Page 62 of Offside Attraction

Of course he does.

Then he looks away.

“Boyfriends?” Tripp asks suddenly.

“What?” I turn to him, genuinely caught off guard. “Why would you even say that?”

He laughs. “What? I don’t judge. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I know,” I say. “But no. Hayes and I were never involved. And he’s straight.”

Tripp hums softly, eyebrows lifting. “Huh. You aren’t?”

I blink.

The question lands gently—but it still catches me off guard. I’m not ashamed of being bisexual. Never have been. I just didn’t expect Tripp to ask so directly.

I bite my lip, studying him for a second.

Tripp chuckles, grinning at me. “Well, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel comfortable. I’m just curious. It’s not like youlookgay or anything, but I kind of assumed you and Hayes might have something going on. I see the way you two look at each other. It can’t just be a petty feud. Something happened between you two.”

I scoff. “Nothing happened. We just… have a history. I’ve known the asshole since I was ten. We went to middle school together, played on the same hockey team. He was a jerk—and the fact that he comes from a rich, powerful family doesn’t go unnoticed.”

“Yeah?” Tripp raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you two played together.”

“Yeah, we did.”

“I don’t know him all that well, but he’s kind of a big deal around here. Like you already know, he’s the star hockey player for the Crestview Kings. The best they’ve had. The reason they’ve won state championships several times.”

I don’t need to be told Hayes is a god on the ice. Anyone who’s ever seen him play knows he was born for it. He’s that good. I can’t even compete with him—and I’m good.

“His parents are the biggest donors at Crestview Prep,” Tripp continues. “They’re literally one of the wealthiest families in the state, and I know you already know that since you’ve known him your whole life. But I’ve never seen him treat anyone as badly as he treats you.”

Yeah. He hates me.

Hayes made it his mission to torment only me in middle school—for no real reason. And the thing is, he wasn’t even a bully. Growing up, I kept asking myself what I did wrong. Why couldn’t he just leave me alone? Why did he hate me so much? Eventually, I convinced myself it was because he’s rich—because he can do whatever he wants to anyone, and no one can touch him.

“So… he bullied you in middle school?” Tripp asks carefully.

I hesitate, jaw tightening as I clench and unclench my fist. Memories of middle school rush back, and the anger I’ve been holding onto all day spikes.

“Fuck,” Tripp sighs when I don’t answer, clearly reading my reaction. “It was that bad, huh?”

I scoff, forcing a smile even though my chest feels tight, even though I want to punch something just to get the feeling out of my body.

Hayes made my life hell. He made me feel small, invisible, like I didn’t belong anywhere—not on the team, not in school, not even in my own skin. And I don’t know how I’m supposed to forgive that. I don’t even know if Iwantto.

And now—now that I’m back in this town—it’s worse.

I wake up angry every day. Angry at him. Angry at myself.

Because how fucked up is it that after everything he did, after all the years of damage and resentment, he’s still the one person who gets under my skin like this?

He’s supposed to be off-limits.

I shouldn’t be thinking about him at all—about the way he looks at me, the way his voice drops when we’re alone, the way the air feels heavier when he’s too close. I shouldn’t be imagining things I don’t want to want. Things that make my stomach twist and my pulse spike and leave me hating myself afterward.

I hate that my mind betrays me like this.