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TWENTY-FOUR
LUCAS
My pulse poundedin my head, sending shards of pain through my skull. I opened my eyes but immediately closed them against the sunlight streaming through the window. I groaned and covered my face with my arm.
“Rise and shine, cupcake.” Jax’s cheerful voice came from directly beside me, grating against my scalp.
“Fuck off.”
“Oh, no. It’s fucking payback for all the times you woke me up hungover.” He shoved my shoulder, and I slit my eyes open.
“Where the hell am I?”
“Apparently, you spent the night in Alex’s room.” He sounded entirely too amused.
My brows pinched, and I fought through my muddled thoughts before jolting up. “Piper!”
“Took you long enough.”
“Fuck.” I rubbed my palms over my face. “Did she sleep here?”
“Not from what I can tell.” He shrugged. “At least, she wasn’t here when I got up.”
I collapsed back on the bed, immediately regretting it as a sharp pain pierced behind my eyes. What the fuck was I thinking? Images of Piper pressed up against the quarterback and smiling up at him filled my brain. I had to fight against the need to pull them apart. To claim her as mine in front of everyone, but I knew I couldn’t do that. I knew I wouldn’t back that up, and I’d be an asshole to block her. But fuck, every fiber of my being supported being an asshole. Instead, I downed my weight in liquor and barely remembered the night.
“What the hell is wrong with you? You acted like you were being tortured because Piper danced with someone else.”
“I don’t know what you’re on about.” I couldn’t look at him when I said it.
“Lucas, you’ve been a brother to me for a long time. You are fucking up here.” He ran a hand through his hair and looked at the ceiling before his gaze bored into mine. “Why are you doing this to her?”
I should’ve lied—hell, I wanted to lie, but the truth slipped from my tongue. “Because I fucking love her.”
Jax’s eyes widened, and the muscles in his neck stretched. “Then tell her.”
“You don’t understand,” I hissed, keeping my voice as low as possible.
He shook his head at me. “Just talk to her, man.”
If only it was that simple. “This isn’t the kind of thing you fix with a conversation. She can never know.”
He grunted and shook his head, like I was some kind of idiot he couldn’t believe. “So, what the hell are you going to do, just fucking watch her date other guys?”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing. This shit is going to die with me, and it better die with you too.”
* * *
It took three bottles of Gatorade and countless ibuprofen to get my ass ready for the game. The guys looked good on the ice for warm-up, but I was dreading this next part. This was the home opener of the year. Every game before this was an exhibition, which didn’t count toward our final points. This game fuckingmattered.
I stood in the middle of the room and cleared my throat. “Alright, boys. Listen up. As your captain, I want to share a few words with you before we hit the ice.”
My teammates went silent and took a seat at their lockers, all of their attention on me.
“First off, I want to say that I’m proud to lead this team. We’ve been working hard to prepare for the start of this season, and I know we’re capable of great things. Today, we have the opportunity to show everyone what we’re made of.”
I glanced over at Coach, who leaned against the wall with crossed arms and a small curve tipping the corner of his mouth.
I took a deep breath. “Remember, hockey is a team sport. Every single one of us has a role to play out there. Whether you’re on the first line or the fourth, we all have to work together to achieve our goals. We win as a team, and we lose as a team.”
