“We’ve got your back, man. And hers. The reporter is one of us,” Rickles said, walking with me back toward the rest of the guys. They all stopped talking to stare as I stopped in front of Devon.
“Make it fast,” I said.
Devon shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted on his feet. None of us had seen him since the last game of the season except for the guys who lived with him. As far as I knew, they were all freezing him out. Parties had permanently shifted to Reynolds’s townhouse and Devon was no longer welcome.
“I wanted to come by and wish you all luck this weekend,” Devon said, looking at everyone but me. Their faces were as stoic as mine. Most of them had been pissed at me for a few days for not telling them aboutDevon’s role in the situation to begin with, and while they’d all forgiven me quickly, they clearly weren’t offering him the same forgiveness.
“Thank you,” I said. “Is that all?”
Devon shook his head and looked down at the ground. “You were right.”
“I was right about a lot of things, so you’ll need to be more specific,” I said, glancing around the parking lot. Sophia was never late; she’d be here any minute and I wanted Devon long gone before she showed up.
“About Harley. He won’t take a plea deal. He’s pleading not guilty and trying to twist the story to say that I drugged Sophia and the drugs were all mine.” Devon lifted his head, looking ashamed. “I should have listened to you.” He looked around at the guys. “All of you, really.”
Several murmurs in the crowd gave me the impression that they also thought this was too little, too late, given the many warnings we’d given him over the years.
“I’m sorry, Leo. I let Harley get in my head and convince me that you should have been covering for me, not taking her side, and it was stupid. Because, of course,she’sthe one who deserved to be supported.” He shook his head, eyes glassy. “I’m just really sorry. This team meant a lot to me, and I hate that I fucked it all up the way I did.”
Coach had appeared while Devon was talking and didn’t looked pleased to see him. “Green, you’ve said your peace. You need to be on your way,” he said.
I spotted Sophia approaching with a bag on one shoulder and an iced latte in her other hand. Her smile faltered as she got closer and saw Devon standing in front of me. She stopped next to Rickles and looked at me, eyes full of concern. The ache to rush to her and shield her ran deep. But she was a strong woman, and she could face this if she wantedto. Plus, I noticed Rickles stand up a little straighter and step in front of her at her approach.
“Sophia,” Devon said, taking a step toward her.
I stuck my hand out in front of him and stopped him as several guys shifted toward her. “That’s close enough. Choose your words carefully,” I said.
Devon’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, looking at her. “I’m sorry. I know giving you my word that I wouldn’t have done anything that night is not enough, and I don’t expect your forgiveness, but I do want you to know that I’ll never be involved in anything like that again and I’m glad Leo took you home that night.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“Right, well, good luck,” Devon said awkwardly, turning to leave.
“Devon,” I said. He stopped and turned around. “Thanks for helping us get to the playoffs. And I’m glad you’re finally owning your shit.”
He gave me a half smile and turned around again. A couple guys patted him on the shoulder in a gesture of support—most likely for him having the balls to apologize—but no one made any move to go after him or talk to him further.
When he was several paces away, I looked around at the crowd who all seemed to be looking to me for direction. I forced a smile and looked at my team and my girl. “Well, boys—Hawaii—we’ve got a fucking championship to win!”
Chapter Forty-Two
Sophia
I straddled Leo’s lapin the middle of a hotel room full of drunk hockey players who were absolutely blitzed out about their Frozen Four Championship win. The game had been one of the most thrilling ones to watch and I’d cheered my heart out for him, surrounded by his family that I somehow felt like a part of. Sutton and Sloane could have even fooled me into believing that they were hockey fans with the way they cheered in their Boston University gear.
After the game, we’d gone to dinner with his aunts, his parents, and Jace before coming to the after-party at the hotel. We’d only been to a few parties this semester, but it had been enough exposure to make me more comfortable having a drink around other people. I still never let my drink out of my sight unless it was with Leo, and that would probably never change, though being around a bunch of guys who’d all become protective of me certainly helped me relax a bit more than being around strangers ever would.
Tonight, I’d had one seltzer and then stopped drinking so Leo would let his guard down and stop worrying about me. BU won the Frozen Four and the man deserved to celebrate the hell out of that tonight. Given I’d never seen him put away more than two drinks at a time, he was rocking a decent buzz after three—at least, enough of one to be holding my waist and moving my hips against the erection in his pants rather than stopping our extremely public display of lust.
“Let’s go into the bathroom,” I said, angling my clit against him for better friction.
“I’m not fucking in the bathroom again, Hawaii. It’s unsanitary,” Leo said, kissing my neck.
Pretty sure that’s still better than what’s about to happen in this chair if we don’t get up.
“Really? Says the guy whose dick has been in half the girls on campus,” I teased, daring him to challenge me.
Leo pulled back to look at me with a glare in his eyes. “You can shut that pretty mouth right now if you want this dick in you tonight.”
