AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But not only Ryder.” Here goes nothing. “I’ve been seeing two of the other players, too. Soren and Ash.”
Her head snaps back a little. “Wait. What? You’ve been dating three players? Do they know about each other?”
“They know. Because…” I can’t look at her anymore. Not when she’s so concerned and confused. Instead, I examine the embroidery on a sheer bra dotted with pink and white flowers. “Because I’ve been seeing all of them at the same time. Like, all at once.”
“Seeing them… all at once…” She can’t stifle a gasp while gripping the metal rack like she’s trying to keep herself on her feet. “Like… a gangbang?”
“It wasn’t like that. Seriously, it wasn’t.”
Her eyelids flutter, and she sort of sways a little before catching herself. “I need a minute.” My heart sinks when she turns away and heads for the door. Dammit. I should’ve known. No, I did know. I knew this wasn’t the kind of thing even a sweet, supportive friend like Corey would understand.
She goes to the nearest bench and sits down with her hands clasped between her knees. I’m almost afraid to approach, so I take my time instead of rushing her. I knew I’d get a reaction like this, didn’t I? That’s why I never said anything. “I’m sorry if I shocked you,” I murmur once I’m close enough for her to hear me.
“I’m sorry if… I made you feel bad.” She blows out a heavy sigh and stares at the ground. “It’s just a lot to wrap my head around. I’m not judging you, I’m really not. But this sort of goes against who I thought you are, you know?”
“You mean, the sort of person who doesn’t get involved with three men the same time?”
“Not just three men. Three men you work with.”
I sit on the bench with a sigh of my own. “I know. I wish I could explain.”
“You don’t have to. That’s the one thing you do not have to do. I’m not asking for an explanation.”
“I know. But I still feel like I need to have one.”
“It does sort of worry me for your job.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that, because I broke it off. For good. I mean, the guys are out there fighting on the ice in front of everybody, and I know it’s because of me. Or at least, I’m part of it. I needed to take myself out of it before things got worse, and the wrong people heard the wrong things.”
All at once, emotion lodges itself in my throat. I wasn’t planning on breaking down and blubbering like a baby. Then again, nobody plans on that kind of thing, I guess.
No matter how I try, I can’t blink back the tears that insist on filling my eyes. “But now, everything is so much worse.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ryder wants a trade.” I’m impatient as I wipe away the tears that have overflowed onto my cheeks. “The coach came in and told me today.”
“Oh, no!”
“And now, Coach wants me to find out why, but I know why. I know it’s because he thinks it will be easier to go away. But I don’t want him to go away, and I hate thinking I affected the team like this. Just when they were doing so well, too.”
“Back up for a second.” The hand she places against my back is gentle. Understanding. “Yeah, you have the team to worry about, but it’s okay to worry about yourself, too. You’re going through a pretty complicated situation. You’re allowed to feel how you feel.”
“This is all my fault. That’s how I feel.” I can’t hold it together anymore. I cover my face with my hands, shaking like a leaf as guilt and regret roll through me. “I thought I would make things easier and better by breaking up.”
“Did you really want to do it?”
“No. I didn’t want to. I mean, I knew I had to.” I wipe away my tears, though it’s a lost cause. I can’t keep up with them.
“Do you wish you hadn’t?”
“Maybe none of this would be happening if I never broke it off.”
“And maybe it would.”
She has a point. But… “I’d still be with them. You know? Now I’m miserable and guilty and alone.”
“You did what you thought had to be done. Don’t blame yourself.” She snickers softly and starts rubbing my back the way I rubbed hers when she was in the grips of despair not so long ago. “You have three other personalities involved in this. You weren’t in it alone. You couldn’t predict what they would do. And men like to call us emotional, right?”
