“Okay… ” I murmur, then louder, “Be careful when you open the door. Her attack cat is in there.”
Grace gives me a thumbs up as she and Skyler make their way down the hall with Rylee in between them, who starts mumbling.
“Kodiak… mad at you… ass… ”
What the fuck?
I glance at the guys, and they look just as baffled as I feel.
Several minutes later, Grace and Skyler come back from the bedroom, looking exhausted.
“Jesus,” Skyler pants. “I need to get more cardio in.”
“Oh, I can help you with that, Star,” Carson calls out with a grin and a waggle of his brows. “I’ll get you good and sweaty. No clothes required.”
Skyler giggles and replies, “You think you can put me through my paces, huh?”
He chuckles. “Absolutely. We can go right now and squeeze in a work out before bed… and in bed.”
As the two make googly eyes at each other, I shake my head, unable to ignore my concern for Rylee. She looked rough.
“I think I’ve seen her drunk more often than sober,” I mutter.
Grace visibly cringes at that. “Yeah, I suppose you have. Before the wedding, it was Nashville, right? When she puked on you?”
“Yep.” That was not a good night. I can’t remember ever being so angry at someone before, and she’d been totally oblivious.
Grace sighs, a flash of sadness crossing her features. “Rylee’s never been great about moderating her alcohol intake. She tends to over do it when she’s stressed. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does… it’s not good.”
“What was she so stressed about to get her to that state?” I ask.
“That’s the thing,” Skyler answers. “We couldn’t figure it out until she got so sloshed she started mumbling about some Kodiak guy being a jerk. I’ve never even heard of the guy before.”
Grace shrugs. “Could just be a guy she was dating and she doesn’t want to talk about him anymore. That happens sometimes.”
Kodiak… the name she mumbled when we were together the night of the wedding. Who the hell is this guy? Seems like he’s more to her than just some guy.
Carson and Jensen stand up to escort their women home for the night. We say our goodbyes and I follow them to the door so I can shut and lock it behind them. I get ready for bed and stretch out on the couch as much as I can. God, so uncomfortable.
As I lay in the dark, enveloped by the quiet of the apartment, I can’t help but think of Rylee and this Kodiak guy. Whoever he is, she must be really hung up on him. I feel a twist of jealousy at the thought. Not because it’s Rylee… just because it’d be nice to have a girl focused on me the way she seems focused on him.
Seems like everyone is capable of finding someone - Carson and Skyler, Jensen and Grace… even my sisters - but I’m stuck here, alone, on a couch, hoping the girl down the hall doesn’t puke on herself in the middle of the night.
Sighing, I grab my phone and open Cloak. Taking Wilder’s advice, I start to scroll through profiles of girls that are the opposite of me. My only requirement is that they live in Nashville, or are willing to relocate since I plan on moving back home once my NHL career is done.
I spend a few minutes perusing hobbies and such, seeing if anything sticks out.
I love pottery and knitting…
My hands are so big, I can’t really do such delicate hobbies.
I want to live that van life…
No thank you.
I’m a Queen and I expect to be treated as such…
A girl who knows her worth, but I get the feeling it’s a slippery slope into entitlement with this one.
