AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stared at him for a second as he gave me an apologetic look. I couldn’t fault him for acting like our dad sometimes. He had to step into that role for his sister after his mother passed away and his father became vacant. It was in his nature and he protected the people he was close to—even if it came off as abrasive and felt like he was being an asshole.
A smile pulled on my lips. “Aww. So, what you’re really saying is, you don’t want to see them get rid of me? You want me around.”
Nico rolled his eyes but smiled back. “Yes, you fucking idiot.” He shook his head again. “Just don’t do anything dumb. And if you do, for the love of God, protect yourself and don’t get into any trouble.”
“Look at this softie,” Wes crooned as he lightly punched Nico in the bicep. “You really do care, don’t you?”
Laughter erupted between the four of us and I tilted my head as I looked back at Nico. “Don’t worry. I’m pretty positive she can’t stand me, so there’s no chance of anything happening.”
Nico didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t touch back on the subject as Lincoln swiftly turned the conversation away from Juliette. The four of us fell into our typical hockey talk before shifting into life stuff. It was mainly Wes and Nico talking since Lincoln and I were the two who were still single and didn’t have girlfriends that we had stuff going on with.
We drank well into the night before we all ended up too drunk to drive. Wes’s girlfriend Charlotte came and picked both of us up, while Nico’s girlfriend Harper picked him up. Lincoln lived closer to Nico and Harper, so she was giving him a ride home too. We would all just have to come back to the pier the next day to get our cars.
Charlotte was polite and nice, as she always was, laughing at Wes and I as we both drunkenly sang along to some pop song on the radio. Wes stared at her, belting the words as he reached out and touched the side of her face. I slowly stopped singing and watched both of them, feeling a twinge of jealousy. Sober me didn’t want what they had, but drunk me did.
Turning my head, I looked out the window to distract myself from them just as Charlotte pulled up in front of my condo building. Wes was still singing but she turned back to look at me.
“Are you okay to get in by yourself, Mac?”
I gave her a crooked smile. “Yes, mother. I will be fine.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed softly. “Get out of my damn car.”
“Yeah, get lost, Sullivan,” Wes slurred as he chuckled and slid his hand onto Charlotte’s thigh. “I’m ready for Charlotte to take me home so I can strip her naked and?—”
“That’s enough, pretty boy,” she cut him off as she smiled at him and shook her head as she patted his cheek.
I didn’t need any more encouragement and climbed out of the car as if it were on fire. Wes had no problem with PDA and when he got drunk, I almost felt bad for Charlotte. She took him in stride and had a fiery side that wouldn’t hesitate to put him in his place.
“Thanks for the ride, Charlie,” I told her before shutting the door. Throwing a wave over my shoulder, I stepped up to the front door and punched in my code to get into the building. Charlotte pulled the car away from the curb as I disappeared inside.
After stumbling through the lobby, I slipped into the mail room and emptied out the contents from inside my box. There was a cardboard box inside that I grabbed, even though I didn’t remember ordering anything. I leaned against the wall in the elevator as I took it up to my floor, feeling the alcohol in my system weighing me down. My eyelids were growing heavier by the second and my legs were a resemblance of Jell-O.
Somehow I managed to get inside my condo, dropping my mail onto the counter before fetching a glass of water. I swiftly drained the cup and eyed the small package with my things. Picking it up, I pulled the tab off the cardboard and ripped it open. A book dropped out of it and landed in front of me. Confusion washed over me and my eyebrows scrunched as I picked it up. It was a romance novel.
What the hell? There was no reason I would order a book. I was borderline illiterate.
Picking up the packaging, I squinted my eyes as I tried to read the mailing label. The words blurred together a bit, undoubtedly from the alcohol, but I could make out the name of who it was addressed to.
Juliette Anderson.
She was the one who had ordered the book. It ended up in my mailbox as a mistake and I opened it without even realizing it wasn’t my package. I dropped the cardboard onto the floor and picked the book up again as I inspected it.
A smirk slowly pulled on my lips. I knew I needed to keep my distance from Juliette, but now I had a reason to talk to her. As I fanned through the pages, I decided I wasn’t going to give the book to her… not yet, at least.
I was going to read it first and then she could have it.
Maybe I could learn a thing or two about her from what she liked to read.
CHAPTER SIX
JULIETTE
Skating backward, I leaned back against the net as I watched the six-year-olds start their scrimmage game. A smile pulled on my lips as Chase, one of the other coaches, tossed the puck onto the ice. Two of the kids instantly fell down while another two battled over the puck. The other four kids were waiting for something to happen. It was entertaining watching them all, considering most of them were new to the sport and were still learning the game.
When I moved to Orchid City, my father told me about a youth program at one of the local rinks. They were in need of coaches and with the background I had, they didn’t even need to know anything else about me. It wasn’t a paid position, just volunteering, but it was enough for me.
Dante, the hockey director, had told me they were potentially going to open a paid position for a youth development coordinator and I was the first on their list for the spot, as long as I proved myself this season. I desperately wanted it—no, I needed it.
