Page 84 of Break Out

“I appreciate it. But I’m fine,” I say, glancing from Caleb to Cole to Hunter.

“Here.” Wes hands me a take out cup of coffee.

“You don’t look fine,” Holt says.

“Brody,” Cole says. “You’re our family, and you need us. Whether you want to admit it or not.”

“What happened?” Hunter asks.

I take a sip of coffee before setting the cup down. I roll my neck and shoulders, trying to work out the kinks that come with sleeping on the couch. You’d think I’d know by now that it’s not a good idea.

I take a deep breath and tell them the whole story, including that Aubrey and I were faking our relationship. That she’s moving to Hawaii, and she wants us to go back to being friends. I even tell them about all the craziness with Aubrey’s mother and her weird, forced marriage to Arthur. I figure the more information they have, the more they might be able to help me figure things out.

“Well, shit. Sounds like she’s your one,” Wes says.

“Except she doesn’t want him,” Holt points out with a shake of his head.

“Gee, thanks, way to make me feel even worse,” I say with a scowl in Holt’s direction.

“Sorry, man, just pointing out the obvious,” Holt says, his hands raised, and I nod, accepting his apology because I know he didn’t really mean anything by it.

“What are you going to do?” Caleb asks, taking a seat next to me.

“I’m going to go after her. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to her that she’s worth it. But first, I’m going to announce my retirement.”

“Fuck,” Cole whispers. “I get it. No offense guys.” He glances at the others. “But if Hann was moving to chase her dreams, I’d be on the next plane with her. I’d miss playing hockey, but she’s worth giving it up for.”

“Same,” Hunter agrees.

I’m glad they understand because I was worried they’d tell me I was crazy for following Aubrey. For giving up a fifteen-year career for her.

“You do what you have to for the woman you love,” Caleb says, clapping me on the back. “Now how are you going to prove to her that she’s worth it? Better yet, how are you going to prove to her that you’re not making a mistake and you won’t regret choosing her. Because it sounds like that’s what she’s really worried about.”

I shrug. I hadn’t thought that far when I was putting together this plan. My hope is that she was only saying what she thought she needed to so I wouldn’t follow her. That if I show up at her door having already retired, she’ll let me in. Let me love her like she deserves.

“What happens if it’s not your time yet?” Wes asks after a few minutes of silence. He glances at everyone else in the room before his gaze lands on me. “What happens if you two need to go through this to be the right people for each other?”

“Come again?” I tilt my head, trying to figure out what he’s getting at.

“Maybe she needs to go off and live her dream. See what life is like having the job of her dreams but not the man of her dreams. If she can be happy living that life. And maybe you need to play one more season of hockey. Put it all on the line. See what you’ve got one more time. Because we all know you’ve been obsessing over that missed goal since the second the game ended,” Wes says.

“That’s crazy,” I mumble.

I meet Caleb’s gaze. “What do you think?” I ask. I know he went through a lot when he and Jenna were first dating so maybe he has an opinion.

“I don’t know. Wes kind of has a point.”

My mouth falls open, but as I look around at the rest of the guys I can see it on their faces, they agree with him. “What the fuck, guys?” I rasp out, running a hand through my hair. “I thought you were on my side.”

“We are,” Cole answers. I open my mouth to argue, but he holds up his hand for me to remain quiet. So, I do, closing my mouth, crossing my arms, and sinking back into the couch, waiting to see what he has to say. “Do you know why she pushed you away?”

I think back to her words. “She said she didn’t want me to sacrifice for her. She thinks I’m going to resent her later down the road.”

“Any idea why? Is there some reason she would think like that? Because it kind of sounds like there is.”

I raise an eyebrow at Cole. Since when did he become so philosophical? I take a deep breath, trying to sort through his questions. Through all of what Aubrey has told me. And then it hits me like a ton of bricks, and I gasp.

For fuck’s sake.