Coach looks at Tucker and Mack. “You two go with him. And Belkin, Thomas, whatever the problem is between the two of you, I expect you to sort it out before Friday’s game. I won’t tolerate my players fighting with each other during games or practice. You don’t have to be best friends in your personal life, but pull another of these stunts on my ice and I promise you, you’re going to wish you had never seen a puck. Now get out of my face.”
After a quick stop in the locker room to swap our skates for regular shoes, we start down the hallway that leads to the therapy room in the practice rink building.
I can practically feel my teammates’ stares burning holes in the sides of my head, so I stop walking. “What?” I bark. “You two are mad at me too?”
TUCKER
“Maybe Col’s way of addressing the problem was a little intense and he could have definitely picked his timing a lot better, but I’m on the same page as him.” I bite out, my gaze focused on Nash’s chest because if I see the blood that’sstarting to congeal on his lower face, I’m gonna be sick all over again.
“Are you for real?” Nash raises his voice. “Are you mad that I’m walking out of this twisted competition to date Taryn? I seriously don’t get you guys. If anything, you should be happy to have only each other to worry about. But if you ask me, you’re both fools.”
The last expletive makes me win my reluctance to look the asshole in the eye. “Really? And why is that?”
Nash rolls his eyes. “If I have to explain it to you, you’re even slower than I thought. If fighting for the same girl’s attention with your best friend wasn’t stupid enough, are you really going to risk being benched and getting her kicked out of camp for a fifty-fifty shot at being with her?”
“Taryn is worth it.” I snap. “And we decided that she doesn’t have to choose between me and Col. Not that it’s any of your business, Belkin.”
His head rears back as if I had hit him. “She doesn’t have to choose? What does that even mean? Are you going to what? Share her?”
“We’re both going to be with her. We talked about it and she’s happy.” I shrug.
That tidbit of information seems to make Nash more agitated rather than calming him down.
“So this is what you were doing in that office at the club on the night of your birthday party? You were tag teaming her? What’s gonna happen when you get bored with threesomes? If you really cared about Taryn, you wouldn’t offer a threesome deal. You’d walk away and let her have a shot at making the team.”
It hits me that maybe we’ve all underestimated Nash and his feelings for Taryn. Maybe he isn’t walking away just because he’s jealous and he doesn’t want to get in troublewith Coach. Maybe he’s distancing himself because he cares.
If you love someone, set them free.
I’ve heard that saying many times. But I don’t like it. You set someone free if that’s what they want. But Taryn didn’t want that. She was prepared to walk away if that was what Colsen and I wanted.
“Look,” the fury of a few moments ago dissipates. “We spoke to her. Each of us was completely honest. She didn’t want to break things off, but she would have for our sake. And we felt the same way.”
Nash barks out a sardonic laugh, but winces in pain and presses the spot under his chin with the heel of his hand.
Thank fuck the bleeding has stopped, or since I lost the contents of my stomach on the ice, I would pass out if I saw more blood.
“So what are you gonna do? You both keep dating her and hope you don’t get caught?”
I clench my fists. “For now. Like Col said, once camp is over, we’ll be back living at the Gamma house. And Taryn will find a place in town. It’ll be easier to keep things private.”
Nash’s scowl doesn’t budge. “So she’s gonna be your dirty little secret? Star Cove is a small town. You won’t be able to take her out on a date without getting caught. Everyone knows the Cove Knights, and soon everyone will know the Shooting Stars. They already do if people are watching the reality show.”
I hadn’t thought about all that. “Maybe we’ll have to sacrifice until the end of the season. By then we’ll be headed to our NHL teams so even if Taryn stayed with the Shooting Stars for another year, it wouldn’t matter. The nofraternization clause applies to the Cove Knights, not to every hockey player in the country.”
My words hit their intended target. Nash looks deep in thought for a few seconds, and we walk to the doctor’s office in silence.
The door is closed. It looks like there’s another patient before us.
“Think about it, Belkin.” I make sure to keep my voice low.
“And what?” He looks at me as if I were insane. “Be one of herbrother husbands?”
I chuckle at his bewildered expression. “You make it sound like a cult. And maybe you’re right. Taryn is a goddess, if you ask me. But no, seriously. For some reason, she cares about you. And when you aren’t hell-bent on being a possessive douche, you’re more than alright.”
“Gee, thanks.” He snorts, wincing again and touching the bottom of his chin. “I don’t get it, Tucker. You should be happy that if I’m out of the picture.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m happy if Taryn is happy. So take a good look in the mirror and decide if she’s worth fighting for. If not, you don’t get the right to be mad at her or to make her feel bad for choosing us.”
