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The Real Story
Rust
The sky was dark, the desert air cool, and the highway made a soothing hum beneath my Mercedes roadster. Johnny had grown quiet in the passenger seat. I’d never seen him drink like he had tonight. I peeked over to see if he was still awake, or if I’d have to drag him out of the car and carry him into my house.
He was still hanging in there. “That’s a good crew you got, Rusty. Bunch of beauties.”
The Sin beat the Extreme, 4–3, which was good for the team, obviously, but not great for my prospects at getting back into the lineup; coaches generally don’t like to tinker with a winning lineup. After the game, the boys wanted to go out to casinos to celebrate. I brought Johnny along with us. He was a big hit with the Sin boys—first he impressed them by getting absolutely pinned at the bar, and then he had them rolling with embarrassing stories from back in the day about, who else, yours truly.
“Showtime. Tank. That kid, Dakota.” Johnny hiccuped. “Beauties. All of ’em.” He turned to me. “But wait. Do Benz and Deader reallydate Killer’s daughter?Bothof them?”
“Yeah, man.”
“How the fuck does that work?” he asked.
“I don’t know, fella. They don’t really go into explicit detail about it, y’know? But hey, it works for them. They seem happy, anyway. And they’re playing the best hockey of their lives. Whatever works, I guess.”
“Do they both fuck her? Like… at the same time?”
“I think so, bud.”
“Damn,” he muttered. “I mean, hey. I’ll admit it. I’ve cranked it to a porno like that once or twice in my life.”
“Just once or twice, huh?”
We both let out a big laugh.
“Okay, maybe a lot more than that,” he said. “But Rusty, imagine actually being in a committed relationship like that! Kids these days. They’re wild. I don’t understand it.”
“It’s a different world than the one we grew up in. I see it all the time around the locker room. The kids today are a different breed.”
He chuckled. “You can say that again.” He paused. “Izzy’s a good kid, though. She’dneverbreak my heart by doing something crazy like that.”
Isabelle.
My grip tightened on the steering wheel. I was ashamed and disgusted by how I’d acted with her when we were alone.Yeah,she was breathtaking—but so what? Was a pretty face and a tight, young body all it took for me to throw a lifelong friendship away? Where had my discipline gone? I’d completely lost control of myself—to the point where I wasactuallyabout to kiss her.
It was a miracle Johnny arrived when he did, and not a moment later, or else he would’ve seen me moving in on his daughter.
Thankfully, a few hours of hanging out with Johnny was enough to set my head straight. I needed the reminder that he was my best friend. And for good reason. I loved him like a brother—and it would be a serious mistake to trample over that friendship by eventhinkingabout Isabelle in that way.
“Thanks a lot for the favor, though,” Johnny said. “The thing with your dog? I really appreciate it, big fella.”
I winced.
When Johnny was pitching his dog sitting idea, Isabelle and I traded glances. For that brief instant when our eyes met, there was a sneaky, excited spark flickering between us. It was like Isabelle was thinking the same thing I was—oh, yes, what a convenient excuse to get my hands all over you…
Which is why I hadnointention of ever inviting Isabelle over to watch my dog.
No way, no how. Not ever happening.
Because I simply couldn’t trust myself to be around her. And I simply could not do something like that to my best friend.
Johnny whistled as we pulled into my driveway in Summerlin. “Nice place, big fella. How much did this cost?”
“One-point-two,” I said, easing the car into the garage.
“Looks like a lot of house for one man.” He punched my arm. “Or are you finally getting ready to settle down and try again?”
