Chapter 5

Dallas

By the time I arrived at the rink for practice, I was already the butt of everyone’s jokes. Before the morning even came, everyone on the team had heard about my ordeal with Callie. The black eye only proved it. Normally, their laughs echoing through the locker room would’ve pissed me off, but today, all it did was remind me of how much of a jackass I was.

Braeden whistled when he got a good look at my face. “Damn, she got you good, didn’t she? Wonder what the coach is going to say about it.”

“Hopefully, he’ll let it slide, considering the circumstances.” Practice was about to start and Carlisle hadn’t seen my face yet. After the ordeal a couple of weeks ago, he said he’d bench me if I caused any more trouble. Who would’ve thought I’d get my ass handed to me by a girl. I searched around the locker room, but I had yet to find Justin. “Seen Davis anywhere?” I asked Braeden.

“Not yet.” He took off his shirt and tossed it into his locker. “Don’t you think it’d be best to stay away from him?”

I shook my head. “I want to apologize to his sister. She punched me before I got the chance.”

He chuckled. “Then that should tell you something. Might be best to leave her alone.”

I couldn’t. He didn’t see the look on her face when I touched her. There was a fire in her eyes I couldn’t ignore. I owed her a lot more than just a simple apology. Even if she hated me, I had to talk to her.

“Damn, Davis, I heard about last night,” Maddox announced from the other side of the locker room.

I started to walk back there, but Braeden grabbed my arm. “Come on, man. It’s too early in the morning.”

“I’m not going to start shit,” I snapped. Huffing, he let me go and I marched to the back of the locker room. Maddox and Justin both had their backs to me, talking about everything that had happened, until Justin noticed me out of the corner of his eye.

Grin fading, he faced me straight on, crossing his arms over his chest. “What the fuck do you want?” I ignored Maddox, who kept looking at my black eye and smiling.

“I need to apologize to your sister. Can you please tell me where I can find her?” I asked nicely, even though it killed me to be civil with the fucker.

He scoffed. “Have you lost your goddamn mind? I’m not letting you anywhere near her. She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Doesn’t matter. I need to see her.”

“That’s going to be a problem,” he said, stepping toward me with a sly grin. “You see, she lives with me and my brothers. I’d hate to have to kick your ass for trespassing.”

That didn’t scare me one bit. Not backing down, I closed the distance, mirroring his stance. “I’ll just have to find another way.”

Coach Carlisle walked past us and we stepped away from each other, catching his attention. Narrowing his gaze, he stopped and stared at us, fuming when he saw my face. “Seriously? Again?”

Chuckling, Maddox butted in. “Oh no, Coach, it’s not what you think.” He pointed at my face. “That was done by Davis’s sister. Easton got pissed when she schooled him on the ice last night. She didn’t like it when he tripped her up and almost hit her.”

Carlisle’s face reddened with rage and I held up my hands in defense. “I didn’t know she was a female,” I shouted. “I’ve been trying to apologize ever since.”

Luckily, that seemed to work and Carlisle blew out a heavy sigh. He turned to Justin. “Your sister plays hockey? I never would’ve guessed by looking at her.” I wouldn’t have, either. On the outside, she was extremely beautiful with delicate features and curves in all the right places. Judging by the right hook she landed on my face, she was way stronger than she appeared.

Justin smiled. “We used to have fun tricking people back home. Looks like it still works.”

That it did. Carlisle patted him on the shoulder. “She must be pretty good to get past Dallas. I’m impressed.”

“Thanks, Coach,” Justin replied. “I’ll tell her you said so.”

Carlisle walked off, banging on the sides of the lockers on his way out. “Ten minutes, boys. Hurry up!”

Justin pulled out his gear and started suiting up. “The answer’s still no, Easton. You’re going to stay away from my sister.”

Narrowing my gaze, I stared him down and backed up, knowing it was wiser to keep my mouth shut. The less he knew, the better. Braeden was already dressed for practice and talking to Kellan, who sat on the bench, lacing up his skates.

“Why do you look like you’re up to something?” Kellan asked, peering curiously at me.

A mischievous smile spread across my face. “No reason.”

He sighed. “Why do I not believe that?”

Shrugging, I slowly put on my gear and waited for everyone to leave. Once the locker room was cleared, I pulled out my phone. Kristen’s laugh greeted me. “Why are you calling and not just coming to my office?”

“Because I have two minutes before I have to be on the ice. I need your help.”

“Do you need ice for that eye of yours? I heard about what happened after the debacle I witnessed last night. Callie isn’t a woman to mess around with.”

Rolling my eyes, I huffed. “You know I didn’t realize she was a female.”

“I know. But I also wasn’t expecting for you to blow up the way you did.”

“It was a mistake,” I admitted honestly. “That’s why I need your help.”

“Tell me.”

“I know you probably don’t want to get involved, but I need you to tell me everything you know about Callie Davis. I have to get to her when her brothers aren’t around.”

“Why?” she asked curiously.

I closed my eyes. “Because she needs to know what an idiot I am.”

She burst out laughing. “Then in that case, I’ll help. Come by my office during your break.”