Chapter Twelve
Ryder
Hudson reached into the freezer and pulled out one of our staples—Eggo waffles. Whitney sat on the counter, wearing Hudson’s oversize T-shirt, her bare legs swinging. They both stopped what they were doing when they noticed me.
I sighed. “I’m guessing those looks mean you heard about last night.”
“Dane said something,” Hudson confirmed.
“And Lindsay?” I glanced at Whitney. “Have you talked to her?”
Whitney pressed her lips together and nodded. So yes, and it was bad—and that was without Lindsay hearing about how I almost punched out Brett for basically just standing there being his prick-ish self. Unless of course, Whitney told her what happened, which she probably did, and now Lindsay was most likely thinking she’d dodged a bullet.
God, I really need to stop thinking about her. I rubbed the grit out of my eyes—I’d slept super shitty last night, and now I knew why Dane looked like a zombie half the time. Or had before Megan came along and pumped new life into him.
He strolled in, not looking like a zombie at all, and then slowed when he saw me, his smug, I-had-sex-all-night grin falling right off his face.
“Don’t say it,” I said.
“Bro, I just came in to grab coffee for me and Megan.”
“Megan and me,” Whitney automatically said, then winced. “Sorry.”
Dane shrugged.
“Apparently that’s not just an editor thing, but a writer thing, too, correcting everyone’s grammar,” I mumbled, not realizing I’d said it aloud until everyone looked at me. Even Megan had stepped out of the hallway, a concerned expression on her face. Apprehension and worry wafted off them, as if I was a bomb about to blow.
I still couldn’t pinpoint how I’d lost it so easily. I’d been pissed off, frustrated, and experiencing more jealousy than I’d ever felt before, and I reacted without thinking. One slip among the countless times I shoved down my emotions and held myself back, and suddenly everyone looked at me like I was unstable.
Whitney twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “If it makes you feel better, Lindsay said it was about her. Not you.”
“Baby, that’s never made anyone feel better,” Hudson said, tapping Whitney’s thigh so she’d scoot over and he could grab forks from the drawer underneath her.
“What Hudson said,” I helpfully added. The coffee maker burbled noisily in the background, the scent of it filling the air as Dane pulled out mugs. Megan stepped next to him and he wrapped his arms around her and tucked his chin on her shoulder.
Hudson slammed the drawer closed, causing the silverware to rattle together, and then turned to face me. “Before you go agreeing with me, I’m probably to blame for whatever happened with Lindsay, so if you want to punch someone, hit me.” He spread his arms wide, two forks curled into his right hand. “One free shot.”
“Sounds like a great idea.” I reached past him for a glass and turned to fill it with water from the fridge. If I were going to hit anyone, I’d much rather have thrown the punch last night. The way Brett talked about Lindsay… Evidently that was a hot-button subject I should avoid, because my anger made a reappearance. “Actually, I’m going to go hit the weights. Possibly the punching bag in the gym. I’m guessing you guys are busy.”
Dane gestured at the coffee, as if to say it wasn’t going to drink itself, and Megan added that they had plans to go to the museum of science. “There’s this Women in Science and Engineering series I’m dying to see, and I’m not sure how long it’ll be there. You’re welcome to come along if you want.”
Oh yeah. Being a third wheel today was exactly what I needed. Hard pass. I turned to Hudson.
“Sorry,” Whitney said, wrapping her arms around Hudson’s waist. “We’re going, too. I’ve been promising this guy dinosaur exhibits for a while. You know he’s got a thing for dinos, right?”
Hudson craned his neck and kissed her cheek. “Thanks for outing me.”
She giggled and twisted her head so their lips met.
This lovefest definitely wasn’t helping my mood. I needed to get out of here and release all this pent-up frustration in the gym. “No worries. Whitney, I still owe you for getting Lindsay there. Even if it ended up being a disaster.”
“I’ve got your back.” She gave me a smile filled with a bit too much pity for my liking, but because of her words, I couldn’t hold it against her.
“You should get Hudson’s back, too,” I said, “because he’s getting kind of pudgy after choosing you over the gym all the time.”
Hudson flipped me off, I laughed, and life was back to the way it was supposed to be, no one feeling sorry for me or looking at me like I was about to blow. I grabbed my bag and decided that I needed to go back to my original goals. Stay away from drama, no getting involved with anyone until next year when my spot was more secure, and maybe even then it was better to avoid the complications relationships brought.
With my crush on Lindsay snuffed out, it was time to do what I did best. Shut out everything and everyone and focus on what was important. Hockey, school, and more hockey.
That oughta keep me nice and warm at night.