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I wouldn’t deny it—she was pretty in the way that most girls weren’t. Subtle, delicate features but eyes that made your chest tight. Not my type, though. She was the type of girl that hated guys like me. It was obvious in the way she was glaring.
Then, the door opened, and she left, leaving me standing there in surprise because, for the first time in my life, I met a girl who didn’t fall over her own feet to talk to me.
“Was she hot?” Aasher asked. Dax answered, “She wasn’t just hot. She was the type you took home to Ma and Pops.”
Disappointment ran through my veins, but I was so used to the feeling that it was like my blood type.
I slowly walked to the door, wondering how the hell I was going to live with this guy when just a single look from him made me feel seen.
“I was right about you.” “You were?” I asked. “You are tough, Bryant. Tougher than you make yourself out to be.”
“Did you just try to pretend like you weren’t murdering a pencil at your desk by turning the light off? As if we didn’t just make eye contact?”
It was hard to form your own opinion that wasn’t clouded by judgment when you were told something negative from a very young age.
Right there in the doorway stood Theo Brooks with a cheeky grin that turned my insides warm. There was a flicker of surprise covering his features, but a moment later came a nod of approval, as if he were proud that I had kept my word and didn’t stay holed up in our room on a Friday night. And for some reason, I liked knowing he was proud of me.
Some people were unaware of what was going on, but I swore I heard her heart break from clear across the party.
“She mean something to you?” Does she?
Fuck, why do I care so much?
If anyone were to look into my eyes, they’d see the hurt there, but I was fine.
I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had ever held me while I cried. I couldn’t even remember the last time I cried in front of someone. “You can cry in front of me, Claire. It’s alright.”
“I’m not that unhinged. I can control myself when need be.” “They know that. I honestly think they are here for her more than you.” His eyes flicked behind me, and I turned and stilled when Claire appeared in the doorway with her swollen eyes and slightly puffy lips. “For me?”
“Yeah, our girl.” Dax rammed his shoulder into Claire’s, pushing her off balance for a second. “We don’t keep guard all night long for just anyone.”
“It’s not like you turn them all down,” I blurted, seemingly more irritated than I actually was. Theo’s eyebrows climbed upward, and one of his lips disappeared behind his white teeth. “I would if you were my girl.”
“You don’t look at friends the way you’re lookin’ at her.”
If she’s just my roommate, then why do I want to walk over there just to be beside her?
“I’m gonna kiss the hell out of you, Bryant, and don’t you dare pull away.” For the second time, our mouths sealed, but this time, the kiss was undeniably soul-wrecking, and that was when I knew that Claire Bryant was about to become my weak side.
“Make sure you look over at him when I step away, because he will be staring over here. Two can play that game, baby. And he doesn’t get to make the rules when it comes to you.”
Theo’s smile was so perfect it hurt my chest. He had one of those smiles that could make you do anything.
Her smile shook me to my core, and I pulled her out of the room to flaunt her as my girl, even though we both knew she wasn’t mine.
Her laugh seeped into my chest, and although I was only getting a small piece of her, I didn’t want to let go of it.
“You look damn good in it, Bryant.” “I bet you say that to all the girls who wear it,” I tried to joke again, but it came out hoarse. There was a tight crease in between his brows, and he looked almost offended. “You’re the only one who has ever worn my jersey.”
The truth was, I liked her. I liked being around her. I liked watching her from afar. I liked that she was just as driven as me, and determined, and focused. I liked making her laugh, and I liked lying in my bed with her, watching Supernatural. I just liked being with her.
“Was I that heavy?” She frowned, taking my hand from behind her leg. “Your heart is flying. And here I thought hockey players had good stamina.” “You’re not heavy. That’s not why my heart is flying, Claire.”
There was something about her having my last name on her back that made me wonder if my world could revolve around something other than hockey...like her.
Crossing the line was a bad idea. I agreed with her. But with bad ideas came new opportunities.
“Claire, since the first time I kissed you, I’ve had a really hard time thinking of anything but your mouth.”
For so many years, I’d thought of nothing but hockey and making it to the NHL, but now, with just one wobble of her chin, I’d forgotten all about my dream and was focused on something else entirely.
“It’s not fake for me, Claire. I think about you every second of the day. I wonder where you are, what you’re doing, how I can spend more time with you in between your busy schedule and my games…”
I was captivated by her mind, heart, and body—and that was new territory for me.
“If you give me a piece of your heart, I’ll keep it safe.”
The color was back on her cheeks, and there was a brightness around her blue eyes that I was proud of because I knew I’d helped put it there.
“You”—I stepped over to her and pulled her in close with my hands on her lithe waist—“are my weak side, Bryant. Do you hear me?” She swallowed shyly and stared up at me. “I don’t know what that means.” I smirked as I reached over and turned the water off. “It means you’re mine.”
“Oh my God.” Taytum laughed from beside me, and I glanced over, feeling my cheeks ripen. “Who even are you?” My smile was hard to hide, and I shrugged. “I’m not sure anymore, but I kinda like it.” Taytum grabbed onto my hand, and she nodded. “Me too. You look happy, Claire. Happier than I’ve ever seen.”
It wasn’t as if the thought didn’t occur to me that I could leave my mother to fend for herself. She was old enough to understand how to budget, and she’d surely been an adult longer than I had, but for as long as I could remember, my mother and I were a team. We were always in survival mode, and if I ruined our relationship, who would I have left?
“And how much I fucking loved seeing you in my jersey, and how effortless you looked talking to my parents, winning my mother over in a split second. And after every single play I made, I could hear you yelling my name.”
“I’m nothing like him, so whatever he did or said to you, forget about it.”
She took a step back, and this time, instead of me pulling her, it was the opposite. And like the lovesick puppy that I was, I followed after her.
I could spend the rest of my life in this seat, watching her reach her goals, and be perfectly content with it.
Right now, Claire was the priority, and I was quickly realizing that she was always going to be the priority.
I loved hockey. I breathed hockey. My future was hockey. But nothing seemed important in this moment except for Claire, and I would be fucking damned if I made her feel as insignificant as she had in the past. I wouldn’t leave this hospital until I knew she was okay and she knew that I was out here waiting.
“It’s important, but I’m beginning to realize it may not be the most important thing anymore.” Because after all, what was a future without her in it?
“And don’t you dare tell me that you haven’t fallen for him. I hardly recognize you when you look at him—and that isn’t a bad thing.”
I’d ruin the world for Theo Brooks, and it was about time I told him.
The universe was aligned when she entered the world, and I would be a damn fool if I ever let her out of my grasp.
“The feeling you give me is addicting.”
When he looked down at me, my heart skipped a beat. There was no longer anger. Instead, there was fear, and if I could have, I would have moved in front of him to take the bullet. What bullet? I wasn’t sure, but I’d block it if I could.
