Page 75 of Blocked Shot
The crowd roars, the game surging on, but Natalie doesn’t hear it. All she can think is that Jake gave up his entire game for Jesse—for her—and she’s done nothing to deserve this kind of loyalty.
Natalie waits outside the players’ entrance, the chilly night air biting through her coat. The game ended over an hour ago, but she hasn’t moved. She folds her arms tight across her chest, shifting from foot to foot, her nerves buzzing.
She spots Jesse first. His hair is damp, his jaw set, his duffel slung over one shoulder. The moment he sees her, his expression darkens.
“You’re not here for me,” he says before she can even open her mouth. His voice is sharp, edged with resentment. “You’re waiting for him.”
Natalie’s throat tightens. “Jesse?—”
“Don’t,” he snaps, taking a step closer. “You didn’t even text me after the game. Didn’t ask if I was okay. Just standing here, waiting on him like a bunny?—”
“That’s not fair,” she cuts in, heat rising in her chest. “I tried, Jesse. I’ve been trying. But you won’t talk to me. What am I supposed to do? Watch you throw punches at guys twice your size like some self-destructive idiot? And then you hit Jake? What the hell was that?”
Jesse laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “Oh, so now you care? Funny, because it sure looks like the only one you give a damn about is him.”
Natalie flinches, his words hitting harder than she expects. “That’s not true. I love you. You’re all I have. But you’re making it really hard.”
He shakes his head. “Whatever, Nat.”
His voice is quieter now, but just as cold and bitter. “I’m done with this. With you acting like you’re here for me when it’s obvious you’ve already picked him. You couldn’t wait to get rid of me. I’m done being your burden. Being everyone’s burden.”
Before she can respond, he’s walking away, his footsteps heavy against the pavement.
Natalie watches him go, her chest tight with anguish, with guilt. Her throat aches, and her vision blurs. The tears she’s been holding back spill over, hot against her cold cheeks. She sucks in a breath, but it shudders on the way out.
The door swings open behind her, and she turns, hastily wiping at her face. Jake steps out, his face unreadable, his jaw starting to bruise where Jesse hit him. The second he sees her, his expression softens.
“Natalie,” he says, his voice quiet but steady.
She doesn’t trust herself to speak. The weight of everything crashes over her—the fight, Jesse’s words, the helplessness gnawing at herchest, the weeks she’s spent without seeing Jake. A broken sob escapes before she can stop it.
Jake doesn’t hesitate. He steps forward and pulls her into his strong arms.
She presses her face into his chest, gripping his jacket as her shoulders shake. He’s warm, solid, his hands smoothing over her back in slow, grounding strokes.
“It’s okay,” he murmurs, his breath against her hair. “Breathe.”
She does. It takes effort, but she follows the steady rise and fall of his chest, letting it guide her own.
After a moment, he pulls back enough to look at her. His thumb brushes a stray tear from her cheek. “Come with me,” he says.
Natalie nods and follows Jake to his truck, her steps heavy with dread. She knows what she has to do—needs to do—but the thought of it is like standing on the edge of a cliff, wind whipping around her, knowing the fall will shatter her.
CHAPTER 36
JAKE
Jake burns with restless energy, a dull ache forming in his jaw as the city lights streak past the windshield. The rhythmic hum of the tires on the pavement should be soothing, but the wall of silence in the passenger seat is anything but.
Natalie sits rigid beside him, her arms wrapped around herself, eyes fixed on something distant beyond the glass. She has said little since they left the arena. Tension wraps around her like a shadow, clinging to every breath, and pressing against them, thick and heavy.
He steals a glance at her, his heart twisting. God, he missed her. The past few weeks had been hell, an agonizing stretch of days and nights without her warmth, without the soft lilt of her voice or the way she fit so perfectly against him. She was his calm, the one person who could steady him without even trying.
And now, finally, she’s here again—except, she’s not really. Not in the way he wants her to be.
“You’re thinking too much,” he says, his voice rougher than he intends. “Talk to me.”
Natalie exhales, her fingers tightening where they rest against her knee. For a moment, he thinks she won’t answer, but then she whispers, “Jesse thinks he’s a burden.”
