Page 17 of Reckless Storm (San Francisco End Game #3)

Reed

H ayley texts while I’m brushing my teeth the next morning, and I know before reading it that it’s a thank you text.

Despite her pussy-blocking arguments—and there were many—when she was ready to leave last night, she found me.

And just like I said I would, I took her home, to her apartment, walking her to her door. Exactly like I would have done if it had been Bria.

In fact, it’s safe to say, my friendship with Hayley has become just as important as the friendship I share with Bria. And God knows we speak more often. Bria and I have barely spoken since Thanksgiving, and that was almost two weeks ago.

Unlocking my phone as I finish in the bathroom, I chuckle when I read Hayley’s text.

Hayley: Thanks for last night. Even though my drought continues

I wasn’t wrong, but I forgot to predict the sass.

Reed: You should thank me for that too. You were too good for those guys

Hayley: Even your teammates?

Reed: Especially them. You’re welcome

Hayley: If you say so. Are you free Friday night? You owe me for ditching me tomorrow

I chuckle as I throw my towel into my bag and grab my hat and keys.

I don’t have to think about my week to know that I’m free.

I’d usually see Bria Friday or Saturday but after our most recent argument—one that included her accusing me of neglect when she’s the one that’s been busy—we haven’t made plans.

Despite the fact that I’ve tried calling her.

Truth is, I’m not neglecting her. I just happen to have been busy on the few instances she made time for me.

Reed: I can spare an hour or two

Hayley: Good. I’ll come to you. Movie night

Reed: Only if I choose

I pocket my phone as I lock my door, but I only make it down the front two steps before it rings, making me smile.

“Okay, fine,” I whine as I answer. “You can choose the movie.” I laugh until Bria sucks in a breath. Yes, I know the way her breathing sounds. I’m that obsessed .

“I’m going to guess you thought I was someone else.” Her hurt whisper breaks me.

“I did.” I cringe as my fists clench. “Sorry. How are you?”

“Oh…ah…I’m good. Great. But I missed you. I know that’s on me but—”

“It’s not, I—”

“You don’t have to defend me, Reed,” she cuts me off, her voice significantly lighter. “I was a bitch because I was jealous.”

“Jealous?” The fuck?

“Yes. Is that so crazy?”

“Bria, you—”

“I don’t mean football by the way. In case you were wondering.”

Dammit… I’d just convinced myself that the less time we spent together, the easier it was to move on.

I’d convinced myself that I was moving on.

But all it takes is a little hint of something more and I’m pulled back in again.

I’m kidding myself if I think I can say I’m done and actually be done.

I’ve felt this way for years. It’s not something I can turn off.

Despite all that, I’ve made the decision to place Bria firmly in the friendship box and I don’t want to move her. I can’t.

“Bria, you know I don’t—”

“Have you seen her ?”

Fuck . This is exactly what we argued about, but she’s never mentioned jealousy before. A pit forms in my stomach even though I shouldn’t be feeling guilty. I’m allowed to have friends. “Bria. Come on. This isn't you. I have plenty of friends.”

“But this is different. It’s like you’ve replaced me.”

“Replaced you? Are you— Actually, no, I’m not having this conversation again. There is room in my life for more than one close friendship.”

“So you’re just friends.”

“Yes!” How many times…

“Okay.” She cuts into my thoughts, her voice breathy. “Okay,” she repeats and I sigh.

“Would it matter if we were more ?” As I ask the question a small spark ignites inside me, hoping she’ll say yes. Praying that it bothers her. But before she answers, I internally curse myself. This is my problem. I tell myself I’m moving on and then I think about shit like this.

Move the fuck on, Reed.

“It wouldn’t matter,” Bria responds and I ignore the disappointment swirling inside me. “Although, I’d probably cut you more slack. I prepared myself long ago for you to date, but I never imagined being replaced as your best friend.”

And with that she dumps a bucket of water on any spark I might have now or in the future, stopping it from relighting.

God, I’m a fucking idiot. I should have moved on years ago.

Bria giggles as though her own thoughts are crazy and then easily moves the conversation toward general chitchat, determined for us to get back to the way we were. Her words, not mine.

But what the hell is that? Is that me pining over her while she lives her life in blissful ignorance? Or is that me pining over her and her knowing, secretly loving the fact that I’m always there when she needs me?

Either way, I can’t go back. Not this time.

When she’s finished telling me about her plans for the weekend with no mention of the fact that it’s a huge game for us, I hang up in a slump.

What am I doing? And more to the point…how the hell do I change it?

T he day of Luke’s early Christmas drinks arrives and I find myself more pumped than I thought I’d be.

Is he going to give me shit about my balls? Yes. But I don’t really care. It’s almost Christmas, we’re on track to make the playoffs again—and win—and I’m seeing my parents in two weeks. Away from my hometown and away from my brother.

So what if my love life sucks. The rest is good. And that’s nothing new.

When four o’clock arrives, I knock on Luke’s door and he opens it with a smirk, motioning me inside. “Good decision, Reed. I’m glad you came.”

“Did you ever think that I wouldn’t?”

“Not even for a second.”

I laugh as we enter the living room, finding Dylan and Thomas already waiting, along with a poker table and three beers set out on coasters.

“I saved you a seat, Coombs,” Thomas jokes, gesturing toward the empty seat with a beer. “And we nominated you as the dealer.”

I smile wide as I sink down into my chair. Poker I can do, even if I suck. “Sounds good to me. What are we playing for?”

Mischief alights in Luke’s expression and I regret my question even before he responds.

“Secrets.” He points to me, bouncing his eyebrow while I flip him off.

There may be no real reason for me to keep my friendship with Hayley to myself, but if I know Luke, he’ll never believe that it’s not more than friends.

And because he won’t accept me simply saying no to the secrets idea, I opt for a better one. “Okay, I’ve got a secret. I heard that when Luke was a rookie, he—”

Luke reaches across the table and covers my mouth with his hand, his eyes wide with horror. “Fuck. Okay, man. No secrets.”

“You don’t even know what it was.”

“It doesn’t matter. I did a lot of stupid shit as a rookie and I’m not willing to risk it.”

I actually had nothing in mind, but I took a chance and it paid off.

“My guess is I already know.” Thomas’s eyes crease as he laughs.

“Same.” Dylan nods beside him. “But even if I didn’t, you’ve done so many things in your life, Luke, I don’t think anything would surprise me.”

“Thanks, friends .” He rolls his eyes.

“So we’re playing for cash then?” I ask, biting back a grin.

“Works for me.”

“I’m in.”

“Let’s go.”

Luke takes a large gulp of his beer as I shuffle the deck, and I’m about to deal the cards when Thomas casually cuts in.

“I got Lainey a puppy.”

“Wow.”

Luke spits out his drink while Dylan and I crack up laughing. “You what?” Luke asks, astonishment in his gaze.

“Man, that was satisfying.” Thomas sinks back in his chair, his amused smirk lighting up his features. “Lainey told me to find the perfect moment to mention it to you and that was it.”

“What have I missed?” I ask, curious about Luke’s reaction.

“Lainey’s been dognapping Shadow”—his black Labrador—“because she wants a dog of her own. Her finally getting one is a big deal.”

“Dognapping?”

“Yeah, she takes Shadow for walks when I’m out and I’m forever coming home to find her missing.”

“So she’s helping you when you’re busy?”

“What? No.” His brows furrow as he shoots me a glare, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was silently calling me a traitor. “She’s dognapping,” he continues. “Do you always find the good in everything?”

“Not everything.” My mind drifts back to Sunday night and a pit forms in my stomach.

Hayley said she’s fine, but when our rookie, my unofficial mentee, Landon, saw me talking to her later that night, he asked if she was okay and filled me in on what had happened.

There is no way to spin that situation. The asshole followed her into a goddamn bathroom, and he deserves whatever he gets.

I wish I’d been the one to give it to him.

Luke’s interest piques. “Who do you need us to hurt, Reed?”

“No one. It’s not about me.”

“Of course it’s not.” Luke huffs out an incredulous laugh. “It’s never about you. You’re always worried about others.”

My back stiffens as I sit up, staring him down. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” I get defensive.

“It’s not. But at some point you need to take care of yourself.”

“I’m fine.”

“Oh, yeah?” He folds his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair smugly. “How’s Bria?”

“ Luke ,” Thomas warns, while Dylan sits taller, ready to step in.

“We’re not talking about Bria.”

“Why not?”

“Because this has nothing to do with her.”

“All I asked was how she is.”

“She’s fine. Now are we playing poker or not?” I toss Luke his cards, cursing when one of them lands face up. Grabbing another, I slam it down on the table in front of him.

“We’re playing.” He eyes me curiously. “I’m ready to kick your ass.”

“Try it.”

“Oooh,” Thomas cuts in. “Them's fighting words, but unlucky for you, I’m going to cream you both.”

We play for the next hour, with Dylan the one kicking all our asses, ending the game with a lot more cash than he started with.

“Thanks for the payday, guys. I need this now that I’ve retired. And on that note, I’m out of here.”

“What?” Luke jumps up, his gaze flashing to his watch. “It’s still early. You’re not giving us a chance to win it back?”

“Hell, no.” Dylan chuckles to himself when Luke jokingly rolls his eyes.

“I’m done too, boys.” Thomas gets up and pats both Luke and me on the head. “I’ve got a wife to get home to.”

“Right. It all makes sense now. I’m guessing they just got home from the girls' night.”

“You know it.”

With Thomas and Dylan leaving, I collect my sunglasses from the table and move to follow them, only stopping when Luke calls out. “Where do you think you’re going?” He flashes me an amused expression when I turn. “You don’t have a wife.”

“Doesn’t mean I want to stay.” I shrug and the guys laugh.

“One more drink?”

I eye him curiously, trying to read through his facade, wondering if I’m missing something. Does he want to talk? Or is he not ready to call it a night?

Noting my hesitation, he bounces his eyebrows and grins.

“Okay, fine. One drink.”

“Done. Catch ya later, pussies.” He waves to the guys, and Thomas rolls his eyes. Not that he notices, as he’s already turned my way. “Should we head out back?”

“Sure. As long as there’s beer. One drink, remember.”

“Of course.”

“ A nd then she tells me she’s all butt-hurt because I’m replacing her as my best friend. She wouldn’t give a shit if I had a girlfriend , but a friend… that’s taking things too far.”

Luke curses, shaking his head in sympathetic disgust. “Women. They don’t know what they want. Except Amelia. She’s a godsend.”

“You know she can’t hear us, right?”

“Wouldn’t change my view.” He smiles with heart eyes.

“Good to know. I like her.”

“Amelia?”

“Yeah, she’s a good one. And she’s good for you. You were a dick and now you’re a little less dickish.”

“Thanks, man.” He pats his heart and grins humbly. “I appreciate that. Another?” He holds up his empty glass and I nod enthusiastically.

I gave up looking at the time when we moved on to whiskey, but I’m pretty certain I’m going to regret this tomorrow. Am I going to do anything about it? No.

“So…” Luke slams down my now full glass in front of me and laughs when it splashes onto the counter.

“Jesus, Luke. Gentle.”

“My bad.” He fakes a wince. “But look, it’s all good.”

“Good.” I knock back half the liquid before turning to face him, trying to remember what we were talking about.

“I can’t—”

“I think you need to fuck Bria,” Luke deadpans and I choke on thin air. Thank God he waited until I finished my drink.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because… Imagine you discover you don’t actually like her.”

What ? “I’m not a fucking idiot. I know what I feel.”

“Do you? Really? To me it looks like you’re settling for comfort because you're too scared to get your dainty heart broken.”

My brows furrow and I stare at him for a moment, trying to process what he means. “Did you call me dainty, asshole? I have more muscle in my big toe than—”

“I didn’t call you dainty. Just your heart.”

“Same thing.”

“Nope. It’s not. This is why I wanted you to stay, man. You need to talk it out.” He’s slurring slightly but I’m hooked on his every word. “You helped me, I’m helping you. When was the last time you did something without thinking of the consequences?”

“I think I’m doing that now.” I frown, trying to work out if that’s what he meant.

“Other than now.”

“ Fuck . I don’t know.”

“Exactly.”

“What do you expect from me, Luke? My love life sucks. But fuck if I know how to fix it. I don’t want to lose Bria, but at the same time, I’m losing her anyway because I can’t be her friend anymore.”

“Sheesh.” Luke winces before getting up and walking over, dropping onto the couch beside me. “That’s rough.” He pats my back and we both frown.

“It is.”

“So what do we do?”

“I wish I knew. But I’ll tell you one thing.”

“Yeah?”

“This whiskey tastes gooood .”

“Of course it does.” Luke scoffs as though I offended him. “It’s top shelf. Nothing but the best for you, my friend.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

“And I appreciate you . So much so that I’m going to fix things for you.” He jumps up and I stare at him, confused.

“Fix what?”

“You. Your love life. It’s happening.”

“Yes.” I jump up with him but my head spins and I fall back down. “Fuck, I think I’ve hit my limit.”

Luke laughs obnoxiously as he rocks back and forth. Or am I rocking? “Reed, you hit your limit a long time ago. But it’s all good. Your life is about to change.”