Page 25 of No Rhyme or Roughing
A weight landed on my stomach, and I didn’t need to open my eyes to know who it was.
“Go away.” I tried to shove him off, but he didn’t budge.
“What are we doing today?” Teddy bounced once, his massive weight pressing down on me.
Finally, I opened my eyes to glare at him. “Nothing. Sleeping. Get the fuck off me and go bug Rowan.”
“Too late, bro,” Rowan called, his voice still thick with sleep. “I’m here too. None of us are escaping Teddy’s boredom.”
I groaned, shoving my best friend off me and onto the floor. His grin didn’t falteras he got up onto his knees, leaning in way too close. He didn’t look much like his sister, thank God, but the resemblance was there in the way they invaded my personal space and irritated me in very different ways.
Teddy? I wanted to strangle half the time, though he was family.
Sydney? Let’s just say strangling wasn’t on the menu.
I shut that thought down real fast. “What?”
Teddy blinked, his eyes narrowing. “Um, off day? You seriously don’t remember?”
We all loved hockey, but the rare days off were lifesavers, time to step away from the game, clear our heads.
“No practice?”
Rowan rolled his eyes. “Don’t you pay attention to anything Coach says, Mr. Captain?”
Normally, yes. But lately, I’d been... distracted. By my plans for tomorrow’s game. By the girl helping me prepare for them.
“Get your lazy ass up.” Teddy yanked on my arm then let it drop with a grunt. “We’re going hiking.”
“Absolutely fucking not.” I was sore, tired, and too damn curious to see if Sydney remembered last night.
“What if I said there were hot tubs after?”
He knew me too well. There were few things an athlete loved more than soaking sore muscles in a hot tub. Spending all day in front of the jets sounded like heaven.
“Is Sydney coming?” The question slipped out before I could stop it. Teddy was too good, too pure to ever imagine I’d started thinking of his sister in ways that were far from innocent.
Rowan, though? He gave me a look that said,you’re in dangerous territory, dude. And didn’t I know it?
“Nah.” Teddy rocked back onto his feet and stood. “I tried to wake her up. She chucked her phone at me and threatened to kill me if I didn’t leave her alone.” He rubbed the side of his head, as if remembering the impact. “I wish other people could see how mean she is, but that would require her to talk to them.”
“Mean,” I muttered. He didn’t believe that for a second.
Rowan chuckled, his voice deeper than normal. “I heard her come in last night. Shai texted me to check if she got home okay. Sounds like our girl took a trip to booze town.”
Teddy sighed dramatically. “I miss getting blitzed without spending the next year hungover. Getting old sucks, man.”
I’d never been much of a drinker. In college, I’d played Dad, making sure my teammates got home safely and dragged their asses to practice the next morning. It wasn’t glamorous, but some of them were in the NHL now. A messy college career could’ve ruined that.
“Just let me change,” I said, sitting up.
Running upstairs, I knocked on Sydney’s door. Most of my clothes were still in her room.
“Fuck off, Teddy!” she yelled.
“Not Teddy.” I pushed the door open and leaned on the frame.
She was curled under a mountain of blankets, her head buried in her pillows.
