“Markus! What are you doing?”

“What am I doing? Trying to go to bed. What are you doing?”

“I was going to sleep! In my cabin! You’re in the wrong one. Are you drunk?”

He glared, tipping his head back as he held his nose. “No, and this isn’t your cabin. It’s mine.”

Flabbergasted, Mekena threw her hands up. How could she even still be in love with this alcoholic? “God, you are drunk! Always drunk, you should get help. But till then, go to your cabin. This is mine.”

“For the third time, this is my cabin. See? There’s my stuff,” he said, catching the blood that was falling from his nose before nodding his head to the items by the door. Walking past her as she stood there with her mouth hanging open, he returned with a towel, holding his nose. “Also, I’m not drunk. I’m not always drunk!”

“No? Weren’t you drunk when you fucked my sister?”

Rolling his eyes, he ignored her comment. “This is obviously a mistake. Hold on, I’m calling Jace.”

“Obviously,” she spat back, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked to the ground, her heart throbbing while he made the call. He was only two feet away from her at most. With every move he made repositioning his towel, she got a whiff of his intoxicating cologne, and it wasn’t fair. He smelled so good, almost hallucinogenic, but she wouldn’t let that distract her. She was supposed to hate this guy. She was supposed to be happy he was bleeding from the awesome swing of her umbrella. But instead, she felt guilty.

“Are you okay?” she found herself asking, but it came out sharp. Good. She wanted that.

Nodding his head, he flashed her a smile. “I’ve had worse done to me, and don’t be gloating to everyone that you broke my nose. I’m gonna say I got hit on the ice. Can’t let the world know I got taken out by a five-foot-nothing ball of intelligence.”

He said it as a joke, but she knew he meant the compliment. “Should you go to the hospital?”

“Eh, nah, I’m okay,” he said just as the doorway was filled with Benji and Jace.

“What in the world?” Jace asked, taking in the scene, but Markus waved him off.

“It’s fine, I fell,” he said very slowly before looking back at Mekena, his eyes full of playfulness, something she loved with all her soul. He was a natural jokester. He was always full of smiles and quick quips. He always made her smile and laugh until her gut hurt. She missed that. She missed him.

But she was supposed to hate him!

As her eyes narrowed, she almost gave him up. But for some reason, she held back as he turned to Jace. “Now what’s going on?”

“So there was a mix-up,” Benji said, and Markus let out a long sigh.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious, tell us more.”

Benji glared as Jace laughed, though neither Markus nor Mekena found it funny. “Anyway, I put Mekena here ’cause I thought it was open, and you weren’t supposed to be here until Friday. That would have put you in the hotel, but they have no openings until Friday, so we are kinda in a pickle for the next four days.”

Silence fell over everyone in the cabin, and Mekena’s heart still hadn’t calmed. She wasn’t going back to her mom’s, and she knew there were no other hotels that would take cats. She had already called before she took Avery and Jace up on staying in the cabin. No, Markus could go to the hotel.

But he, apparently, didn’t think the same. “Okay, well, it’s a two-bedroom. We’ll be fine for the next few days.”

She almost laughed. “Are you insane? I’m not sharing this cabin with you!”

“Why? It’s two bedrooms on two sides of the cabin. We’ll share the living room and kitchen, and if that’s such a problem, I’ll eat and watch Netflix in my room.”

“No! I don’t want to be anywhere near you,” she yelled and he scoffed.

“Then pack your shit up, ’cause I’m not going anywhere. I was here first.”

“What are you, two? I can’t share this cabin with you!”

“Why? We are adults.”

“You know why!” she yelled back, and he rolled his eyes, lowering the towel. His nose was cocked to the side a bit and already swelling up. Wow, she couldn’t wait to get the pictures back with him in them.

“Damn, dude, your nose is fucked,” Jace said, and Markus glared.

“Shut it, dude,” he snapped back before turning to Mekena. “Look, I’m not going anywhere. Either you can put aside our issues and stay here, or you can go.”

“Put aside our issues? I guess, when you’re the one who cheated, it’s easier to do. But being the one who was cheated on, it’s not that easy, thank you very much!”

“You know nothing, Mekena. You don’t know what I’m feeling. But instead of throwing you out since I was here first, I’m trying to be civil. Meet me halfway because I’m not doing this in front of my friends. So either go or stay, I don’t care.”

“Oh, please, don’t stop for us. Is there any popcorn here?” Jace asked, but both of them ignored him, their eyes locked together as they glared.

But even with Markus’s anger, she could see the hurt in his eyes. It made no sense. He hurt her, not the other way around. Almost coming out of her skin, she yelled, “Of course, you don’t. You don’t care about anyone but your fucking self and your dick!”

“I don’t think they have popcorn. Maybe we should go,” Benji suggested and Jace laughed.

“Whatever, I’m not going anywhere,” Jace cheered. She was really beginning to hate that guy.

“Again, you have no clue what you are talking about, but one thing is for sure, I’m not going anywhere. For one, I can’t afford to, and two, I am riding with Jayden into the city for practice the next couple mornings since I don’t have a car, not that you care.”

Of course, she didn’t care, but why couldn’t he afford to? He was a hockey player. What the hell?

“Why the hell would I care? I care nothing about you.”

“Duly noted, sweetheart,” he said, and God, he was so sad about it.

Sweetheart! Ah, how dare he! He knew what that word did to her. How it rattled her soul and made her dumb on the spot. He was messing with her feelings, making her head spin, and as much as she wanted to break his nose to the other side, she also wanted to wrap her arms around him and comfort him. He looked like a dog that had been kicked around.

By her.

“Don’t call me sweetheart,” she yelled, turning on her heel and stomping to her room, now the one acting like a two-year-old.

As she slammed the door, Mr. Right looked up. When he saw it was her and that she didn’t have treats, he laid his head back down. Roaring with anger, she stomped through the room because there was no way she was staying there, nor was she going to her mother’s. Reaching for her phone, she called every hotel around them again, hoping to God someone would take pity on her and take her cat. She even offered a pet deposit, but no one would take her in. She considered just taking him and hoping she wouldn’t be caught, but what if she did and she was sued? Or kicked out! What if they took Mr. Right from her?

Ugh, what was she going to do?

Dialing Libby’s number, she waited for her to answer. “Hey.”

“Hey, so there was a mistake, and now I’m sharing a cabin with Markus.”

Libby let out a laugh. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish I were,” she moaned, not finding this the least bit funny. “I can’t find a hotel that will take me and Mr. Right, and I am not coming back to Mom’s, so I have no clue what I’m going to do.”

“Drop Fatty here and go to a hotel if it’s that big of a deal.”

“That big of a deal? Libby! He cheated on me.”

“I know, and I gave you a solution. What’s the problem?”

“The problem is you downplaying what he did!”

“I am not.” Libby fought back. “I’m giving you a solution to your problem, that’s all. I hate the guy for what he did.”

“Ugh! I’m sorry, I’m freaking out,” she said, pressing her face into her hands. “He makes me crazy.”

“I know, honey.”

“I broke his nose.”

“Good Lord, girl, you and your angry streak are scary. You totally get that from your mother, not me.”

Libby was trying to be funny, but there was no laughter left in Mekena. Her eyes filled with tears. “He looks so sad, like he’s the one hurting from seeing me. It’s weird, and I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t understand what I’m feeling. I want to hate him, I want to kick him and skin him, but I can’t. He was such a good guy to me. He was so sweet and nice, and then it was over. Am I pathetic? I’m pathetic, aren’t I?”

“You loved him, honey,” Libby answered, but she meant it in the past tense. There was no way Mekena could correct her, so she just nodded. “You’re also not over him.”

“I know, and I don’t know what to do. I know that makes me pathetic. That has to make me pathetic.”

Libby laughed. “No, honey, you’re not pathetic. Your first love is hard to get over, especially with how yours went down.”

“I just can’t understand why he did it. I really thought we had something special.”

“And he threw it away, dumbass.”

“It was special, both of us, together,” she whispered, her heart breaking all over again. “I…I don’t know how to explain it. I have a hard time explaining how he makes me feel, or more to the point, how his betrayal really broke me. It was just so out of left field. He wasn’t that guy. All the books I’ve read, all the movies and shows, you always know when the guy is kind of a dick and has the tendencies. But Markus wasn’t that guy. And being here with him, looking into his eyes, and smelling his sexy cologne, I’m falling flat on my face, Libby. I don’t know what to do. I can’t do this, and it’s only been one day. I’ve only seen him and screamed at him for maybe an hour total, and I feel like a complete idiot. A love-sick teenager.”

“Well, you are barely out of your teens.”

“Focus, Libby!”

“Yes, okay,” she said, sighing. “Really unloading there, baby girl.”

“I know. He makes me dumb.”

“But that’s the thing, you’re not dumb. You’re so smart and strong, Kennie. You need some closure? Talk to him, get your answers.”

Closing her eyes, she nodded once more. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know.”

“Maybe you should just stay,” she said, but when Mekena started to protest, she stopped her. “I know it’s a crazy thought, but you’ve been hiding from this guy for over a year. Making sure you never see anything about him or are even in the same place as him. Now, you are. Instead of running, why don’t you stay and find out what you need to know? Really, I doubt you’ll see each other much with everything that’s going on, you know? Maybe just stay.”

Mekena was already shaking her head. “I can’t stay in the same place with him. I won’t make it.”

Libby laughed. “Make it? What, you’ll fall into bed with him?”

Astonished, Mekena laughed hard. “Whoa, you crazy sex addict! I mean, emotionally.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine,” she said, still laughing. “And I’m not addicted to sex, you prude.”

Mekena rolled her eyes. “Just ’cause I haven’t had sex doesn’t mean I’m a prude.”

“Whatever, I’m not going to argue that with you. But I know you, Mekena, and I know you need to sit down with him and get your answers. You need to know why. So here you go, your perfect chance.”

She was hesitant as she swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”

“Well, you think on that, but do it fast. You have an early morning.”

“Okay, but if I bring Mister over there, Mom will put him on a diet and he’ll hate me,” she said, thinking out loud.

“Oh, that’s a given, so maybe you should bring him anyway.”

“Leave my cat alone.”

“Put him on a diet, you enabler!”

Rolling her eyes, she said, “I’m hanging up.”

“Okay, but really, Mekena, you’ve got this.”

“Doesn’t feel like I do.”

“But you do,” she said simply, and then the line went dead.

Laying her hands in her lap, Mekena held her phone loosely in her grip as she thought over what Libby said. She did need closure. As much as she knew it was going to hurt to know why he did it, why he slept with her sister, she had to know. Was it because she wouldn’t have sex with him? Was it because she was annoying? Too smart? Not pretty enough? What was it? It was killing her, and she knew that was dumb. Boys were stupid, they made stupid decisions, but she’d really thought Markus was different. If she ever planned on moving on, she had to know why he did it, and then maybe, she could get closure. Maybe then she could let him go and not feel like she still wanted him.

Because she couldn’t want him.

He cheated, and she wouldn’t be that girl. The one who ran back to the guy who broke her. Because of that, she knew she couldn’t stay in the cabin. She had to go; there was no other option.

But when she looked over to see Mr. Right sitting up and his eyes in slits as he watched her, she was a bit taken aback by the psychotic look in her cat’s eyes. Eyeing him, she felt her brows rise as she asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

He didn’t answer, but she knew he heard her. Call her crazy, but she was convinced the damn cat was part human. He was so damn smart.

“I can’t stay here, I gotta go. And you’re gonna have to go to Mom’s.”

His eyes narrowed more as he raised his paw up, his nails coming out as he slowly licked them, his eyes never leaving hers.

She was pretty sure he was threatening her life.

“It would be good for you since I can’t say no to you.”

Dropping his paw, he lifted the other, cleaning the second set of nails as his eyes stayed on hers. She didn’t want to admit to being scared of her cat, but she was. Due to that, she knew she wasn’t going to take him to her mom’s.

Which also meant she was staying in the cabin.

With Markus.

But only because she was scared of her cat and the fact that he could claw out her eyes—not because she wanted to talk to Markus.

Or at least, that was what she was telling herself.

 

 

Rolling over, Markus stretched his arms above his head as he winced a bit. His face was still aching from the umbrella Mekena had decided to bash his face in with. For being so small, that girl packed one hell of a punch. If he hadn’t been the victim of her assault, he would have been proud of her. Though, even being the victim, he was proud because he was masochistic as hell.

He just couldn’t help it.

With Mekena, there would always be a soft spot. He wasn’t sure what it was about her, but she had him wrapped tightly around her finger. He loved the sweet tip of her chin, the furrow of her brow, and it was disgusting how turned on he got last night as she screamed at him. The betrayal and hurt rolled off her in waves, big ones which crashed into him with the force of a tsunami. Yet he stood there, unable to move, weathering the storm that was Mekena.

He deserved it.

But man, he wished there was a way to fix it. It was obvious that she was mad, upset, and hated him. He was unsure if she would allow him the time to apologize truly for what happened. He wasn’t sure if he should tell her the truth. He didn’t want to bad-mouth her sister since she was Mekena’s family. But at the same time, why should he take all the blame? He didn’t want it. He only wanted Mekena.

Still wanted Mekena.

How stupid could he be? She wouldn’t have him even if he admitted the truth. She was going to hate him for the rest of his life, and in a way, he couldn’t blame her. Once the trust was gone, the relationship was gone. He knew that, saw it firsthand when Mark Sinclair cheated on Autumn. Markus had promised never to do that to anyone ever, but fate was a cruel bitch sometimes. At least, to Markus, it was.

Sighing with his whole body, he kicked off the blankets and started to get ready to meet Jayden at his car so they could drive into the city for practice. He had deliberately set his alarm earlier so he could make a huge breakfast since he knew practice wasn’t going to be easy. Going into the kitchen, he noticed that the car from last night was still in the driveway. Pausing, he looked to the back bedroom door to see that it was closed.

She had stayed.

That was something.

He wasn’t sure why it rattled him, but it also pleased him. Maybe he’d get the chance to talk to her with no one around, just them. He considered going to the door to check, but then he noticed that it was cracked and he didn’t want her to see him spying in on her. He was pretty sure that wouldn’t help the situation they were in. Plus, could he walk away? He wanted her. God, he wanted her. So much more than he did before. He had always found her sexy. She was a minx, with those naughty dark glasses and those dangerous curves. After seeing her last night, so classy and gorgeous, he was having a difficult time hiding the hard-on that was begging for her.

He wondered if she was still a virgin. Or if she had lost her virginity since the last time he had been blessed enough to touch her. He would never forget the moment she told him she was a virgin. The way her eyes glassed over or how her face burned with embarrassment. It was so cute, so beautiful, and after all this time, it still left him breathless.

“I don’t know how to say this ’cause it’s dumb.”

Running his hand up her ribs, he nodded as his nose moved along hers. He was rock hard, and he was ready. He wanted her. She was holding back—which was fine, he’d wait—but he was shaking with want. They had been dating for a while, and he was ready to make it official, but he felt like she was kind of holding back. Because of that, he was waiting for her to give him the go-ahead. Kissing her top lip, he whispered, “What?”

“I’m a virgin.”

Talk about being hit with a bucket of cold water. With his brows together, he looked down at her, his hand frozen in place. “Excuse me?”

Her face was dark red. “I know, it’s silly, but I haven’t done it.”

“Ever?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head, her eyes immediately filling with tears.

“Whoa, it’s fine,” he said quickly, sitting up and pulling her into his arms. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“I know, it’s just… I feel dumb ’cause I should have done it by now.”

“I mean, if you’re waiting for marriage, then it’s cool. It’s sweet.”

“No, it’s not that. I just haven’t trusted anyone to do it.”

Holding her close to him, he nodded, his cheek against her head. That made complete sense, and it also must be the reason why he felt she was holding back. She didn’t trust him yet. “I’m scared I’ll suck.”

He scoffed a bit at that. “You’d be great,” he whispered. He said it not because he wanted it, but because he wanted to ease her apprehension.

“I’m sorry.”

He shook his head, pulling back to look at her. “Don’t you apologize, Mekena. It’s fine, and I’m good. We will go at your pace. When you’re ready, you let me know. I’ll be first in line.”

Her little lips tipped slightly as her eyes met his. “Really?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said with a grin. “And Lord have mercy on my soul when that goes down ’cause I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it.”

Her nose wrinkled a bit as she giggled. “Thanks, Markus.”

“Of course,” he said, tilting her chin up and kissing her nose. “Your pace. On everything.”

“Everything?”

“Yeah,” he said, knowing she knew what he meant. “I know you’re holding out on being mine.”

She smiled. “Just a bit.”

He held her gaze. “Can I ask why?”

She slowly shrugged, looking away. “I don’t know. I’m scared.”

“Scared? Of me?”

She smiled. “Yeah, you’re almost too good to be true.”

He laughed. “I fart a lot, remember?”

She laughed too, her face breaking into such a carefree expression. Like he wanted. “You do, but you aren’t like all the other guys I meet. For as long as I can remember, my sister has always said that guys were dogs, out for one thing and one thing only. It gave me a complex, that what if I’m not good enough and then they leave? But you, you actually like sitting with me and reading or watching TV. You don’t press for it, you press for my attention, which is nice. Truth be told, I’m afraid you’ll get it and leave.”

Markus shook his head, understanding her but also thinking she was crazy. How could he leave when he had the gold mine? “Nope, not gonna happen.”

“I hope not.”

“Not hoping because, remember, I’m first in line. Waiting.”

“There is no line, only you,” she whispered, and his heart shattered right there. She thought he was too good to be true. Shit, he knew she was too good to be true. She was smart. Beautiful and so damn sweet. Dating was a fucking clusterfuck. No one wanted forever anymore. They wanted right now, and then it was on to the next. He didn’t want a Tinder kind of love; he wanted a Facebook-official one.

And Mekena was just that.

But that damn fate. She had it out for him, and within a couple days, he ruined it all.

But Mekena was still there. She could have gone anywhere, but she stayed. With him. In a cabin a good ten minutes away from the main cabins—that had to mean something. As much as he wanted to believe he had a chance, he couldn’t help but think he didn’t. Though, at least he could apologize. Take the loss and move on. But even knowing that, he had a bit of giddiness in his step as he headed behind the counter to start cooking the pancakes he had bought the ingredients for the night before. He had a thing for pancakes, especially banana ones, and he also knew that Mekena loved his banana pancakes.

As he got to work, he was quiet, making sure not to slam the pans or make much noise, not wanting to wake her. When he finished, he put some on a plate for her, planning to put them in the microwave and writing a note to tell her they were in there. As he stuffed his face, he checked his phone as nerves ate him alive. He was heading to the rink in a matter of minutes, and he felt good. But what if he fucked up? He couldn’t lose this chance. He had to make a good impression and kick some ass. He had to.

Laying his fork down along with his phone, he lifted his arms over his head just as something moved below him at the bar off the kitchen. Looking down, all he could see was a big bundle of fur, and with a cry of surprise, he found himself flat on his ass. He wasn’t sure how he lost his balance, but thank God no one saw him fall off the high barstool except for what he could tell was a very fat cat. But as he took in the cat, he swore it was laughing.

“Asshole.”

It hissed at him, and he scooted backward, rushing to his feet as it came out, meowing at him. He wasn’t sure what it wanted. Though, it did look as if it wanted to eat him. Or maybe it always looked like that?

Still, he found himself asking, “Are you hungry?”

It meowed, and Markus took that as a yes. Looking around for some cat food, he saw none, so he shrugged. “I don’t see anything, buddy.”

The cat looked at the plate on the counter that was for Mekena and then back to Markus before looking back to the plate. Markus wasn’t sure what was happening or what power the fat cat had, but soon he was reaching for Mekena’s plate and he threw the cat a pancake. It hit the floor with a plop.

“Wait, can you eat that?”

Before he could stop the cat, though, it was inhaling the pancake. “Guess so.”

His phone sounded, and he saw it was a text from Jace.

Jace: Don’t be late, punk. I saw Jayden running this morning.

Markus: Overachiever, and why didn’t he invite me?

Jace: Told him your face was busted.

Markus: Douche.

Jace: Love you too.

Jace: But for real, you good?

Markus: Nose is broken. I popped it back but it’s swollen as fuck. I’ll be okay.

Markus: She didn’t leave.

Jace: I know. She told Avery she didn’t want to leave the cat with her mom.

Markus looked down at the cat. “So you’re Mekena’s?”

It ignored him as he looked back to his phone.

Markus: Why not?

Jace: I don’t know, but Skylar is at her mom’s, so she won’t go.

Markus: Wait, they aren’t talking?

Jace: lol, dude, you slept with her. Of course, they aren’t talking.

Markus: Oh. That’s surprising. They were close.

Jace: Eh, Skylar’s a whore.

Markus: Truth, but she’s her sister.

Jace: Yeah, but Mekena’s pissed.

Markus: For good reason, but cool, maybe I can talk to her.

Jace: Be good for both of you.

Suddenly, his timer started going off, signaling it was time to go but also startling him. Turning it off quickly so it didn’t wake Mekena, he typed back a quick good-bye to Jace. The news that Skylar and Mekena weren’t talking did something to him that he didn’t understand. It was bad enough that Mekena’s heart was broken, but she didn’t have her sister either? It was all Skylar’s fault, but still, he felt bad about that. He wanted to wait for Mekena to get up, maybe talk to her, but he knew he couldn’t. He had to go. Looking down to the cat, who was finished with the pancake and obviously expecting another one, he shrugged. “Sorry, you’re on your own. See ya, kitty.”

Rushing out the door, he ran toward the main house and then to the left where he knew Jayden and Baylor’s cabin was. Jayden was outside, leaning against his truck as he sipped on a cup of coffee. When he looked over to Markus, Jayden’s brow rose.

“What happened to your face?”

“The same thing that will happen to yours if we’re late.”

That made Jayden laugh harder, though Markus wasn’t laughing. His nose still hurt and he was a bit embarrassed about it, but a smile started to form on his face. Not from the pain—he wasn’t that insane—but because of who did it.

The one he lost.