I’m not scared that Connor will punch his best friend or anything like that. I’m more afraid of Connor hatingme.Luke and him have a bond that I’ve been envious of my entire life. I don’t think he’d let anything come between them.
But us? We don’t have that same type of foolproof relationship. He’s always supported me, as any big brother should, but we’re not extremely close by any means. Our sibling relationship was founded on our love of hockey. What’s going to happen when I invade other areas of his life and he finds out I’m sleeping with the one person he’s counted on?
What if he thinks I’m trying to take Luke away from him?
My thoughts continue to spiral when I hear Luke say my name.
“Huh?”
“I’ve said your name like three times now. Where did you go?” Luke looks at me, concern written all over his pretty face again.
I chew the inside of my cheek, contemplating if I want to disclose the anxiety I’m suddenly feeling about everything.
Luke was the one who was hesitant to cross that line. I’m the one who convinced him that getting together wouldn’t be a big deal. I can’t go back on that now.
Taking a calming breath, I quickly shake my head. “Sorry. Just worried about our game tomorrow.”
I’m such a fucking coward.
Luke’s eyes bounce between mine. I can tell he’s not convinced but he doesn’t call me out on it.
“You ready to head back to the hotel?” He tilts his head toward the exit.
I need to pull my shit together. It’s not fair of me to lie to him about how I’m feeling. To avoid lying and dealing with all of these emotions, I shake my head again.
“I’m actually going to grab a post-game meal with some of my teammates. See you in a bit?”
Luke doesn’t say anything at first. He simply stares at me. After the most uncomfortable fifteen seconds of my life, he finally nods.
“Yeah. See you in a bit.”
Without another word, he turns and walks away.
“Fuck.” I mutter under my breath.
“Why are you talking to yourself?” Liv’s voice startles me.
Putting a hand on my chest, I turn around to see my best friend eyeing me skeptically.
“Jesus, Liv. Where did you come from?”
She looks at me like I’m crazy. “Uhh…the locker room?” She throws a thumb over her shoulder pointing at the door that’s not even five feet away. “Why is your handsome curling captain leaving without you?”
I follow her eyes to see she’s watching Luke as he disappears out into the cold.
“Because I need you.”
Liv spins so she’s now standing in front of me, blocking my view from the exit I can’t seem to look away from.
“Are you okay? Did that beautiful bastard do something? I’ll kill him.”
I can’t help but laugh at her ability to go from zero to sixty in no time at all. I rest my hands on her shoulders.
“He didn’t do anything. But I’m kind of freaking out over the fact that my brother will be here tomorrow. I have nofucking idea how I’m going to tell him I slept with his best friend. He’s going to hate me, isn’t he?”
My words come out in a rush and I’m talking as fast as one of the Gilmore Girls.
Liv reaches out and cups my face with her hands.
