Kiss and Don't Tell(25)

“Special zip?” I laugh. “What the hell is that?”

“You know.” He rubs his fingers together. “This bubbly, infectious personality that people like to be around.” Whispering, he says, “The opposite of psychotic Katherine.”

I snort so hard I have to wipe my nose. “Well, thank you for the vote of confidence, but I don’t plan on making any moves on anyone. Doesn’t mean I won’t take advantage of the views, though.”

“That’s my girl. And trying to get that phone number, right?”

“Ah, yes, Ian Rivers’s phone number. I’ll ask around.”

“It’s the least you can do, since when I hang up the phone, I’m going to have to probably slip Katherine a crushed-up sedative in some applesauce just to make it through the day. I don’t prefer to drug my friends, Winnie.”

“I know, but sometimes it has to be done.”

“Yeah, this is a must.” He chuckles and says, “You know, though she talks about personal safety, little does she know her best friend is ready to slip her a Xanax.”

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Love you, Max.”

“Love you. Have fun.”

We hang up and I toss my phone to the side as I stare up at the ceiling. So, this is it. This is where I’m staying for a few days.

Could be way worse.

Not sure it could be any better.

I’ll take it and I’ll be grateful, because it’s been tough of late.

And like Max said, I need to get back to them whole and with a clear mind.

Ready to get back on the merry-go-round that is my life.





Chapter Seven





PACEY





“Where’s your friend?” Taters asks, taking a seat on the lounger next to mine.

“She’s not my friend, she’s just . . . a guest.”

“Whatever you want to call her, where is she?”

“Not sure.” I take my hat off my head and place it over my face, blocking the peekaboo sun. It was sunny this morning, but clouds for the storm we’re expecting later have been steadily gathering. But even though there’s some cloud coverage, it’s still nice out, and I’m trying to soak up as much sun as I can get when it comes out from behind the clouds.

“You don’t know where she is? I thought you were her gatekeeper.”

“Can you not be a dick?” I ask. “I offered your house as a place to stay because she had nowhere else to go. If you didn’t have your head so far up your ass, you probably would’ve done the same thing.”

“My head is not up my ass,” Taters defends.

“Dude, you know I care about you and I always tell it to you like it is because that’s what brothers do, so I’m going to tell it to you like it is. You’ve been an ass ever since Sarah broke up with you. And I get it, you’ve been together since high school, and that’s hard, but you’re not letting us help you. You’re bottling it up and then taking it out on everyone.”

“Maybe because I don’t want to talk about it. Ever think about that?” He drops his sunglasses over his eyes and leans back in the lounger.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to talk about my injury, but you still made me.”

“Because I needed your head in the game. The way you played affected my game. Can’t have my goalie afraid of a damn puck.”

“I’m not afraid of the puck,” I shout, and then realizing how worked up I am, I calm myself. More quietly, I repeat, “I’m not afraid of the puck, and if you don’t think your breakup with Sarah affected the team, then you’re in denial.”

“Fuck you. You know I leave that shit off the ice. When I step onto the rink, nothing else passes through my mind but hockey.”

“You made mistakes this postseason that you never would’ve made before. You let players get by you, you missed shots. You let guys take you out that never even would’ve had a chance before.”

Taters lifts up and says, “Are you blaming the loss on me? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“No,” I huff out. “We all had a part in losing. But what I’m saying is you’re not addressing what happened, and without addressing it, you’re never going to get over it.”

“The only way I’m going to get over it is by getting under someone else.”

“You know you don’t want to do that,” I say. Taters might put on a show, but he’s as loyal as they come. He loved Sarah. Fucking infatuated with the girl. They grew up through the system together. They’d been each other’s backbones. Taters is the man he is today because of her. He’s not the type of guy who can write off one girl with another. He doesn’t work that way. Not sure any of us do. Hornsby maybe, but I think that’s because he’s emotionless inside. He’s a solid dude, but when it comes to actual feelings, his own feelings, I’m not sure he’s in tune with those.

“I’m a new man,” he says. “I can do whatever the fuck I want.”

“Yeah, and I’m guessing what you really want is to not be here with us but to be back in Vancouver trying to make up with Sarah.”

Taters shakes his head. “She made it known she doesn’t want me anymore. So, I’m going to respect her wishes. Why go after someone who doesn’t want me?”