Page 95 of Heartbreak Hockey

His terse lips soften, and I know it’s not gonna last long, but I predict a honeymoon period where I can have pretty much whatever I want. He kisses my forehead. “I’ll leave it unlocked for you, trouble.”

* * *

Filled with nerves and liquid courage, I find myself with my ear to the phone, listening to the ring. Yeah, me, making a phone call. I know. Weird. But fucking Dash dared me. It wasn’t so much of a dare as it was him drunkenly telling me that I have a responsibility to tell Rhett as soon as possible.

Apparently, Rhett hasn’t been okay.

I think it’s dumb to break up with someone for the third time, but whatever.

I should have checked the time. Rhett’s most likely in bed. Asleep. Guess it’s poor form to leave a “we’re not getting back together” voice message?

The cool air whips against my face as I lean on the frigid metal railing of our balcony. Dash is here for moral support as he should be. This was his bright idea. The party’s still raging on behind us, something MGK plays in the background, and I might never be able to listen to this song again if the conversation actually happens.

“Hello?” Rhett’s husky voice says. It’s hazy with sleep.

Shit. He picked up.

“Uh, sorry. I shouldn’t have called. I’ll call you back tomorrow.”

“Wait, Jack. No, don’t go. Please.”

Okay, Dash was right. He needs to know, and he needs to know now. That’s a lot of hope I hear in his voice. This is gonna suck, but here goes. “I don’t want you coming for me at the end of the season. We’re just over.”

“We’re not over, Jack. We’re never over.” He’s a lot more awake now. “Dammit. This is because of Mercy, isn’t it?”

“Well, so what if it is? You had your chance.” I’m trying to be mad, but it’s hard to do when I’m choking up.

“Sweetheart, please don’t cry. We can work this out. What brought this on?” he says as if I’ve suddenly come down with a cold.

“Us breaking up brought this on. I shouldn’t have to do this, but Dash said I should. I have a hard time saying no to you and that’s not good. It hurts us both.”

“It’s the middle of the night. It sounds like you’ve been drinking.”

Yeah, my timing sucks, but I didn’t think this through. “I’m sorry about that. I should have waited till morning to tell you that I’m officially dating Mercy now. Let’s finally move on, eh?”

“Jack.”

“Please. I need us to be done, Rhett.”

The other end of the phone goes dead quiet. Has he fallen back to sleep? Did he hang up? “O-Okay, Jack. I’ve got to go.” His voice sounds like he’s underwater.

“I’m sorr—”

The call ends. I feel like shit. I stare at my phone.

Dash puts an arm around me. “You’ll be fine, Jack.”

I hated that. I don’t want him sad. At the same time, I can’t deny the relief. “I can move on,” I say to Dash.

He nods. “We’ve been sayin’, Leslie. You know I would have supported you if you got back with Rhett, but only if you were happy. Now c’mon, back to the party. We have some tequila shots to do before I’m letting you go back to your new beau.”

“Yeah. I’ll be inside in a minute. Give me a sec, eh?”

He studies me. “Yeah, okay. Don’t be too long though.”

Gazing at the expansive night fills me with the tingling sensation of newness. You can see the stars here because Kelowna isn’t as polluted with artificial lights as Vancouver is. They wink and blink at me with secrets of their own.

I ask them to keep one for me and then I head inside.