I look at Selene. She’s part of my life, and this is her decision too. “What do you think?”
“If you press charges, you’ll have to go to court, and this will be all over the news.” Selene looks up at me. That is something that I don’t want to deal with. The news is already on my case because the Mustangs aren’t doing that well right now.
“Okay, we have a deal.”
Epilogue – January
Selene
It’s the Brody Ross on the ice that I’ve always known and loved. He’s strong, relentless, and as it turns out, he holds a bit of a grudge. I can tell by how he’s playing in this All-Star game that he’s still pissed about the hit from Carson Lee. Brody chases him down the ice with all the determination in the world. I almost feel sorry for the guy as Brody checks him. The seconds are counting down as Carson desperately tries to score to tie this game up before the buzzer goes off, but there’s no way in hell Brody is going to let him even get close to scoring. He keeps intercepting him and sending the puck down the other end of the ice.
Allison, despite her new relationship with Bradley, who has moved in with Brody, is here, cheering on her man on the ice. Too bad he’s up against my man. The seat next to me is still empty, this place feeling more and more at home as I become more connected to the people in it. I didn’t think it was possible for me to feel even more than I already did, but I do. Partly because of my best friend and boyfriend’s brother sitting on the other side of me, largely because of one particular hockey player on the ice.
The horn sounds, Allison’s shoulders falling a bit in disappointment as I smile. Patting her shoulder, I say, “How about we go out? Us to celebrate and you to sulk over a loss.” I grin when she glares at me.
“You don’t have to rub it in, Selene.”
Bradley laughs, stands, and takes her hand. “Let’s go already. Brody can meet us at the bar.”
As we leave and head to a bar, I text Brody to let him know where we’re going. He usually likes for me to wait for him, but Bradley drove, so I might as well ride with him. There is a traffic check along the way that holds us up. Once we get to the bar, Bradley whistles at a red Ferrari parked along the curb.
“That’s a sweet ride,” he comments. “Think Brody will buy his big brother one,” he jokes to me.
“Hm. Doubt it,” I laugh. “You guys find a booth. I need to use the restroom real quick.”
Allison nods and pulls Bradley across the room. The bathrooms are right off from the end of the bar. The place seems twice as packed once I exit the restrooms. I stand by the bar, trying to spot where they decided to sit.
Hot breath hits my neck, sending chills down my spine as a man whispers, “You look lost.” His voice makes me want to shudder as I turn to face the one and only Carson Lee, the stench of alcohol already powerful on his breath. I would bet my house that the Ferrari outside is his. I doubt he travels with it, but he most likely found one to rent and drive while he was here. It’s no secret that he likes to show off.
“I’m not.” Allison is going to flip once she finds out he’s here. I go to turn around again, but he slides an arm around my waist with his hand flat on my lower back, his fingers spread out as he holds me in place.
“Are you sure about that, sweetheart? I’m real good company.” He frowns as his eyes finally take in that I’m wearing a Mustangs jersey with that C on the front to mark that it’s Brody’s. Then he slowly starts to smile. “You know who I am, don’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Then you know I’m way better company than the captain of that team. Obviously,” he adds.
“That’s why you’ve won the Cup before?” I smile innocently at him.
Carson narrows his eyes at me as a hand suddenly pushes his arm off me. I feel Brody’s body against my back as he wraps his arms po
ssessively around my waist.
“Hey, baby,” he says loud enough for Carson to hear as he kisses my neck. “There a problem?”
Carson’s eyes widen just a bit with surprise. “Seriously?” he asks, looking at me and doing his best to ignore Brody.
“Don’t be mad, Carson, that I have a hot chick and you have your hand,” Brody tells him, making me laugh. I don’t have to look to know that Brody is smirking.
“Fuck you, Brody. There’s more than one hot bitch in this place. I’m sure yours isn’t all that special.”
Before Brody can say anything, I turn in his arms. “C’mon, let’s go find the others.”
He’s not happy that Carson basically called me a bitch, but Brody knows better. He looks down at me with a smile. “Yeah, we better go. Carson’s going to be disappointed when he ends up going home alone.” He glances at Carson again. “You picked a bad bar to come to. Mustang fans come here a lot, so seriously, good luck.”
We turn and leave Carson behind. Allison and Bradley are very cozy in a booth, and when they see us, they put a little space between them. They were so wrapped up in each other that Allison didn’t even noticed that I was talking to Carson. And I don’t plan on telling her either. She likes the guy on the ice, and I’m not about to introduce her to the one off the ice. There are four shots of whiskey on the table as we slide in.
“Congrats on the win, bro,” Bradley says, lifting the shot.