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Adrienne looked at us warily. “Maybe I should cut you two off after this.”
“No way,” Suzie announced. “This is our night to cut loose. We have to live responsible lives literally the rest of the school year– getting to bed at 9, waking up at 5:30, weneedthis,” she said, shaking her drink and spilling a bit on the bar.
Adrienne blew out a resigned sigh and wiped down the bar where she just spilled. “Well, back to Tyler, one night after a bad game he kept ordering angry pirates, what you guys are currently holding, and he ended up getting on stage and belting out ‘Silver Springs’ for everyone in the bar.”
I almost choked on my drink. “Oh my God, do you have a video of this performance?”
“Nah, but I bet you can still find it somewhere online. A social media mob came for him the next morning though because apparently ‘Silver Springs’ is for the girls only.”
“I mean, that’s kinda true…” Suzie said, to which we all busted up laughing. “Was he any good at least?”
Adrienne shook her head vehemently. “Absolutely not. There are two things hockey boys cannot do, and that’s sing and dance. Think about it.” She gave us a pointed look.
“Whitty can… oh,” Suzie covered her mouth to muffle a giggle. “Actually he is quite bad at dancing, but he gives it his all. That counts for something.”
“Definitely,” Adrienne agreed. “But watch next time. They just beep-bop around kinda awkwardly,” she laughed. “I love watching. They have no rhythm.”
I laughed at that. I could totally see Tyler bouncing around the dance floor…Shit, no thinking about Tyler,I desperately ordered my tipsy brain.
20. Tyler
I was pissed.
Pissed at my teammates for leaving our loft a mess all the time. Pissed at Duke for getting in another argument with Claire and moping around all day, because really, he had no clue how lucky he was to have her. And I was pissed at Casey for canceling our weekly dinner with absolutely no warning and no real explanation. I went off on him about it, and felt kind of bad as soon as I hung up. Deep down, I knew I was just taking out my frustration on everyone else.
The person I was truly pissed at… was Miss Josie Petersen.
Last night in the stairwell should’ve been a high for us. Because I figured it all out for us. She wanted to be the boss, but she folded as soon as I manhandled her. I felt those knees of hers go weak, I saw those bright eyes of hers dart to my lips, wanting me to take hers, and I felt her heart pounding just like mine when we kissed.
But then she tripped me right back into high school: The guy who was good enough to hook up with, but not good enough to date. And while I knew it wasn’t the same situation, it stung like hell being relegated to that position again.
I couldn’t handle playing that role with her. Not when I knew we had such a strong connection. And I knew I shouldn’t have touched her like I did, shouldn’t have kissed her like I did, but her stubbornness snapped something inside me. And the thought of her going on dates with other guys drove me fucking crazy… So crazy that I marked her neck as my own. Knowing that she most definitely had a hickey tonight was the only thing helping me keep it together.
Because she fucking branded me too. Thoughts of touching her again swamped my brain all day long.
So, I hit the weight room hard, trying to forget about her, and then I was supposed to find reprieve playing floor hockey with Beau and Ty all night, but of course that couldn’t happen.
So, now I was on the couch struggling to research fucking 401K’s– even though I pay a guy to take care of all my financials, while trying to ignore my buddies who went out tonight to The Blitz, because I knew Josie would be there with her teacher party.
But Reggie had called five times now, and my phone was buzzing yet again with his name on the screen.
The sixth time, I finally picked up. “What?” I answered in a resigned tone.
“Yooo, so you know that girl you got stuck in the elevator with? You gotta thing for her?”
My chest tightened with apprehension. “What about her?” I ignored his second question completely.
He let out a bark of laughter. “She’s pretty blitzed here at The Blitz, bud.”
I sat forward and rubbed my forehead. “What do you mean?”
“She’s bein’ all loosey goosey. Pretty funny actually. I guess it’s Teachers Get Trashed night? But most of the teachers left. There’s only like four of them here. They’re still goin’ hard though.”
“Well, is she alright?” I asked, feeling completely exasperated. What was I supposed to do about it?
“I… guess so?” he asked more than said.
My heart pounded harder. “Dude, what the fuck? Is she alright or not?” I demanded, getting to my feet.
