Page 50 of Mr. Charming

Tedi was pissing me off. I wanted to see the unfiltered version of her. I wanted her to tell them to go fuck themselves because I was going to make Nashville the best team in the league. But she didn’t. She seemed like she was trying to make them more comfortable while they stuck a knife in my back and twisted it.

Kane walked up to me, putting his hand out between us. I didn’t want to shake it, but I did. Not for today’s bullshit, but for all the years that came before it. The mentorship, the coaching that made me a better player, the friendship that was now over.

I was going to return to the ice and make it clear to them that they should’ve never gotten rid of me.

Jana approached right after Kane, and I shook her thin, soft hand. I looked into her eyes so she could reflect on this moment next year when I had the Cup in my hands. When I was the winner, and she was the loser with whoever she’d gotten in the trade.

They left, and I heard Tedi tell them we’d plan a dinner soon.

The door shut, and she came over to me, crawling on the couch and wrapping her arms around my neck. “I’m sorry, babe, but maybe this will be better. You can get on the first line again. You can be a star there.”

“Are you coming?” I asked. It was the only question in my head.

I was going to Nashville and leaving the Fury. I could figure out all the details of where and when I would leave Florida and where I would live in Nashville, but whether she was coming or not was the only thing I wanted to know in that moment.

She sat back on her heels and stared at me. “We don’t have to talk about it right now. Let’s just deal with this first.” She motioned toward my knee.

And there it was. She wasn’t coming with me.

Something cracked in my chest. Part of me knew I couldn’t expect it, but I really wished I didn’t feel like she shut me down without even considering it.

She was quick to get off the couch. “Do you want to order dinner? Or I can go to the store and make something?”

“I don’t care.”

“Why don’t we just get Cubans? We can binge that new show you’ve been wanting to watch. Have a night in and just relax.”

She didn’t wait for my answer and went about it.

I felt like I did when I was a kid and my dad didn’t show to pick me up. My mom would fawn over me, giving me everything I wanted. Tedi was doing the same, but I wasn’t a naive seven-year-old anymore. I was a grown man, and I knew when someone was trying to pacify me because they wanted to spare my feelings.

So, I prepared myself for Tedi to end things.

Twenty-Five

Tedi

Tweetie’s been playing so well—I hope Bud Caldron is eating a big fat dick sandwich.

There was another away game tonight, and even though Bud told me to center everything on Tweetie, Coach Buford has let me interview a lot of the players so I can get things together and ready to go for when Bud’s whole plan goes to shit. Either that, or what I’m really hoping for—which is what Tweetie said about Bud finding another shiny toy to mess around with.

I’m sitting in my usual seat on the plane. It’s nighttime, so most of the players are sleeping. We’re going to get in late, and I’d rather stay awake so I can really crash when I get home. There’s nothing going on tomorrow, so I figure I’ll have a lazy morning, treat myself to a bagel with cream cheese, and work a little from my bed.

A big body falls into the seat next to me, and from scent alone, I know it’s him.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Tweetie whispers, buckling the seat belt. I swear, airplanes seem to be the only place where Tweetie follows all the rules.

“I’m sorry?”

“I saw your light on, so I figured I’d come back here. I was thinking.”

“Is that a new thing? Thinking?”

I armor myself for whatever he’s about to tell me. I really hope it’s not about our almost kiss. It took all my self-control to push him away, and when he brought up Decker, I was honestly like, Decker who?

He shakes his head, but a smile reaches his eyes. It was a middle school joke, but it was all I could think of to make sure he doesn’t think I’m remembering his body caging me against the wall in my hotel room.

“Let’s do it. Fuck Bud. At least if you showcase me, then another team will see what they can get.”

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