“Why?You used to love it once upon a time.”
“Well, I don’t love it now.So, stop.”
“Oh come on, baby girl.”
I couldn’t help myself when she turned her annoyed eyes my way.
“You know, cute titles always help,” I said, mimicking her voice from earlier.
“Just drive.”
“I plan on it, and don’t worry, I won’t forget about your cup of sugar.”
When we arrivedat the arena, Emma got out of my truck without a word and headed inside.I’d have thought she’d have waited for me, especially since she wanted to shadow me, but she’d taken off and was nowhere to be found.She could have been in the women’s washroom for all I knew because I didn’t really look for her either.Instead, I kept my head down and started making my way to the locker room.
I pushed the door open and came face-to-face with my teammates.The room was quiet, and they all sat there looking at me, questions in their eyes.
“What the hell are you all so quiet about?”I questioned, dropping my bag on the bench in front of my locker.
“What the hell is this?”Knox said, standing up, shoving his phone into my face.
I looked down at his screen, seeing the article she’d told me would go out later today had been published an hour ago.
“A phone,” I bit back, knowing full well he was talking about the article on his screen.
“Cut the shit.Who’s the chick?”
I looked down at the phone, at a photograph of Emma and I together just outside the back of the arena.
“You’ve mentioned no one to us.If you were having relationship troubles, you should have told us,” Levi said.
That was because there was no one to mention, because this was all fake as fuck, and if there was one thing I hated, it was lying to my teammates.While some would say I’d led them to believe that my bedroom was like a revolving door, that was what they’d assumed, so I just continued to allow them to think that.The last thing I wanted was for Lorelai, Aurora, or the other girls to set me up with someone or for my teammates to think I couldn’t get a girl.
“I like my privacy.”I shrugged.
“Yeah, but not to mention to us you’ve been seeing someone seriously for over six years.We’re like your brothers, man.You know everything about us.”
I just about choked, and grabbed Knox’s phone, quickly scanning the article again.When I’d read it the first time, I didn’t recall seeing anything about a timeline, but then I’d only skimmed it, but there it was in black and white—six years together.
“I have little to say.I guess, like you guys, I would rather not bring my private life to center stage.Besides, we’d been having issues for a while, long before I got traded, and I really thought we were over, so I figured there was no point in mentioning anything.You know, the whole trade thing and moving to another city, then add in the long-distance thing into an already struggling relationship.It’s bound to bring stress into a relationship and to end one quickly,” I added, flashing back to when we were younger, seeing her tears when I’d announced I was moving to Boston.
“Well, we wish you had told us, man.Did you mention anything to Lorelai that night?Is that why you wanted her to take you home that night instead of me?She said you were adamant about her taking you.Was it because you wanted a woman to talk to?”
Thank you, Knox.There was my out.I grabbed my skates and laid them on the floor, then looked at the boys.“I’m ashamed to admit it, but yeah, that was exactly it.Only I didn’t talk with her.That stupid paparazzi appeared out of nowhere.”
“Yeah, but it said in the article that they wanted to know more about your breakup.Lorelai didn’t mention that to me?”Knox added.
I thought for a moment.
“Well, that is because she didn’t hear them.She was already at the door unlocking it when they approached me.I told them to take off, but they followed me to the door where they then accused us of having an affair.I wanted to protect her from the shit we go through, and I guess I just lost my shit.”I shrugged.
“You should have told her,” Knox said.
“I should have and would have once we were inside.I really wanted her advice,” I added.
I did not know where the hell I was coming up with this shit, but it needed to stop.The more I spewed, the deeper into this mess I got, and I didn’t even want to be in it to start with.I’d never be able to keep up with this story if I kept going.
“The girls want to know if she is here,” Dylan said, sitting down after filling his water bottle.
