Page 8 of Just my Puck (Love & Laughter #1)
JASON
“I already know, you don’t need to go into the spiel. Wandering dick, not playing as the team with the best players in the league, need to reign in Carter’s temper…how’m I doing so far?”
Geoff gives me the stink-eye, but what can he say? I’ve already said it all. “You forgot that you’re an ass.”
I waggle my fourth finger at him, which irritates him.
“ Major ass.”
“Look,” I say, dropping my hand. “I’m aware that we are playing like a bunch of pussies right now. It’s getting to me too.”
“How’s the shoulder?” He changes the subject in that annoying as fuck way he has, which sets you up to take the fall. Talk about being a major ass.
“Fine.” I roll it and try not to wince. It took another bashing at the game two days ago, and even a soak in the hot tub did nothing to ease the discomfort. But like fuck am I mentioning this to him or anyone.
“Hmm. About the girl.”
“Lucy.”
His eyes light up, and he sits forward in his chair. “So there is something?”
“No, but do you want to tell me why you think there should be?”
“She seems like a nice girl.”
Giving him an incredulous stare, I shake my head. “You don’t even know her name. How can you possibly know that?”
“Come on, Jase. She works at the library. She’s got that nice girl appearance about her. Obviously, this was an accident, and she didn’t even try to take advantage of having her mouth inches from your cock like so many of them would’ve.”
Well, he has a point there, and that’s why I can’t stop thinking about her. She ran. She didn’t cop a feel or have some flirty comeback…she ran.
“Your reputation is getting in the way of the main event here, bud, I gotta tell ya. It’s becoming another pain in my ass.”
“I hear you, I do. But it’s not getting in the way of the game.”
“Not to you. The guys don’t care, but the sponsors, the league, the fans.” Now it’s his turn to start counting things off. “You need to shape up. They will use any excuse to speculate, and we don’t need the scrutiny. We need eyes away from us so that we can figure this shit out. Am I making sense?”
“I don’t get why it’s such a big deal.”
“The tabloids live for this stuff. When you and that bird-girl broke it off, and she told all, it was everywhere, and now everyone is looking for the next woman to grab a story out of.”
“Bird-girl,” I snort. “Swann, you mean.” He fucking had to bring up my worst nightmare. Fucking Swann and her big mouth.
“Whatever. If you appear to be settling down nicely, maybe they will leave the team alone, and your rep can go back to being badass on the ice. Period.”
“Or maybe they will chase Lucy down until she breaks.”
He sighs. “Is there any chance with this girl?”
Meeting his querying gaze, I lunge forward with my lie.
“Yeah, I’m going to ask her out.” He, nor anyone else, needs to know it won’t be real.
But if it gets everyone off my ass about my bad boy rep, which admittedly isn’t far wrong, then fine by me.
And if I end up in her pants as a result, even better.
Too bad, I have to go around Steele to do it. Who knew he had the hots for the librarian? I sure as shit didn’t, and neither did Carter.
“Good. Good,” Geoff says. “Make it happen. Settle down. Keep the sponsors happy, ‘kay?”
“Sure,” I mutter and rise.
“We need to impress tomorrow night, Jase. I don’t need to tell you this.” His serious tone chills me. If we lose tomorrow, we are done for.
Nodding, I head out, desperate to soak my shoulder again before the game tomorrow night. Practice today was brutal, and I think everyone is feeling the pressure now.
Seeing Steele slip out quietly, I clench my jaw. He’s going on his date with Lucy.
I need to play it cautiously. I can't just go up to her and ask her out of the blue to fake date me with a view to falling for me for real. I already know I’ve fallen.
She has bewitched me. So used to the total opposite behavior, her shyness and awkwardness is adorable, and I feel the primal need to protect her from everyone and everything.
Too bad that video got out into the world, but in a way, it was a good thing.
So I need to take note of Lucy's habits and her schedule. Every day, I need to know where she goes, at what time, and with whom. One assumes, being a librarian, that she is into books, so I need to know which ones and study them so we can have conversations about them. For her to even agree to see me after this clusterfuck, I have to make sure I get her attention. Make sure she knows I’m there but not doing any harm.
Once she is used to my presence, then I can draw her into some meaningful conversations, where I’ll learn about her, and I can ask her to be my fake girlfriend.
Groaning and throwing my head back, I know how that sounds. It’s not great, but diving straight in there will push her away. Especially seeing as she has agreed to go on a date with Steele. She doesn’t seem to be the type to date more than one guy at a time, so I’ve got my work cut out for me.
My thoughts wander to her and Steele, and I chew the inside of my lip. I have zero jealousy there, which is…odd. Not that I have a right to be, but I’d have thought if Steele went after someone I wanted to get with, I’d be furious about it.
The same goes for him.
Yet, he seems okay with the idea of me asking her to fake date me.
Maybe because he thinks she will turn me down flat.
Not that I could blame her if she did. I wouldn’t want to date me, real or otherwise.
Swann really did a number on me. Being with her for four years, investing all that time and effort into a relationship that I thought was it for me, only to be told to beat it and have my personal life laid bare in the tabloids a few months later, was sobering.
There was no way in hell I was going through that again.
All I wanted was casual relationships and as many as it took to get over the heartbreak and betrayal of the one person I thought I could trust.
Sighing and trying not to go back there to that dark place, I concoct a crazy plan to follow Steele and watch him with Lucy. See how they interact; see why she likes him.
Sliding into the Range Rover, I spot Steele’s Jeep rounding a corner, and I set off, tailing him like some sort of quasi-spy, which is so dumb, really.
After all, I have no experience in this sort of clandestine activity, and most likely, I won't make it very far before being spotted. But I’m curious, and now it’s all I can think about, so I hang back as we head out to City Beach, which piques my interest further.