Page 15 of Pucking Off-Sides With My Brother's Best Friend

“I’m fine. Really,” I say, though I am not sure who I’m trying to convince, him or me. “He just reminded me of someone.”

“Who? That dumbass ex-fiancé of yours?” Aiden’s voice hasn’t lost any of its gruffness, and I shiver as if I feel it rolling over my skin. “Wasn’t he the same guy who stood you up for prom?”

I close my eyes as I try to regain my balance. I’m not sure now is the best time to take a trip down memory lane, but after the way he swooped in and saved me, I can concede that maybe Aiden deserves some credit and a little more information.

So why is it so hard to figure out where to begin?

Chapter eight

Aiden

Anger’s an old friendof mine. It’s been riding shotgun my whole life, always ready to take the wheel. But this? This white-hot rage burning through my veins as I watch some random fucker put his hands on Aurora? This is new. It’s not just anger - it’s protective, possessive, and fucking terrifying. Because if there’s one thing I know, caring about people only leads to pain.

I don’t know what has come over me, but something about the way Aurora looks when she stands in front of that guy lights me up like a damn firework. He’s some mousy-looking dude, but his hold on her is deceptively strong, and I can tell it’s unwanted. The ease with which Aurora melts into my arms is a testament to that. I don’t usually make it my business to jump into other people’s shit, but she’s different.

Is that just because she’s Jax’s sister?

That’s the question that plagues me now. It has me frozen in place, feeling the weight of her solid and in my arms. I squeeze her waist without thinking, but nothing in me wants to pull away. Not now that I have her pressed against me, her side moving in tandem with mine with each breath. I need to know what the fuck is going on.

“Aurora, what the fuck is going on?”

The words come out harsher than I intend, but I can’t help it. I’m used to looking out for myself, for the team on the ice. But this?

This is different.

Personal.

And it scares the shit out of me.

Usually I keep people at arm’s length, but Aurora? She’s always had a way of slipping past my defenses without even trying. And now, with her pressed against me, trembling like a leaf, all I want to do is shield her from the world.

It’s fucked up, really. I’m not the guy who comforts people. I’m the guy who throws punches first and asks questions never. But here I am, trying to find the right words, hoping I don’t fuck this up.

Aurora stiffens and shifts as if to move away, but I don’t loosen my hold. It’s a dick move, but I know if I let her walk awaythis time, I’ll never understand. And at the end of the day, we live together. Hell, we’re friends, and for a brief moment years ago, in a situation that eerily mirrored this one, we were a little more. It doesn’t mean she has to divulge all of her secrets to me, but damn it, for some reason, I have to help her. It’s a foreign emotion, and if anyone asks, I’ll deny the fuck out of it, but here we are.

“Did that guy hurt you?” I can’t help the soft growl that coats my words. The thought of anyone hurting her—

“No,” she whispers, not sounding quite like herself. As much as she occasionally annoys me, I hate that she sounds this way: meek and so unlike her normally cheery bratty self.

I like the push and pull that goes on between us. I don’t want her to be some simpering shell of herself who never pushes back. She’s a little shit sometimes, but fuck if I don’t like it. “No, he never hurt me. I don’t even know him besides his name. He just came up to me randomly and asked me out…I think.”

“You think?”

Aurora looks up at me for a moment, her eyes like twin pools that I want to dive into. I shake the sentiment away. I’m supposed to be getting answers, not thinking about how beautiful she is. She’s always been a good-looking girl, but now is the least appropriate time for me to be focusing on that. Jax would fuck me up if he knew I was perving on his one and only sister.

“Yes,” she replies, pulling my attention away from my thoughts. “I just didn’t expect him to remind me so much of…” She trails off, and I know exactly who she’s talking about.

“That fucking guy,” I say, sighing when Aurora nods.

The memory of that prom night comes flooding back, and with it, a surge of emotions I’m not equipped to handle. Anger at the asshole who hurt her. Pride in how she bounced back.

I run a hand over my face as I think about what to say. I’m not the type of person who’s good at this emotional shit. Breakups are a fact of life, but I know I have to look at this a different way. I’ve never been engaged or even close to it, so for all I know, it’s normal to be affected even months after.

I told her to stay away from that asshole the first time he pulled that shit at their senior prom. The dick stood her up and then got pissy that instead of being dateless and upset, she showed up on my arm, smiling like he didn’t fucking exist.

I run a hand over my face, buying time as I try to sort through this emotional clusterfuck. Give me a hockey stick and a clear shot at the goal, and I’m golden. But comforting a woman? Dealing with feelings? I’m in way over my fucking head.

Fuck if I didn’t enjoy the frown on that fucker’s face though. Jax called me a petty bitch when I told him, but revenge is something that makes my dick hard. Especially when it’s well-deserved.

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