Surprised, Jack angled his head to look at her. They’d only been together a few months—and not really eventogetherin the committed, defined-the-relationship sense of the word—so they’d certainly never discussed what the future held for them. But the excited glint in her eyes and the sincerity on her face made Jackwantto have that conversation—made him want Sofia in his future.
Even if she’d just lied to Silas.
Jack had an agent, and certainly had plans to play professionally after college, but that didn’t mean he’d be jumping to the pros right away. It was too early in the season, for starters, and he wasn’t the kind of guy who counted his chickens before they hatched. His agent had received exploratory calls from scouts regarding Jack and his career—that much was true. But they were mainly ECHL teams, two levels below the NHL. Which wasn’t a bad thing. Plenty of guys got their start on one of the farm teams before moving up, and Jack would be happy playing anywhere as long as he got to keep playing. The NHLwas the dream, as it was for any high-level hockey player in the world, but Jack also knew making it to the show was hard work. His talent on collegiate ice didn’t necessarily translate to that level, and he had his head on straight where the trajectory of his career was concerned.
“Yeah,” Jack said finally—dumbly. “I’ve had some interest, but the season only just started, so I’ve got a long way to go before I can even talk to teams.”
“Well what’s your agent say? Like what are your chances?”
Silas’s tone had Jack’s hackles raising. He didn’t like the implication in it, like his choices weren’t great.
“I’ll most likely start off in the EC or the A,” he said, referring to the ECHL and AHL. “So I’ll still be playing professionally.”
“But not in the NHL,” Silas said smugly. Jack didn’t miss Jessica driving her elbow into his side. A little grunt was the only indication Silas gave that it pained him, and Jack didn’t like the tense, close-lipped glare he turned on Jessica.
Stop it, DeLuca. She’s not yours to protect.
Thankfully, Sofia unwittingly came to his rescue.
“It’s so funny that you and Silas have been together so long and we’ve never met before,” Sofia said. “Silas is like…my best guy friend.”
“Really?” Jessica said, cutting her eyes to Silas before leaning forward, balancing her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her hand. “How long have you guys known each other?”
“We met freshman year!” Sofia said. “During rush week.”
Jack knew this already, but Jessica’s eyes widened.
“Wow,” Jessica said. “You’ve known each other longer than we have.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Jessica said, swallowing hard and nodding. “We met at the campout that fall.”
“It’s really so strange we’ve never met before now!” Sofia said, either completely oblivious to how fucked up that was or willingly acting like it wasn’t a big deal.
Anger prodded Jack’s chest, threatening to climb up his throat and out his mouth. Silas, the little weasel, was playing both of them. He didn’t know what he had to gain from it, since, as far as Jack knew, he’d never made a move on Sofia. But Jack did know he had to workhardto keep these women from meeting all these years, had to deliberately separate those parts of his life.
Jack opened his mouth to say something, to pin Silas to the table with whatever sharp words he chose to wield, but their food arrived then, saving them all. Once again, he had to remind himself that it wasn’t his place to intervene on Jessica’s behalf. There was obviously a lot about their relationship he didn’t—and never would—understand, and it had to stay that way.
He could, however, say something to Sofia, because thatwashis place, and he made a note to do so once they left this cursed double date.
The rest of dinner passed without incident, though Jack rarely spoke, and Sofia took notice.
“What is wrong with you?” she asked when they were alone and walking in the direction of their houses.
Jack and his roommates lived a few blocks away from the bars, and beyond that were several sorority houses, Sofia’s included.
That had absolutely nothing to do with why they’d signed the lease two years ago—and continued to renew it since.
“Nothing,” Jack said. “Just…sore.”
It was a weak lie, and Sofia called him on it.
“You’re notsore,” she said. “You were an absolute ass to Silas, and you were incredibly weird around his girlfriend!”
“I was not weird.”
“You were,” she protested. “You kept staring at her like she was some alien being instead of a human. What the fuck,Jack? She’s a sweet girl, and you didn’t make a very good first impression.”
