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She continues to study me. Almost waiting for me to tell her I’m joking. And when I don’t, she bites her lip. “Okay.” She nods. “Yeah…dinner would be great.”
“Hell yeah, it will be.” I smile. “Let’s go.”
“I guess I should have asked if you even liked barbeque.” I cringe as I park in front of Bleecker’s Barbeque. A place the guys and I tried a few weeks ago and loved. “If you don’t, we can go somewhere else.”
She chuckles. “Geesh, you really didn’t pay attention to me at family functions, growing up, did you? I’d get seconds or even thirds on barbeque days.” She gives me an amused look. “Your mom might be kind of bitchy, but the woman sure knows how to throw a party.”
“Yeah, I guess she does,” I grumble. “Well, anyway, the food here is fucking great. And the servings are huge.”
Giving me a side-eye, she bobs her head. “And that’s a selling point for ya, huh? Big servings for a big fella like yourself?”
“Are you calling me fat?” I glance over at her.
“No. But all of you puck boys are, like…ginormous. I’d hate to see y’all’s grocery bill.”
“Hey, working out and practicing at least five or six times a week takes a lot of calories.” I laugh. “And have you ever seen some of the motherfuckers we’re up against?” I pat my stomach. “It pays to have a little cushion when you get body-checked against Plexiglas.”
“By cushion, you mean, lean, mean muscle?” She sighs. “Yeah, I suppose you do.”
For our entire lives, we’ve avoided each other on all vacations, social functions, and everything in between. But without our parents around to analyze our every word, we can just talk.
And I’ll admit…I don’t hate it.
I’m warming up to Sutton. And I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
Sutton
“I’m actually shook right now. But in, like, the best fucking way,” Hunter says, staring at my plate. “I didnotthink you could actually eat all that when I bet you.”
“If you hadn’t bet me, I couldn’t have done it—I never would have.” I shrug. “I’m so competitive that I can hardly stand myself sometimes. So, when you said the wordbet, I knew I was going to need to be rolled out of this place tonight from being full.”
“I guess I should have known that without asking. I mean, fuck, when did you start dancing competitively? Age five?”
“Four,” I say, correcting him. “Yeah, I don’t like to lose. I highly recommend never bringing me to mini-golf or a bowling alley. I get mean. Might be a deal-breaker.” My cheeks grow red. “Not that you ever would. But…you know what I meant.”
Luckily, he doesn’t pick up on my humiliation. Or if he does, he ignores it.
“We’re bred this way though. Right?” He takes a sip from his water. “Why wouldn’t we be fucked up and competitive?”
“Who said I was fucked up?” I raise an eyebrow, holding his stare for as long as I can before I laugh. “I’m kidding. IknowI am.”
“Do you ever want to just say fuck it?” He sighs. “Sometimes, seems like life would be so much easier if I were on my own.”
“What about Haley?”
“Well, seeing as she’s at Brooks now, I could never cut her off. I love my sister. She’s normal. Sort of.” The smallest, saddest laugh escapes his lips. “She tries her best, but her best will never be enough for our parents.”
“I know the feeling,” I mutter. “As for what you said before…about being on your own, it is freeing—I’ll say that much. But it’s also scary, being in the real world.”
Paying for my cell phone, groceries, books, and tuition—it was never anything I had to pay for before. Now, I fully feel the stress of making ends meet. Not to mention my inhaler. Or that I’ve been going through refills like crazy.
“What do you mean?” He narrows his eyes. “Your parents cut you off? Is that why you’ve been walking everywhere?”
Pulling my lips to the side, I sit back slightly. “Sure is. Every decision has a price, Hunter. I knew the price when I chose to come to Brooks. I did it anyway.”
“Fuck,” he utters. “I had no idea.”
“It’s all good,” I say calmly. “I have a job to help me buy the things I need, and most of all, I’m no longer killing myself to be something that I’ll likely never be.”
