greet you? Don’t ignore you. Don’t make a big deal about it. Question.



Bo: Yes, and yes?



Gus: Is the IT you keep referring to us?



Bo: Yes, it is.



Gus: Okay, so don’t make a big deal about us but greet you.



Bo: Are you trying to get on my nerves?



Gus: Yes. I love that little twitch that your nose does.



Bo: I hate you. See you soon.



Gus: I’m waiting. And you’re coming home with me tonight.



Bo: Is that a question or a demand?



Gus: Demand, duh.



My heart fluttered as I shook my head. He was maddening, but shit, he was mine. All mine, and I couldn’t help but love how that made me feel. How it felt so damn right. I hated how jaded I was. How, even when I was flushing over his texts and his obvious excitement over us, I still felt I had to be on the defensive. I didn’t want to end up the way Jesse left me. I didn’t want to have those feelings and go through not only what he put me through but then my family, too. Those years will never be fully behind me. And yet there I was.

Thinking about him.

Thinking about us.

Completely infatuated with another rookie who had one foot out the damn door.

Sighing deeply, I let my phone fall to my lap.

Lizzy glanced over at me. “He’s giving you a hard time?”

I couldn’t hide our relationship from Lizzy, even if I tried. Gus was always at the apartment or I was with him. He wasn’t one to hold back how he felt either. He was always grabbing me, kissing me, and being a total dork. “Yeah,” I said. “Like always.”

She giggled. “It’s adorable, and I know you think you hate it, but you don’t.”

“Whatever.”

She laughed as she tapped her hand on the steering wheel to the beat of the new Ed Sheeran song that was playing. “So you leave Friday?”

I nodded, swimming my hand through the air outside the car. It was so beautiful tonight, and I was glad we were going to a beach bar. It was the perfect night for it. “Yeah, I only planned on staying like two days, but my mom wanted me to stay till Tuesday.”

“You haven’t been home in a while, Bo. You have a break. Go.”

I shrugged and looked out the window. “It’s just hard when I go home.”

Lizzy scoffed. “Well, since I know nothing about any of that, I don’t know how to answer.”

I smiled, still not looking at her. “There is nothing to know except that when I lost my scholarship, I really disappointed my family, and my mom loves to remind me about that.”

“Shit happens.”

I glanced over at her. “Not to me though. I was the smart girl who had big dreams and aspirations. I ruined all that.”

“Even though I know you won’t answer me, I’m gonna ask anyway,” she said before glancing over at me for a second. “What happened?”

I laughed, a harsh sound without humor. “I lost my scholarship because I was a dumbass. I really don’t want to rehash it all.”

Lizzy let out an annoyed sigh. “I’m going to get you drunk one night and make you tell me.”

I giggled. “Duly noted.”

She laughed before she reached out and squeezed my wrist. “I wouldn’t judge you.”

I swallowed hard. “You don’t have to. I judge myself.”

“Well, I think you’re entirely too hard on yourself.”

“I know,” I agreed as we pulled into the parking lot of the Sandbox, a college bar I hadn’t been to but apparently everyone else had. Gus and a few of his teammates were there, which meant most of our friends were there just to see them. The Suns’ ice girls were a horny bunch, and the Suns’ players were also of the very horny variety.

Getting out of the truck, I pulled my skirt down some and adjusted my lacy top. Unfortunately, I had to wear a bra with it, but it was cute enough, so I made an exception. Pulling my hair up into a messy bun, I glanced over at Lizzy. She was texting.

“Mr. McMillian?”

She shot me a dry look. She looked adorable tonight in a maxi dress. Her brown hair was down and hung straight along her shoulders. “Roger, you mean?”