The Pucker-Up Pact by J.P. Sterling

Author:J.P. Sterling [Sterling, J.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-07-10T00:00:00+00:00

fourteen

Axl

Due to our morning travel, I missed early practice, but I’m not about to start making excuses. As soon as my feet hit solid ground, I drive over to the arena and run drills by myself. Truthfully, the time alone is cathartic and exactly what I need to clear my head. This whole thing with Sophie has my brain fogged up. Like, I fully understand she’s only pretending to like me, but she’s easy to hang out with, and last night at the charity ball, I wasn’t expecting to feel so protective and even jealous.

When I looked at Rocco playing that game with her, all I thought about was putting my fist in his face, and the dude’s never done anything to me. He became my poster child for every cheater, and I had a stirring in my gut that said it was time to get even.

Shaking my head, I skate off the ice after I’m done and head to the locker room. I slow as I round the corner, as by now, I half expect Bill Baker to be hiding in the shadows with another backroom deal. I let out a full sigh of relief when I find the boardroom empty.

Maybe he’ll be happy now.

We did what we said we’d do.

Sophie and I can go about living our lives, and we’ll make a breakup statement.

I stuff my stick in my bag and throw everything in my locker, as I have plans for another workout later tonight. After all, I’m not getting to the NHL by doing the minimum. I fish for my phone in my coat pocket and find a missed call from Sophie.

What does she want?

Our deal is done.

Why would she call and not text?

I hate that my mind immediately goes to Rocco. Assuming the worst, I don’t hesitate to press call on her name. She answers on the second ring. “Hey, Axl.” Her voice is cool and unstressed. That sends a wave of relief to my gut.

Not sure why I would have been stressed in the first place. “Hey.” I breathe out and start to pace the hall. “I saw you called. Is everything okay?”

“Oh yeah,” she quips. “Everything’s great. I’m wondering . . . you know . . . everything was sort of a bustle these last few days. I know you’re new to town and live by yourself, and my mom’s making a meatloaf tonight, so I thought maybe you’d want a home-cooked meal.”

Her words rush and garble at the end, but I hear her perfectly. Halting my steps, I stare at the blank wall before me.

She’s literally inviting me to her parents’ house for meatloaf.

Why?

That is not part of the agreement.

“It’s not a big deal if you’re busy,” she interrupts my scrolling thoughts. “I thought it might be nice to destress here, and I don’t know . . . get to know each other better. There’s no reason we can’t hang out.”

Getting to know each other is not part of the agreement.

Getting to know each other sounds like a date.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.