Page 22

Chapter twenty-two

Holt

I’m getting settled into my seat on the plane on Saturday morning when Sebastian walks down the aisle. He looks rough, which is odd because he’s not the type to go out and drink or party. He might be a tough as nails defenseman on the ice, but I know he’s a homebody the same way I am.

“You almost missed the flight,” Wes tells him before doing a double take when he sees the state he’s in. “What happened?”

Sebastian blows out a breath, taking a seat in the empty row in front of me. “Went to a speed dating event last night.”

“Why’d you do that?” Hunter asks.

“A little birdie told me Sutton would be there. I was hoping to convince her to go out with me.”

I can’t help chuckling. It’s common knowledge that Sebastian has the biggest crush on Sutton and has been trying to get her to go out with him since he got traded to the team last season.

She always refuses. He’s even sent her flowers a few times, and occasionally brings her coffee, or her favorite donut.

I feel bad for the guy with how much he pines after her, all that unrequited love.

“How’d it go?” Wes asks.

“Bloody awful, mate.” Sebastian shakes his head. “Had to talk to all these other women just so I could speak to Sutton, and none of them were my type. Fawning all over me and my accent. The only one I actually enjoyed talking to was Rebecca. ”

“Becca was there?”

Shit. Should not have said that. There’s no missing the way Hunter’s eyes widen at my question, or the way Wes’s lips quirk up into a grin that he quickly hides.

“Yep,” Sebastian answers.

I bite back the growl that wants to break free. She went to a speed dating event? Did she get any guys’ numbers? Is she seeing someone now?

Why do I even care? It’s none of my business what Becca does. She made it clear she’s not interested in me. I’m not good enough for her anyway. I sigh. I will not butt into other people’s love lives like Wes does. Becca is a grown woman. She can date whoever she pleases.

Except I can’t ignore how much I hate the idea of another guy kissing her. Touching her the way I want to. Getting to do what I will never be able to. I run a hand down my face, groaning. I have to stop thinking about it. There’s nothing I can do. I sigh again.

“You okay?” Hunter asks, poking me in the shoulder.

“Yeah, why?”

He waves a hand at me. “Because you were groaning and sighing. Figured something might be wrong.”

I arch an eyebrow at him. “I’m fine.”

“You sure? Everything with Kat and Hazel . . . traveling again. Being away from your daughter. It’s okay to not be doing fine.”

“I’m fine, Cap,” I repeat, giving him what I hope is a convincing smile.

He studies me for a second. “If you say so.”

With that, he leans back in his seat and leaves me alone.

I rest my head against the window and close my eyes, partially to try to sleep, but mostly so the guys don’t talk to me.

I spend the entire flight thinking about Becca, and whether she’s going to go on a date with a random guy.

It takes everything in me not to ask Sebastian more questions about the speed dating event.

“Alright, guys. Twenty minutes left. Let’s shut this game down,” Coach yells during the second intermission of our game in Calgary against the Heat, the first in our weeklong road trip.

I grab my water bottle from next to me on the bench and take a swig. Then I change my socks, something I have to do every intermission, and pull my skates back on. Before I know it, we’re making our way back onto the ice.

The period is a blur of shots flying my way, penalties, and fights.

The Heat take quite a few shots on net, but I’m focused and block all of them easily.

With three minutes to go, they pull their goalie to try to tie the game, but between my goaltending and the guys on the blue line, they don’t stand a chance.

The game ends with us winning three to two, finally snapping our four-game losing streak. Thank fuck because we need all the wins and points we can get if we have any hope of making it to the playoffs.

The locker room is loud as everyone celebrates, but I don’t join in. I’m exhausted. The win took everything out of me tonight. Thankfully, Coach is putting our other goalie in the net tomorrow, so I can have the night off.

I take a quick shower and get dressed. While I wait for everyone else to finish getting ready so we can get on the bus to the airport, I pull out my phone and turn it back on. My fingers have a mind of their own, and I click on the Social app. An app I never go on.

But tonight, I’m desperate for information.

How can I find Becca’s account, if she even has one? I glance around the locker room.

Wes.

If anyone would know, it would be him. I quickly find his account, and click on who he’s following. Sure enough, there’s R. Jansen. It’s got to be her.

I navigate to her profile only to find out it’s set to private.

Guess that’s that, then.

I go to hit the Back button, except my finger slips, and I hit the Request to Follow button instead.

Shit .

I drop my phone onto the bench like it’s on fire. Sucking in a breath, I step back, staring at it like it’s going to explode.

What the fuck do I do?

I grab my phone and stare at the follow requested notification that shows up at the top of her profile. Do I cancel it? Will she still get the notification that I requested to follow her? Are we the type of friends who find each other on social media?

This is why they say curiosity killed the cat.

Shaking my head, I exit out of the app and lock my phone. I won’t think about it. Maybe she never goes on there, and won’t see my request.

Is it really so bad I followed her?

Wes does.

We’re friends.

But is it weird?

It’s weird, right?

Dropping my head into my hands, I close my eyes. I hear someone walk up to me, but I don’t look up. I can’t.

“Everything okay?” Hunter asks from my right.

“I don’t know,” I mumble. “I think I did something stupid.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Do I want to talk about it? I don’t know. Part of me wants to. But part of me doesn’t. I’m probably overreacting the way I always do.

“You’re overreacting,” Kat says, glancing at me through the mirror as she brushes her hair in the bathroom.

I lean against the doorframe, blowing out a breath. “It was my favorite shirt, Kat.” I hold up the button-down, the one with flamingos on it, so she can see the huge hole that wasn’t there when I put it in the laundry basket the other day.

She shrugs, putting her brush down and grabbing her face cream. “It was probably the washing machine.”

I shake my head. “It looks as though someone took scissors to it.” Like she took scissors to it. I know she hates it. She’s told me that multiple times. She thinks it’s childish of me to wear a shirt with flamingos on it .

She walks over and puts a hand on my arm. “Same thing happened to my favorite maroon blouse. You know the one with lace along the neck. I would show you, but I already trashed it.”

“Holt?” Hunter’s voice pulls me back to the present.

I run a hand down my face and meet his gaze.

“Just tired. It’s been a lot. I think it’s catching up to me.”

He tilts his head, studying me. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with what Sebastian told us on the plane, would it?”

I cross my arms. “Why would you ask that?”

He taps a finger to his temple. “Call it captain’s intuition.”

“For fuck’s sake. You sound like Wes.”

“Who sounds like me? And why are you sounding like me?” Wes asks, walking up to us.

Great, the peanut gallery is here.

“I was asking Holt why he was acting odd,” Hunter says.

I growl. “I’m a goalie, what do you expect?”

“I take that back. I was wondering why he’s acting as if someone stole his favorite helmet,” Hunter amends.

“I was not acting that way,” I protest.

“What’s going on Holt? Jealous Rebecca might be dating someone?” Wes plops down on the bench next to me, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Why the fuck would I be jealous?” I glare at him.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Wes lifts a shoulder in a half shrug. “Because you like her, but you’re too chickenshit to say anything.”

“We’re friends. That’s it. Besides, I swore off dating.” I shake my head. “Not that I want to date her,” I rush out.

“Right.” Hunter rolls his eyes. “If you say so.”

Wes claps me on the back. “Kitty Kat was a bitch. Don’t let what she did to you ruin the rest of your life.”

I nod, unsure of what to say to that.

Hunter leans closer, whispering, “Whatever she said to you isn’t true. I hope you know that. You haven’t told us what really went down, but whatever she said, it wasn’t true. It isn’t true.” He meets my eyes. “Don’t let her words stop you from living your life. Being happy. ”

“Thanks, Cap.”

Can he read my mind?

Is that what happens when you become team captain? You also gain mind reading capabilities. Because how else would he know?

The better question, is what the fuck did I do to have such great friends? Friends that have stuck around through all of my bullshit.

Whatever it was, I just hope I never lose them.