Chapter 136
-ROMAN-
Beach house this weekend. You and Eden. Family thing. Come if you can.
Ethan had texted me that.
I was in practice again and I could not focus.
Coach blew the whistle. We lined up on the baseline.
I picked the wrong thought.
Olivia in a bathing suit.
88
55 vouchers
I would lose my mind if I had to spend an entire beach house seeing her in a bikini. Showing off her ass. Her breasts I’d already touched.
Fuck.
I did not need that reminder here.
That would be torture especially with her family present.
I would be in the same beach house as the girl I had kissed and promised myself I would only kiss again if it kept Luca out of her phone and her life.
“Again,” Coach shouted.
We ran it again. I hit the line, touched, turned.
I had been to that beach house before.
Olivia now wasn’t like Olivia back then. A bikini would finish me.
I already knew I would not survive her in less clothing than she already wore as of recently.
We shifted to half-court sets. I posted up. Caught. Turned. Missed a rotation on the weak side because I was seeing her walk out of the ocean instead of my teammates.
Tyrell clapped. “Vale. Earth to Roman. The ball is this way.”
“I got it.”
I did not have it.
The next possession I took too hard.
“Sorry.”
1/4
15:00 Thu, Sep 17
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
88
55 vouchers
It did not sound like sorry. It sounded like a man who had kissed his best friend’s sister a few days ago and was now being invited to share a beach house with her.
Eden would want to go. My parents would want the photos. I would be standing next to the wrong woman watching the right one walk out of the ocean. I would be expected to put my hand on Eden while Olivia’s mouth still lived in my head. I would be expected to sleep in a room that was not hers and not think about the deal.
Just kissing.
The rule was already a joke.
It was finally time for a water break. I did not touch the phone. Jalen talked. Someone laughed. I stared at the far wall and saw her against her bedroom door.
The sound she had made wouldn’t escape my head. A decent person would not be hard in a gym thinking about a family beach trip.
Fuck, what was wrong with me? I was acting like a horny teenager because of a girl I was supposed to stay the fuck away from.
“Let’s go,” Coach said.
I locked in for four possessions. For a minute the court did what it was supposed to do. Then Ethan’s text flashed behind my eyes again. You and Eden. As if we were a real couple. As if I had not had Olivia’s tongue in my mouth.
I missed a box-out. The ball went off my hip.
“Vale.” Coach’s voice flattened. “If your head is not here, sit.”
“I’m here.”
I ran the next set like I was trying to outrun the weekend. I was not here. I was in a kitchen in that beach house at night, sand on the floor, her in a cover-up that was not covering enough. I was in a hallway with everyone asleep. I was in the ocean with her and no good reason to look away.
I could not do it.
After the last whistle I sat on the bench longer than I needed to. Towel over my head. Phone heavy in my bag. I could still decline.
I needed to do the smart thing here. As much as I wanted to go, I could not. I had to force myself to stay away.
I showered first. Then, in the parking lot I sat in the car with the phone in my hand and typed three versions
of no.
Busy this weekend.
Cannot make it.
2/4
15:00 Thu, Sep 17
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
Tell your dad thanks.
All of them were the easy way out. All of them were needed right now.
I thought about William threatening to marry olivia off if she made another scene.
A beach house was a scene waiting to happen.
88
55 vouchers
One look at her in a swimsuit and I would not be the great friend Ethan kept thanking. I would be the man who followed her upstairs. I would be the man who asked what it would take and then paid in full.
I sent it.
Cannot do this weekend. Tell everyone I said thanks.
My phone buzzed almost immediately.
You sure? Olivia asked if you were coming.
I stared at that sentence until it blurred.
She had asked.
Fuck.
Of course she had asked. Now more than ever I knew that I shouldn’t be there. If she asked, she was definitely planning something that I would not be prepared for.
We were both circling the same fire.
I did not answer right away. I started the car. I told myself turning it down was the decent thing.
Then I saw the follow-up.
I’m sure Eden would want to come as well. Bring her. The both of you. It would be fun.
Absolutely not.
Eden in that house was worse. Olivia was already pissed I’d brought her around so many times since we started the PR relationship.
I typed back, Neither of us. I have training.
A lie. I didn’t have training. I did not care. I would use any excuse to get out of this.
Olivia in a bathing suit was not a weekend I could walk into and walk out of the same man.
I threw the phone on the passenger seat and drove, already knowing I would regret the no and regret a yes
more.
Torture either way.
3/4
15:00 Thu, Sep 17
The Hockey Captain’s Unwanted Wife
I chose the kind I could survive from a distance.
I told myself this was control. The only way possible right now.
It felt like the same weakness as the bedroom, only quieter.
I parked at my place and did not go inside right away. I sat with the engine off.
I would not go.
I already knew I would think about going the entire time they were there.
Fuck, I wanted to see her in the water. On the sand. In my bed.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
What the fuck was wrong with me?
88
55 vouchers
I already knew the second Ethan sent a photo from that deck, I would be searching for one with her in the background and hate the man who had chosen distance-and still want her anyway.
4/4
AD
Comment
Send gift
No Ads
15:00 Thu, Sep 17
Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.