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Daniella had tried to come back up to me after I walked in from the parking lot, but I shrugged her off with an apologetic smile and told her I wasn’t feeling it anymore tonight.
I never should’ve engaged with her in the first place.
She dragged her long nails through my hair and gave me a kiss on the cheek, then moved on to Coleson, another hockey guy, pretty quickly, so I don’t think I bummed her out too much. She was having a good time. I on the other hand, was not.
I leaned my head against the bar counter. I was such an idiot. I messed everything up again.
I couldn’t exactly take all the blame though, could I? I had told Claire I wanted to befriends. I never said I was looking for anything more than that, so she shouldn’t have taken such offense to me hanging with Daniella… Then again, that wasn’t fair of me to say because I hadn’t been giving Claire just friends vibes by staring at her all the time and by marching out of the bar after her.
But she was going to hook up with Jettersen? Really?
It churned my gut seeing him with her. I wanted to rip his fucking hands off her body and carry her away from him.
And a boob job? That’s what the guys said to me at the bar when I went up to buy a drink. Had I gone up to them just to see what Tyler had said to them about Claire? Yeah. But I was doing it for her own good. And them saying, “Your girlie’s getting her boobs done” was the last thing I thought I’d hear.
And that’s the other thing– everyone called hermygirl.
That was a mindfuck.
She wasn’t my girl. And I knew she could do whatever she wanted, but she didn’t have to do that. She was perfect the way she was.
God. I ripped my hat off and brushed my hands through my hair. What could it really hurt if I did go out with her? Like on a real date?
I shook my head out.
No.
Don’t even go there, man, I repeated to myself. I’d just end up making it harder for myself at the end of the summer when I had to go back to Detroit all alone.
Then again, I couldn’t stomach the fact that she would probably go back to ignoring me at the rink this coming week. Knowing that felt like a kick to the stomach. We had finally been in a nice place and now she’d be out of reach again.
“Callahan!” Reggie finally called out to me. “Let’s get goin’.”
He was holding hands with the girl he’d been chatting up, and it looked like she was coming with us.
I blew out a sign and slid off the barstool.
At least someone wouldn’t be lonely tonight.
_________
I fumbled with my keys on my parent’s dark doorstep and tried my best to quietly let myself in.
I hadn’t felt that drunk when I left the bar, but now my head was spinning. I did my best to carefully crutch my way into the kitchen. I desperately needed some carbs in my stomach to soak up the alcohol.
I’d probably just crash on the living room couch. There’s no way I wanted to scaffold the steps in my current condition. My parents tried to offer me the downstairs guest room when I first arrived, but I refused because I didn’t want to be baby-ed at all. I was majorly regretting that decision now. Whatever, Beau was probably enjoying my bed to himself.
I pulled the fridge open and scoured the inside before locating a leftover pizza box. I quickly pulled it out and threw it on the island kitchen counter, then went back for the ranch when the lights suddenly flashed on, practically blinding me.
I was seconds away from hurling the ranch bottle at the intruder when I realized it was only Griff.
“Easy, bud, easy.” He laughed and ran a hand through his messy, fohawk hair. He was still sporting his playoff beard- which I still felt miffed over. I was practically the only teammate who couldn’t successfully grow out a nice looking beard, I only ever got patchy scruff.
“What’re you doing up?” My words sounded slurred to my own ears, and I cringed.
“Oof. Have some drinks there, bud?” He flashed me a grin that said he was holding back full-out laughing at me.
I rolled my eyes. “When did you guys get here? And why are you still up, old man?”
