“Sorry,” I say again and then turn to Carlos. “Thanks again. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
“Why rush off, Carlos?” Crew asks and my head ricochets back in his direction. “Wanna grab a bite before you go?”
“I mean…”
Okay, clearly Crewisconcussed. What the hell is he doing?
“You can meet the rest of the local NHL team. It’s an invite a lot of people would kill for.” Crew smiles. “Not enough though, in this town. LA isn’t exactly a big hockey town, but maybe we can woo you and you’ll spread the word.”
“I…” Carlos looks at me.
I smile. “Sure. Yeah. Join!”
I mean, what the hell else am I supposed to say? And obviously, Crew isn't jealous. He doesn't care if this leads to something unprofessional with Carlos or else why would he be encouraging us to hang out? Clearly, Crew hasn't been thinking about me the way I've been thinking of him.
I might not still be attracted to Carlos but maybe with some effort, I can change that. Because being attracted to Crew is a dead end now. Clearly.
So I blink and channel my mom. Her courage. Her passion. Her wild side. I hook my arm through Carlos’ and give him what I hope is a flirty smile. “Come have some barbecue with me.”
“I’d love to.”
I lead Carlos toward the backyard. I don’t bother to turn and see if Crew is following but I’m sure he is. And I hope he’s happy about this.
Chapter17
Crew
I’m miserable and I have no one to blame but myself. Why did I encourage that school friend of Olivia’s to come to the barbecue? He hasn’t left her side all night. But, I mean, why would he? I wouldn’t leave her side either. And it probably helps that she’s the only person here he knows. But still, fuck him. And fuck me for inviting him.
“Hey growly,” a voice says, and I turn and see Tate standing beside me. "You got heartburn from the ribs or something?"
“No," I growl the word out so yeah, he has a point. I take a deep breath and a sip of the beer. "It's a good party, Tate. Thanks for hosting this year."
"Our pleasure," Tate says and his eyes are on Mallory, the love of his life, who has a tray of appetizers in one hand and Dylan on her hip. She's chatting to Tenley and the wife of one of our defensemen. It's nice to see him happy but I'd be lying if I wasn't a tad bit jealous. Mallory is all in. She loved Tate even before Tate loved her. I never had that with Anne-Marie, and now thanks to how jaded I've become, I'll never have that with anyone.
My eyes move through the crowded backyard filled with my teammates and their significant others to Olivia who is perched on the arm of a chair by the doors to the house. Her friend Carlos is standing beside her.
“So seriously, what is up with you?”
“Nothing. Nothing important anyway,” I mutter.
Dylan lets out a frustrated squeal. Mallory struggles to balance him as he squirms in her arms. Tenley grabs the tray of appetizers and Olivia bolts up to grab Dylan. I can’t hear what she is saying to Mallory but she’s got a happy, reassuring smile on her face. She takes Dylan by the hand and lets him lead her into the house. Carlos follows along and I swear he checks out her ass.
“Who’s the dude?” I ask with a tilt of my head in their direction. I know who Carlos is, but I want to see if what Olivia told me matches what Tate says.
“Liv’s classmate, I guess." Tate shrugs and his eyes darken. "Tenley swears he's cool, and she usually has great judgment. Don't tell her I admitted that."
I smile. Tenley and Tate have a relationship very similar to Nash and I, probably because they’re very close in age. As close as you can be without being twins. “So just friends?”
He turns his stare to me. I really shouldn’t have asked for clarification. I mean, I’m supposed to barely know Olivia. “I mean, just wondering because Tenley is always teasing Olivia that she’s innocent and stuff.”
"We try not to tease her anymore," Tate replies. "She's got a lot on her plate right now. I think… I'm worried about her if I'm honest."
“Why?”
He hesitates, sipping his own beer and stopping one of the catering crew to pluck an appetizer off the tray.
