Page 3 of Pucking Off-Sides With My Brother's Best Friend

Jax slaps me on the back again. “That’s what I was telling you. Just follow me. I know what the fuck I’m doing.”

“Are you sure about that? Don’t you remember Kansas?”

“We promised we weren’t going to talk about that.”

I cock my head at him and smirk. “Yousaid you weren’t going to talk about Kansas. I didn’t say anything aboutme.”

Before Jax can respond, the door beside us opens, and I find myself enveloped in the sweetest plume of hot, fragrant air. I’m about to ask what girl he has waiting for him until I see a familiar face in the doorway.

A dusky, red towel hides curves that can barely be contained and looks maddening against milky white skin that makes my fingers twitch with the need to touch.

“I didn’t think you would be back so soon.” That soft voice has no business being as enticing as it is, and when I can finally look back up at her face, I nearly bite my tongue in half at her blush-stained pillow-soft cheeks.

“Aurora.”

“What the hell?” The sharp bark of her voice kicks my ass into gear, and I turn around, giving her privacy. I try not to listen in as she shrieks at Jax. It would be funny if not for the memory of one lone bead of water that had trailed its way down her neck. Living here just got a bit more interesting in all the wrong ways.

Chapter two

Aurora

You ever feel likelife’s playing a cosmic joke, and you’re the punchline? Yeah, welcome to my world. Here I am, twenty-four, suddenly newly single, jobless, and unpacking boxes in one of my big brother’s spare rooms. If you’d ever told me my relationship with that asshole would’ve landed me here, I’d have laughed in your face.

My whole script was rewritten without warning. One minute, you’re the lead in a rom-com where you’re lying to yourself about the happy ending, and the next, you’re stuck in some weird indie film where nothing makes sense. And as for me? I’m just trying to figure out my lines in this new role I never auditioned for.

It’s not that I’m ungrateful. Jax is a lifesaver, really. But there’s something surreal about watching your carefully constructed future crumble, only to find yourself back where you started. It’s like I’ve been on this long, winding road, thinking I knew the destination, only to end up right back at the beginning. Except now the landscape’s changed, and I’m not sure I even recognize myself anymore.

I mean, not even a year ago today, I was planning seating charts and cake tastings. Now, I’m planning how to avoid awkward run-ins in the hallway. But it’s worlds better than the alternative, living with my parents. No, honestly, I adore them. They’re the best cheerleaders a girl could ask for. But right now, their pom-poms are dangerously close to smothering me.

It’s like they think I’ll melt into a puddle of bad decisions if they blink for too long. I mean, Mom’s still convinced I need nightly reminders to eat my vegetables.

I get it, I do. Their baby girl’s picture-perfect future just got flipped upside down. But hey, at my age, I’ve already mastered the art of not shrinking my laundry, and I can whip up a mean meal.

That’s adulting 101, right?

Of course, some days I feel like I’m doing it all wrong, ‘How to Mess Up Your Life in Ten Easy Steps’. But it’s mine, and we all know life can be messy.

I just wish they could see that I’m not some delicate flower wilting in the sun. I want them to see me as I see myself-resilient, bright, more like... a dandelion. You know, those stubborn little weeds that pop up everywhere and you can even make wishes on them? That’s me - Aurora the Human Dandelion. That’s what I’d rather be known as.

As embarrassing as all ofthisis, it’s not half as embarrassing as standing in front of Aiden Weller in nothing but a towel, trying to contain my size 12 curves while my tendrils of wet hair create small puddles on the floor. My embarrassment is only made worse by Jax trying to hold an entire conversation while I do my best to blend in with the fake wood paneling under my feet.

“So that’s why he’s moving in.”

I frown when my brain catches up with his words.

“That’s whywhois moving in?”

Jax cocks his head to the side, looking like the golden retriever we had as kids. “Aiden.”

It takes me a moment to comprehend just what he’s saying.

“Wait…what?”

I can’t stop the shrillness of my voice as I glance over at Aiden’s back. He turns around, thankfully giving me time to readjust my towel and pull it tighter around me, but he’s still here, and that’s a problem. “What are you talking about? I thought he was on that other team…the Suncatchers or something.”

Now I’m wondering if I can do my job from the moon. I mean, social media management for a hockey team from the moon? That’s one way to get engagement, right? I could probably find a way to make it work.

Like this post if you can see us from space!

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