He sways, staring at the door we both just watched Kennedy walk through. “Jordan Joseph Boucher. I know.”
My shoulders sink as sweat slides down my forehead.Oh shit. He knows. How does he know?!
“You have a thing for Kennedy.”
“You don’t know what you’re talki?—”
“Yes, I do!” he snaps, staring me dead in the eye. “Iknow.”
“But…how?”
“Jordan, I knoweverything. I know you thinkyouknow everything, but Iactuallydo. I have my sources. I haveallthe sources you could ever dream of.”
Holy. Shit. Every muscle in my body tenses. I didn’t want anyone to know. “Tay, please…please don’t say anything.”
He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Your secret is safe with me. I’m not trying to spill your business. I’m just…confused. You’re the most confin…cofinan…con-fi-denthuman being I know. Just ask her out already!”
“If only it were that easy,” I groan, shaking my head as I sip my drink. “Have you seen how she reacts to me? I try to say hi when I get on and off the plane, but she just rolls her eyes. I don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t…” I trail off, my gaze dropping to my feet, not knowing how to tell him about how fucking hurt I’ve been before. “I just can’t find the right way to get her to notice me.”
“Just go up and talk to her like you do everyone else. Despite your slightly annoying personality, you never know…she might like you. Someone always wants the runt of the litter.”
I glare at him down my nose, standing straight to remind him of the three inches I hold over his head.
He holds his hands up, tipping into my chest. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. You know I love ya.”
My stomach flutters as his words finally sink in.What if she could like me, if she actually got to know me?Then another thought hits. A terrifying one. My heartbeat is lodged in my fucking throat. If Tay knows…do other people know?Shit.Ohmy God, is this somehow connected to the random texts I’ve been getting?
“Tay…wait…do you know anything about who’s been texting me?”
He looks at me with wide eyes. “What texts?”
“Bro, someone’s been texting me. Telling me to stay away from Kennedy.”
“WHAT? Bougie, that’snotcool. Have you told anyone? What if she’s indanger?” he whisper yells as if anyone in this club could hear him over the music. “Maybe she needs to know?”
The blood drains from my face. “No. I haven’t told a soul other than my dad and our head of security. Shit. I didn’t even think about someone hurting her.Fuck!I figured it was just someone who had…I don’t know…dibs on her?”
“Dibs?” Tay snorts. “Jordan, that is a completely misogynistic, antiquated, and ultimately ridiculous thing to say. You can’t have ‘dibs’ on a woman. They aren’t like the passenger seat of a car where you can just call shotgun.”
I chuckle as I take another sip of my drink. “I know, I just meant…maybe she already has someone in her life. I don’t know! I’m not like Hayes or Vladi or any of you. My social life…isn’t what it seems.”
He looks at me again, his eyes not blinking as if the tequila he’s drinking is a truth serum. “I know.”
I tilt my head. “What do you mean? Whatelse do you know, Tay?! How deep does your espionage go?”
“You think I don’t know you’renotsleeping with all the women you’re photographed with?”
Fuck. This guy needs to join the CIA when he retires from hockey.
“Why do you act like you’re going out with all those women anyway? Especially when you and I both know there’s only one woman you’re interested in.”
“It’s…” —I let out a loud sigh, running my fingers through my hair— “…it’s fucking complicated. So complicated, I can’t get into this tonight.”
“Listen, all I’m saying is I know there’s more to you than the playboy image you project. You should let people see it more often.”
I swallow hard, his words hitting me like a hard check against the boards. “Seriously, who else knows about this?”
He tries to nudge me, tripping into the bar instead. “Don’t worry, Bougie. Your secret’s ssssafe with me.”
