Page 28

CHAPTER 28

RIVER

One of my teammates yells my name, then Nate’s, waking me from a sound sleep. I rise from the bed like a vampire from the grave, slow and without composure. My legs ache from back-to-back practices and late-night runs to clear my head. I need to rest for our next game, yet my teammates do their best to annoy me.

“Riv.” Nate knocks on the door and pushes it open. He stands in the entryway, mesh shorts slung low on his narrow hips, shirtless. “Come downstairs.”

Still semi-delirious and wondering if I’m dreaming, I stare at Nate’s bare chest and lick my lips. Ripped with muscle and toned in all the right places, he’s perfect.

“Hey!” Nate waves his hand. “Did you hear me?”

Nope, I was too busy gawking at you .

“Yeah, I’m coming.” I slide off the bed and pull a shirt over my head, yanking it down my stomach. “What’s the big fucking deal?”

“Who knows?” Nate shrugs. “Parker keeps calling our names. Probably a house meeting.”

My role as the team captain does not extend to the house. I let Parker handle the other nine players living under this roof. He’s good at organizing our schedules, dealing with the cleaning crew, and ensuring our refrigerator has food. Parker also collects rent, pays the utilities, and does a dozen other things we all appreciate.

I follow Nate downstairs, scrubbing a hand at my tired eyes.

Parker stands at the bottom of the stairs, hand on the railing, jaw clenched. His head tips toward the door where my two roommates block someone from entering. “Deal with her. Now!”

“Go home,” Waters says to the person on our front porch. “I won’t tell you again, woman.”

Shit, what now?

“Let me in,” Samantha yells. “Don’t act like I haven’t been here dozens of times. Just tell Nate and River I’m here.”

I glance at Nate. “I thought you talked to her.”

“I did,” he fires back and heads toward the door. He yanks it open and pushes past Waters and Monroe. “Was I not clear in my texts, or do you need me to spell it out for you in another language, Samantha ?”

He says her name with so much disdain in his tone it shocks me. Nate has always been kind to Samantha. I think he liked her. But if that were the case, then why did he stop fucking her when I lost interest?

He hasn’t been with anyone since. Well, he’s also not allowed to have sex. So, there’s that.

“Nate, will you tell your teammates to let me in?”

He leans against the front of the house, shaking his head. “How many times do I have to tell you this is over? Should I make you a sign and hold it over my head?”

I elbow him. “You don’t have to be a dick.”

Nate shrugs. “What? She’s not getting the message, and she’s bringing this bullshit to our doorstep.”

Parker listens from the entryway, propping the door open with his hip. He looks annoyed while my two other teammates are amused.

Jimmy Waters, a beast of a man, sits on the porch swing beside Kevin Monroe. The goalie and defenseman lean back on the cushion, their weight nearly tipping the swing off balance.

They are too damn big for that thing.

I told Parker to remove it before someone lands in the hospital. His solution was to reinforce the bolts on the porch roof, which, by the looks of it, did not work.

Samantha eyes me up, a plea on her lips and desperation in her eyes. “Tell him, River.” She puts her hand on my chest, and I step out of her grasp. Her gaze drops along with her shoulders, deflated by my response. “You still want me, don’t you?”

“No,” I admit. “I moved on, Sam. You should, too.”

“But…” She presses her lips together, tears welling in her bottom lids. “What did I do wrong?”

You don’t have a dick.

I wish I could tell her the truth. Someday, she will read about me online and realize nothing she did could have prevented the pain she’s feeling. And I hope then, it will bring her some comfort.

“It’s not personal.”

“Oh, it’s not you, it’s me?” Samantha rolls her eyes. “Wow! You two have some sick kinks. Things I have kept a secret because I like you.” She studies us, then settles on me. “I could tell everyone about you .”

I nervously laugh at her comment. “What about me?”

She tips her head back and cackles like a witch, loud and terrifying. “They don’t know, do they?”

My blood runs cold at her words.

“Know what?” Waters asks, leaning forward, tipping the swing.

Samantha’s plump lips curve into a wicked grin. “You are going to regret this.”

She storms down the steps, blonde hair flapping behind her.

Waters hops up from the swing. It rocks to the side, knocking Monroe to the ground. The defenseman curses. The giant laughs.

Waters stops in front of me and smirks. “This house has thin walls. We know what she was going to say.”

Monroe nods.