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“Kass, I don’t think Luc is too worried about repercussions. Plus, Luc can handle himself.” Ali handed little Kaleb off to his grandmother.
“All right, enough of this. There’s only one way to take care of it.” Her mom fumbled with her purse while holding the baby. She finally brought out a little calendar and opened it, then babbled some baby talk to Kaleb as she looked at the dates.
“You’re all invited to dinner at my house on Sunday. Ali, you make sure my son shows up. Kassie, you invite Luc and his father.”
“Something tells me you won’t take ‘no thanks’ for an answer,” Kassie said to her mother, already knowing the answer.
“Absolutely not. Attendance is mandatory. Leave it to mom to fix things.”
***
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Luc
Once back in the hotel room, Luc fell face first onto his bed. His body ached, and he was exhausted. Morning skate was rough. The beers he’d had yesterday with Sam and his dad didn’t help his mood this early Saturday morning. Coach ignored the tension between Luc and Kaden, but it was there. Kaden was his lovable, joking self with everyone except Luc.
Tyler tried to lighten the mood by interacting with both of them, but Kaden wasn’t having it. He’d stop Luc’s shots without a single comment, while he razzed the other guys about not being able to get a puck past him, or their hitting it off the cross bar and how everyone in the arena could hear the ring.
Luc tried to be sociable. Putting on his game face, he laughed at the comments Kaden threw out at the other guys. But Kaden acted as if he didn’t exist. This wasn’t high school, and Kaden’s actions were really starting to piss Luc off.
“How’d practice go this morning?” his dad asked.
“Why can’t he just let it go?” Luc groaned into the comforter.
“I assume we’re talking about Kaden.” His dad sat a bottle of water on the side table, and sitting down on his own bed, he continued. “Here, keep hydrated. You know, you two are going to have to work this out sooner or later.”
“I know! He’s going to have to get over it.”
“That’s not the same as working it out.”
“Dad, I think seeing us fight in practice the other day is causing the issue with Kassie. I didn’t think so at first, because she puts up this front that her big brother can’t tell her what to do, and that his tantrums don’t bother her, but then she walked out on me, and I haven’t heard from her since. I think it bothers her more than she’d like to believe. Or maybe I’m missing something.” Luc scratched his head and tried to replay what he could’ve done to upset her. But he had nothing.
“Son, you need to decide what you want from this girl. And make sure she’s also clear on your intentions. After that, you need to sit down with Kaden and lay it all out on the table. If you want to pursue this relationship with Kassie, you have to be the bigger man and iron things out with Kaden. If you don’t, she’ll always feel torn. And that’s no way for her to live. That’s not fair to her.”
His dad was right.
“Honestly, we haven’t talked about where this relationship is going. We started out just having fun. She joked about not being interested, and I just played along. The code was the annoying white elephant in the room, and neither of us wanted to mess with it. I’m not sure who fell first, but somewhere along the line we got serious. It was quickly to the point where, when I wasn’t with her, I wanted to be, and I was always thinking about her. I care about her; she’s not like the nameless girls I used to pass the time with. She’s different. She’s special. I don’t want to see her hurting. And if us being together causes so much of an issue with her brother that it hurts Kassie, then… then I’ll back off.”
“But you don’t want to back off. Do you?”
“No. Hell, no! But I will if that’s what’s best for her. I just want her to be happy. I want to see that smile on her face, and see her enjoy life. She can’t do that if she’s always looking over her shoulder or refereeing me and her brother. Sure, we have a great time when we’re together, but somehow Kaden always wiggles his way in. Then things get weird.”
“You need to tell her all this, not me.”
“I know.” Picking up his phone, Luc decided it was now or never. But he didn’t want to do it over the phone. He’d have to get her to agree to see him. If she even responded to his message this time.
Luc: Hey Kass. Miss you. I’d like to take you to dinner tomorrow. I think we should talk.
He didn’t get an immediate response, and his heart rate elevated as he waited. But finally, after what felt like it was eternity but in reality, was only less than two minutes, she responded.
Kassie: Wow. That sounded ominous.
Luc: No, not like that. It’s not bad, I promise.
Kassie: Okay. And I’ve missed you too. Sorry I didn’t reply earlier. Things were crazy. And yeah, I’d like to talk. But tomorrow is bad. My mom is having this big dinner thing. She’d like you and your dad to be there.
Luc: Oh?
