Page 13 of Pucking Off-Sides With My Brother's Best Friend

The guy, Rogers, moves to stand beside me. “No problem. I’ll just post up beside this cutie.” He looks down at me, and I have to fight hard against the urge to shift away. “How’s it hanging? I’ve seen you at our rink a few times. What’s your name again?”

He holds out a hand, and despite my best judgment, I do the same, shaking his hand. “Aurora. I’m the team’s social media manager. Remember?”

“Oh, right,” he replies in a way that lets me know he does not, in fact, remember. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about getting some good shots of me out there. Maybe we could—“

“Maybe I could string you up by your balls,” Jax jumps in. He moves to stand. “We’ve already talked once about this. Do we need to have a private conversation?”

Rogers steps away with his hands in the air. “Nope. I forgot she was the little sister. No harm, no foul.” When he’s moved further away, I turn to Jax with a scowl.

“You didn’t have to do that. I can fight my own battles, you know.”

Jax shrugs. “It’s not about you not fighting battles. Family is off-limits. He knows that.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be off limits,” I insist. I don’t understand why I’m fighting against this so much. I don’t want anything to do with that guy, but I still don’t need to be saved. “I am an adult, Jax.”

“So, you’re saying you want to be involved with that asshole,” Aiden growls out. The intensity in his words makes me pause. Never has that growl been directed towards me.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Sounds like you did,” he pushes. “Sounds like you liked the attention.”

Katarina jumps in then with a hesitant chuckle. “I mean, a lot of people like attention. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Attention from someone you know is bad news? Seems like bad decisions to me.”

Aiden’s words are low but sharp, like a dagger slicing into me and revealing a part that hurts—has hurt for a long time. In the face of it, all I can do is retreat. This isn’t the way I want my night to go. I’ve only just begun to build my walls back up, and here he is doing his damndest to tear them all down again. None of this is directed at Katarina. It’s all targeted to make me hurt.

“Fuck you, Aiden.”

The words lurch out of me, hot and painful. My throat grates as the feeling wells up until it has nowhere to go but out. Aiden’s eyebrows rise, and for a moment, I feel a sick thrill run through me at catching him by surprise. I know if I say anything else, I won’t be able to take it back. I want to lash out and hurt him the way I hurt, but I know deep down I’ll regret it later. It’s not in me to be vindictive or reactionary, and I hate that I’m even pushed to consider it.

Before anyone else can say anything, I grab my purse and turn to leave. Coming out tonight is clearly a mistake, but maybe the worst mistake of all is feeling like things are better.

Chapter seven

Aurora

They say a pictureis worth a thousand words, but right now, I’d settle for just a few. Like ‘Great job, Aurora’ or ‘You’re not going to screw this up.’ As I stare at the photos spread across my desk, I can’t help but wonder if I’m cut out for this. Building excitement for a hockey team in Florida feels about as natural as a penguin in the Sahara.

“Great work, Aurora. The scrimmage photos turned out amazing.”

I smile at the praise. It’s nice to know things are going well at work, at least. The season is about to start, and I’m nervous. There are a couple of outreach programs I’m heading up to build excitement in the community and get people interested in coming to game days. Being in a smaller town means lowercrowd numbers unless we can drum up interest from the surrounding area. I know how to get the word out virtually, but getting boots on the ground is new to me. Thankfully, Katarina already has connections that I am able to use. Now, the turnout will tell me how well I do. It’ll be the first major test for me, and I’m trying my best not to vibrate out of my skin with anxiety.

As I make my way to my seat for the game, I can’t help but feel excited and nervous. This is it - the moment of truth. Will all my hard work pay off? I scan the crowd, pleasantly surprised by the turnout. It’s not a full house, but it’s more than I expected. Maybe I’m not so bad at this after all.

I settle into my seat, camera at the ready. As the players take the ice, my eyes involuntarily search for one particular figure. Aiden glides out, all power and grace, and I feel my breath catch. He pauses, scanning the crowd, and for a moment, our eyes meet. He gives me a small nod and a smile, and I swear he seems to skate with even more determination.

I shake my head, trying to clear it. I’m here to work, not daydream. But as I raise my camera to capture the action, I can’t ignore the flutter in my stomach. It’s like reading a book a hundred times and suddenly noticing a crucial detail you’ve always missed. Aiden’s always been there, in the background of my life, but now... now he’s in sharp focus, and I’m not sure how to adjust my lens.

“Hey, sis.” I jerk my head up as Jax walks over to my desk. This is the first time he has ever ventured up to the offices, and I am surprised to see him. “Wow, look at you. You look so grown up.”

I roll my eyes in response. His teasing has slowed down over the past few days, but clearly, that is done now, and he is back to his old self. Jax and I haven’t spoken much since the disastrous time at the bar. Aiden and I have spoken even less. It’s unusual enough for me to acknowledge it, but I don’t have the first hint of how to bridge the new divide. Thankfully, it seems Jax isn’t keen on letting the gap grow wider.

”Iamgrown up.”

He smiles and nods as he slides over another chair. “I can see that. We both can.”

“We who?” I am pretty sure I know who he is referring to, but I’m going to make him work for it. I’m tired of making it easy for people. In fact, in the last couple of days, I realize that most of my life, I’ve spent my energy trying to make things as easy as possible for everybody else. When it comes to work, that’s one thing. I want to make things as easy as possible and show my worth, and it is clearly paying off. But in my personal life, it’s led to me being unhappy or trying to deny that something’s wrong. It’s one of my biggest revelations as I think back to my relationship with Turner.

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