Cheap Shot by Brittney Mulliner
Reid
Jake knockedhis foot against mine for the tenth time. His eyes bounced between me and Haley, watching us with a bemused expression, his chin resting on his hand. I wanted to kick him under the table, or at least shove his leg away from me. He was sitting next to me in the booth, and if he didn’t stop, I was pretty sure Haley would catch on.
“I swear, I don’t have any other stories. You walked in on one of the only ones.” Haley laid her spoon on the edge of her soup bowl.
“Come on! I’ve told you about his boy band phase and pet rocks.” Jake chuckled. “You’ve got to have something else.”
I wasn’t enjoying this conversation. Jake told her all about how I’d liked to dress up as my favorite boy bands and learn their choreography during my limited downtime. It was embarrassing, but my ten-year-old logic was sound. If all the girls my age were in love with them, then if I could act like them, the girls would love me. It should have been a flawless plan, but apparently, the singing and talent were major contributors to their attractiveness.
And the pet rocks were really more a reflection of my parents than me. They didn’t think Jake and I could handle the responsibility of a real pet, so they glued googly eyes on rocks and told me if I could take care of them for a year, I could get a real pet. I’m still not sure what they expected me to do with rocks, but I never got a live animal, so I must have fallen short.
“I’m sorry! I’m new here. We haven’t really had that many experiences together,” she said with a wide smile.
Was she thinking about our first meeting?
The perfect kiss?
I wished I didn’t think about it as much as I did.
There was something going on with Ethan. I knew that, and it was a major reason why the voice in my head was screaming at me not to push things with Haley. He had enough going on without me going behind his back to date her. Not with the scene he caused at practice.
“You slept in his room last night. Doesn’t that mean you’re close?” he asked, looking at me even though the question was directed to her.
“That was an extenuating circumstance.” She pushed the bowl away and poked her fork at her salad.
“What do you mean?” he pressed.
I’d told him not to bring up last night, but he wasn’t one to follow instructions.
Her eyes flickered to mine, and she sighed. “I got into a bad position at a party. I tried to call my brother, but he didn’t answer, so I called Reid. He came and got me, and I stayed with him.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “Did someone hurt you?”
She shook her head, lowering her spoon. “No, but he tried to.”
I expected a joke or sarcastic comment from my brother, but he just looked concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She forced a smile. “Thanks to Reid I was able to get out of there before anything happened.”
He turned to me and gave me a surprised look, then slowly smiled. “That’s good that he was there.”
I nodded and looked back to Haley. “How are you feeling?”
She hesitated. She’d been off since we ran into her, and I wanted to directly ask her what was going on but didn’t want to push her in front of Jake. If she needed to hold back, I’d let her.
“Fine, the headache is gone.” She sighed. “Sorry, I’m a little rattled. I ran into that guy before I saw you.”
I leaned forward. “The guy from last night?”
“Yeah.” Her eyes dropped. “He cornered me in a cafe by his dorm. I told him I wasn’t interested, but he wasn’t listening. A guy from my bio class saw us and intervened. He pretended to be my boyfriend and that seemed to scare him off.”
I hated the idea of some stranger even pretending to be her boyfriend, but I was grateful he helped her.
“It’s so stupid that it takes another guy telling him no for him to get it.” Jake scowled. “He should have left you alone when you told him no.”
Her sad eyes met his. “Yeah, he should have. I’m just glad that there are guys out there that look out for women, whether or not they know them.”
“Me too,” I agreed.
“What are you studying?” Jake asked, changing the topic.
She finished chewing and swallowing. “I’m still working on my generals. At first, I thought I wanted to do something practical like business or accounting, but I hate math way too much.”
Jake laughed. “Me too!”
“I have no idea how you’re doing it, on top of hockey,” Haley said to me.
I shrugged one shoulder. “It’s not my passion, but most of it comes fairly easily to me. I do struggle with some of the math classes though.”
“Do you think you want to move back to Minnesota when you’re done?” Jake asked, and I shot a look at him.
“How do you know where she’s from?” That wasn’t something we discussed.
“Because I know where Ethan’s from,” he retorted like he was pretty sure I was losing my mind.
Haley shook her head. “If I end up back there, I wouldn’t hate it, but it’s not on my to-do list. I don’t know where I’ll end up.”
His smile grew. “Huh, sounds like the perfect hockey wife. You never know where you’ll end up with contracts and trades.”
He tapped his foot against my ankle, and I nearly shoved him out of the booth.
She just laughed. “Yeah, maybe that’s why I’m okay with that. I always knew that would be Ethan’s reality, so I guess I just assumed the same.”
“Well, you’re going to end up with a player so it makes sense.” He leaned back with a cocky grin.
I glared at him. What was wrong with him?
“Oh really? Do you know something I don’t?” she teased.
“Yeah, you’re going to marry me and, obviously, I’m first-round draft material, so we’ll be moving somewhere in the next few years.”
She laughed so hard she covered her mouth as her eyes watered. “You’re smooth.”
I shook my head and debated calling my mom and shoving the phone at him. That would be decent payback for this moment.
He leaned forward and winked. “Look, I know who your options are right now, and all I can say is that it would be worth it for you to wait.”
I rolled my eyes then realized he wasn’t exactly wrong. She was only two years older than him. It wouldn’t be that weird for them to date once he graduated.
No. My brain couldn’t handle that.
I wanted to think of her as mine, but that wasn’t true.
“I don’t know. They’re not all bad,” she countered, and I caught her watching me just before she looked away.
What did that mean? I nearly shouted the words at her but stayed calm while my heart raced in my chest.
Another knock on my ankle, and this time I couldn't stop myself. I kicked him back as hard as I could, and he yipped before bending over, rubbing the spot.
Haley watched him with concern. “Are you okay?”
He cringed and sat back. “Yeah, just hit the bar there.”
She frowned. “Oh no. Do you need ice?”
“He’s fine,” I bit out.
Haley’s eyes darted to the other side of the large room. Her frown deepened as she gathered her trash onto her tray. “I’ve got to go. It was really nice to get to know you, Jake. I hope I’ll see you again soon.”
My brother blushed and stood up to give her a hug before she gave me a small wave and hurried to the exit. Then he took her spot across from me.
“What was that about?” Jake asked, watching her leave. “She just took off.”
I wasn’t sure until I studied the entrance and realized Ethan had just walked in with Matt.
I let out a heavy breath. “She’s avoiding her brother.”
Jake searched the room and found him. “Oh. Something’s going on with them?”
“Yeah.”
“More than just him freaking out over a guy saying she’s hot?” he asked.
I really hated that he’d seen the fight at practice. Not exactly the best impression of the team, but it was reality. We didn’t always get along.
“Yeah, there’s been something going on since she got here. Probably before.”
Jake narrowed his eyes as we watched Ethan move through the line. “I wonder what it is. She shouldn’t feel like she has to leave a room whenever he enters.”
I nodded. There had been tension this morning, but something must have happened since then. The next time we were alone, I would ask him. It wasn’t the time or place to confront him even though I was dying to know what happened as much as Jake.
“Are you going to tell him how you feel?” Jake asked suddenly.
I blinked and stared at him. “Tell who about what?”
He cocked his head and looked at me like he didn’t believe I could actually be this dense. “Tell Ethan you’re in love with his sister.”
I scoffed. “I’m not in love with her.”
“You are. At least you’re falling for her.”
I tried to deny it, but he just shook his head. “Dude. I’m your brother. I can read you better than anyone else in the world. Not that you made it very difficult. You’re different around her. You gravitate toward her, and when she’s around, you can’t take your eyes off her. Plus, you risked pretty much everything by going to that party to rescue her. You could have called someone else, like the police or campus security or something, but you ran to her. That makes it pretty obvious that you care for her more than just as your best friend’s sister.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t say a word around him.”
He crossed his arms. “You can’t let him control you. Or her.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “It’s not just that. I have a lot going on this year. I don’t think I could handle dating too.”
“You’re listing off excuses.” He shot me a disapproving look. “You’re scared, but isn’t she worth it?”
Of course, she was worth it. I was willing to give it all up for the chance to be with her, but that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t just about me. If I screwed up this season by igniting a dumpster fire of drama with the team, it wouldn’t just affect me. All the seniors could end up paying for it.
“You’re letting fear control you. The truth is, you don’t know what will happen until you take action. You think of every worst-case scenario when in reality, I’m sure Ethan would get over it and the rest of the guys wouldn’t even care. Sure, you’ll need to manage your time better so you can see her, but it’s not like you don’t have any spare time.”
When did he become the wise, mature one? It was freaking me out.
“You know, you could listen to your own advice.”
His eyes dropped to the table. “What do you mean?”
“You’re letting fear of disappointing our parents control you. If you’re really so miserable that you have to run away, then it’s time to talk to them.”
“You know they won’t listen,” he grumbled.
I sighed. “I know they aren’t the most open-minded. They have ideas of what they want for each of us, but in a few months, you’ll be on a full-ride somewhere. They won’t have control over your life anymore. You can make the choices you need to get to where you want to be. So you can either keep your head down and suffer in silence, or let them know that the pressure they’re putting on you is damaging. Maybe ask your coach to come over and talk to them. That’s something I never did, and I wonder if it would have made a difference. Hearing from someone else, someone that’s an expert in the field, explaining how talented you are and the potential you have to play professionally, might change their minds.”
He didn’t speak for a moment but finally met my eyes and nodded. “Fine. I’ll do it.” He paused and a smirk tugged on his lips. “If you talk to Ethan.”
Before I could reply, a voice spoke behind us. “Talk to me about what?”
I glared at Jake, and he smiled at the guys. “Hey, guys, feel free to join us.”
Matt and Ethan sat down, and I fought against every instinct in my body to pummel my irritating little brother to the ground like I did when we were kids.
“What’s going on?” Ethan asked while opening a ketchup packet.
Jake widened his eyes, but Matt was oblivious to the tension at the table. Yeah, I was going to kill my brother later.