Page 10 of Against The Boards

I left in a huff and made the trek back to the parking garage. When I got behind the wheel of my car, I realized Benny was right. I had been looking at him like he was a snack I wanted to eat up.

It wasn’t lost on me that the man was ridiculously attractive. If I was being perfectly honest with myself, sometimes I wasn’t sure if I wanted to punch him in the dick or put it in my mouth. Maybe a little of both sometimes. I may have thought Lisa was my endgame, but it didn’t make me any less bisexual. I still recognized a hot guy when I saw one.

One thing was for certain: I needed to get laid. Before I did something even more reckless than moving to a different country. Like hate banging my nemesis.

Chapter Four

BENNY

My head felt like someone had been bashing it with Thor’s Hammer. That’s how I always felt after I drank with TJ. I ran a hand down my face and scratched my beard. Memories of my behavior last night came flooding back to me in a rush.

Rox was right to hate my guts.

I couldn’t believe the shit I said to her last night. I never would have said that if I was sober, but my drunk, horny brain took over. When I saw her from across the room, all I thought about was how to get her beneath me and moaning my name.

What is wrong with me?

I blamed TJ for forcing me to do shots with him last night, even though I should know my limits. If Rox didn’t hate me already, she definitely did now, and I didn’t blame her.

I picked up my phone when it beeped with a text notification.

TJ: You’re a dick, but seriously please don’t kill each other while I’m in Russia. Be the big man and apologize.

I put my phone down and dropped my head back against the wall. TJ was right; I owed her an apology. I had been a massive jerk last night, and she hadn’t deserved that. I knew I should be the bigger person and apologize, and I knew I should do it in person.

Hungover and feeling like hot death, I hopped in the shower. After, I crawled back into my bed and wanted to hide for the rest of the day. I didn’t handle hangovers well. During hockey season, I limited my drinking because I was very careful about what I put into my body. I took my nutrition and my career seriously. Despite my size, I should have been able to handle my liquor, but not as much as my teammate TJ.

My phone beeped with another notification, and I saw a text pop up from my ex.

STEPHANIE: Come get the rest of your shit.

I rolled out of bed with a groan and went into the kitchen to make coffee and toast. I needed coffee before I did anything else and food to soak up all the alcohol in my system. I’d probably need to rope one of my teammates into helping me get the rest of my things, too. Riley still owed me a favor, so I’d call him later.

I had just set my plate and coffee mug down at the island when there was a knock on the door. I walked over and opened the door and wasn’t surprised in the least to find Noah behind it.

Good. Now I was roping him into helping me today.

“You’re a dick,” he said and walked inside.

I groaned and sat back down at the kitchen island. I took a bite out of my toast and sipped on my coffee. I wasn’t even sure I could keep this plain toast down. I never learned my lesson about drinking with TJ. I didn’t think that dude had ever been hungover in his life. Not sure what it was with the Desjardins’ genes, but the twins could drink an entire hockey team under the table.

Noah sat next to me and stared at me without saying a word. He was one of the younger guys on the team, and I saw his immaturity shine through when he and Dinah were going through their rough patch. However, he was always the guy to tell you when you messed up and to help you fix it. He was one of the good ones.

“I don’t know what came over me,” I admitted.

Noah smirked at me. “I can’t believe you said that to her.”

I didn’t need to ask who told him. Noah and TJ were tight, and before Rox stormed out, I saw her talking to her brother. I didn’t blame her for hating me even more after last night. I acted like the dickhead she thought I was.

“You got it bad,” Noah said with a lopsided grin.

I grunted in response.

“You should apologize.”

“I want to do it in person.”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise.