Page 83 of Rule Breaker

“But I have to tell you, the two of you being involved and on the same team is risky.”

“Not anymore.”

Dane stared at me. “What do you mean? What did you do?”

“What I should’ve done weeks ago. Put a stop to it,” I hissed. “Like you said, it’s risky. And neither of us needs that right now.”

Dane’s expression went from concerned to angry. “Where is he?”

“Still at the library.”

“If you’ve hurt him, I?—”

“No one’s hurt, Dane. There are no feelings involved, okay? It was sex. And it’s done. Now we’re back to being…nothing.”

Those words tasted vile, but it was necessary. I should’ve cut this thing off before it started. Letting my dick rule my brain was the biggest mistake.

Then I glanced down at my wrist. At that damn bracelet Kayden made. The one I’d yet to take off.Salty. Angry bee… The ridiculous words reverberated in my head, and they wouldn’t leave.I wanted to rip the bracelet off and throw it in the garbage. Never look at it again. But when I touched it, I couldn’t.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

“You’ve been a grumpy prick since you got here, but that was fine,” Dane snapped. “I didn’t care. As long as you played hard and gave your all on the ice, that’s all that mattered to me. But I know Kayden. He doesn’t take friendship lightly. And you know what? You’re all he’s talked about for months, so don’t tell me there are no feelings involved. Kayden sees something in you. What, I have no fucking idea.”

Dane stormed off in the direction of the library, and I stood there with nothing left to say.

What did Kayden see in me? I didn’t have a clue either.

CHAPTER 30

KAYDEN

CHRISTMAS

“Kaybear, is everything okay? You’ve been so quiet ever since Dane and Jackson left.”

I’d invited my friends back home, and it had been a welcome distraction. After finals, Dane and Jackson spent two days with my family, then headed back to Arkansas to see theirs. And being alone again had me thinking about Maddox. Where was he? What was he doing? Was he really okay?

I stared at my plate, full of delicious food that I had no desire to eat, and ignored my mother's question. I’m surprised she noticed at all, given that our family table was chaos and noisy as fuck. Yup, I wasn’t the only chatterbox in the family.

And I didn’t even know where to begin. Should I say anything? If I told her I was hung up on someone at school, more questions would follow. Like, who was the girl? That would be the assumption. Then they’d needallthe details. Was I really ready to come out and tell my family that I’m bi? Part of me said,Fuck yes. Because I wanted Maddox. More than wanted. Andhis gender was the least of it. But given that he’d walked out of the library and I hadn’t seen or texted him since, maybe it was pointless. Why bother upsetting my family over a fling that was done before it even began?

“I’m tired. Between hockey and studies, I’m worn out. I worked so hard to get through finals.”

I was worried sick I was going to fail and get kicked out of school.

“Did your tutor help?”

“They did.”

“You had more than one?”

Oops. “Yeah. Another student in my elective helped me out.”

“That’s good. But I hope you’ve also made time to have fun. Any cute girls catch your eye?”

I rolled mine. Oh man, if only she knew.

“There was someone. But they’re not interested in dating me.”