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I run my tongue over my teeth. I don’t particularly like his tone, but Jake is also like a brother to me. He’s a teammate, a friend, and that also means something to me. It means he gets a little leeway when he’s acting like a prick and deserves to get shoved or punched. “I have no romantic intentions with your sister.” There. That is sort of true, at least. My intentions are sexual. Not romantic.
He locks eyes with me. “Why does she look at you like that, then?”
“Like what?” I ask, genuinely interested. How does she look at me? I wonder.
“Like…” he lets out a frustrated sigh and runs a hand through his dark hair. “She looks at you like you’re the answer to all her fucking problems. I don’t know.”
“Maybe because I’ve been nice to her and helped her out. Maybe she likes Frosty Harbor and knows I live here, so she’s hoping I’ll keep helping to integrate her to town. I don’t know, Jake. Take a fucking guess.”
He glares. “My guess is because she wants to sleep with you. To date you. Hell if I know.”
I shrug. “What if she does? Are you going to be a creepy asshole and tell your sister who she can and can’t sleep with?”
“I’m–” he hesitates, snapping his mouth shut. His jaw ticks several times before he speaks again, barely controlling his tone. “I’m just worried about her state of mind. You do remember she came here in the first place because she was running away from her wedding, right? So yeah, call me an overprotective asshole for wanting to make sure she’s not jumping into something too soon.”
I sigh. “You have a point. But shit, man. Making mistakes isn’t always… a mistake. Sometimes bad things happen and it seems like the end of the world. Then you look back on it later and realize it was just an opportunity.”
“Are you quoting fucking fortune cookies at me right now, Jesse?”
I can’t help laughing, and Jake smiles too. “I’m only saying I get it. I’m a big brother to a little sister, too. You don’t want to see them get hurt. To make mistakes. To feel regret. Any of that. But you also have to let them be who they are. Be there to guide them when they ask for it, but if you stick your nose in their life so hard and so often, they won’t go to you when they actually need help. I don’t know,” I say shrugging. “Just my experience so far.”
“Yeah. You’re not wrong.” He lets out a heavy breath and looks toward the guest house out the window. “I’ll try to be less of an asshole. And I’ll try to stop glaring at you. No promises, though.”
“Glare away, man. I can handle it.”
He smirks. “If my little sister did want to make a mistake and move on too quickly with some guy, I guess she could do worse than you.”
“Alright, alright,” I say, giving him a shove. “Quit being sweet with me or I’m going to think you’re about to grab my ass and kiss me.”
He laughs. “Fuck you, man.”
“Hey. If you’re not going to the karaoke thing, why don’t you go hit the weights with me in the garage?”
He cracks his knuckles and looks that way, clearly tempted. “Fuck it. Let’s go.”
I clap him on the shoulder and head into the garage. If I can’t sleep with Andi, I need some way to get the tension out of my system. Lifting heavy shit is probably the best outlet I can think of. Plus, I’m glad to feel like Jake is finally loosening up. He’s normally my closest friend on the team. Having him pissed at me all week has been annoying me.
“So,” I say once we get in the garage. “You basically said I can date your sister. Did I get that correct?”
He tosses a towel at me. “No. I definitely didn’t say that.”
26
ANDI
I wake up and slap blindly around, trying to find my phone. It’s not under my pillow where I usually leave it. Instead, I find it placed neatly on the nightstand, right beside one of my bras. I blink through the sleepiness and tap the screen. Midnight.
Dim awareness starts to return to me. I remember sitting on the couch while all the guys took turns trying to figure out how to get my skate off. I remember Jesse bringing me everything I could possibly need. I remember the crackling fire and the Christmas movie playing in the background and snow drifting down outside the windows. I’m smiling at the memory when I roll back over and then suddenly yelp with pain.
I forgot about my ankle, and the way I rolled over made the blanket tug against my toes, turning the ankle.
I sit up, pushing the covers down and reaching to rub my ankle. I see the skate is off. I don’t remember that happening. I’m also still fully dressed in the clothes I wore today.
I rub my head and it starts to make sense. I fell asleep and Jake or Jesse must’ve carried me here.
Jesse.
The thought hits me with a jolt. He must have been so disappointed. After last night with Meemee interrupting us, he was probably expecting tonight to… well.
