Page 64 of The Draft

Adam drew in a sharp breath and winced like I wounded him. “I’m sorry. That sucks. I know you really liked him.”

Yeah, I did. “It’s life. Should have known hockey boys weren’t for me, I guess.”

“Probably didn’t help that he was your brother’s best friend, either.”

“Nope,” I popped out, glaring at him with annoyance. “I guess you were right.”

“I won’t gloat,” he said with such a straight face that I believed him. “Look, I’ve got to meet Aiden for lunch, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving you out here when it’s so cold. Do you want to come?”

Shaking my head, I pushed the nachos away from me and raised my hands. “Oh no, I couldn’t impose.” I also couldn’t just hop from one athletic team to another, could I?

“You wouldn’t be.” He tipped his chin toward my nachos. “We’re going to Covey’s Cantina. The Mexican food there is a lot better than what you’re eating now. Is that even considered real cheese?”

My nostrils flared as I glared down at my lunch and thought about it. “Probably not.”

“Then come on. It looks like you need some cheering up.”

He offered me his arm, and I stared at it for a few seconds. Hang out with a couple of guys talking football, or hang out here, wallowing in my own misery? Without another thought, I threaded my hand through his arm and let him help me up.

“Let’s go,” I said when I was fully standing. He nodded, leading me to the bar.

If anything, hanging out with them would be a good distraction from all the other stuff going on in my life. Maybe I’d even be able to stop thinking about Dash for a few minutes.

By the time we met Aiden and had food at Covey’s Cantina, I could admit that I was having fun. So much so that I had to wipe the tears from my eyes because I was laughing so hard. Turned out, football guys were pretty fun when you gave them a chance. That was when Adam wasn’t ragging on Aiden for having loud, hot tub sex, of course.

I was having fun, and for the first time in a long time, I hadn’t thought about Dash. Wait, did thinking about not thinking about Dash count as thinking about him? Because if it did, then I was lying to myself because I’d done that a lot. But at least I wasn’t in my room crying to Tiff, which was an improvement from last night. I was out; I was eating Mexican food, and I was laughing, which had to count for something.

“So, Madison. Are you joining us tonight?” Aiden asked, raising his brows mischievously. After hearing about all the pranks they’d been pulling on their next-door neighbors for the last hour, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what they were up to.

Adam leaned back and shunted Aiden on the shoulder. “No. She’s not.”

I might not have been sure if I wanted to go with them, but I didn’t want that choice taken away from me.

“Where are you guys going? I might want to come.” I sat up a little more confidently.

Aiden held his fisted hand over the table, and when I fist-bumped him, he said, “That’s my girl.”

“She’s not your girl,” Adam replied, flat-lipped and annoyed. “And when she finds out where we’re going, she’s not going to want to come.”

“Shecan speak for herself,” I replied with sass, because the more time I spent with them, the more at ease I felt. Sure, I was confused about Dash, but these guys made me feel like things were easy. Like I hadn’t just potentially screwed up my brother’s friendship for a quick lay. “So, where are you guys going?”

“To the Crushers game.”

My smile dropped, and all that bravado disappeared. “Oh.”

Aiden looked over at me with curiosity. “What’s wrong? Thought yourbrother was on the team.”

My brother and his best friend, who also secretly took my virginity. Not complicated at all.

“Doesn’t mean she wants to watch him play every single game.”

I couldn’t help but give Adam an amused smile because it was nice how he was trying to make me sound less pathetic than I felt, but this conversation highlighted a huge issue for me. I would eventually have to go back and watch my brother play.

“Does this have something to do with the disgruntled goalie?” Aiden asked.

“I, uh.” Shit. Was it that obvious? “How did you know?”

Aiden’s lips curved. “Pretty clear if you look close enough.”