Get Pucked

29. bromance on the rocks

"Lincoln told her, and she told me," Connor speaks calmly. "Between us, I don't think she's taking it seriously, so I decided you needed to know too."

Hurt flashes openly across my face as I finally make eye contact with him, "you weren't going to tell me?"

"I told her I was going to, but I haven't found the right time until now," he sighs, obviously torn up.

Tearing away from his hold, I slam a gloved fist into the locker behind me, the sound echoing through the room. "Fuck!"

"Stop before you hurt yourself," I'm so mad I can't even tell who says it.

"I'm not going on the trip," I tell them.

"Like hell, you're not," Connor scoffs, "we'll figure something else out."

"How the fuck can you say that? Do you not care about her or some shit?"

He steps forward, shoving me repeatedly until my back hits the lockers. "Don't ever fucking imply that I don't care about her safety. I was there for her long before you ever were, and I'll be here long fucking after you walk away." Connor's eyes are dark as he speaks, and I stand completely still as he storms out of the room.

Lincoln shakes his head at me, then glances at the door.

"What?" I say firmly.

He goes to leave without speaking but stops, changing his mind. "Believe it or not, Cadell, I actually kind of respect you. But that," he juts a thumb toward the hall, "was a real dick thing to say to him."

"Whatever," I laugh tightly, sitting down on the bench.

~

Not even the dog can break the tension in the house tonight.

Ellie and Dakota came over earlier for a movie night they planned out the other day, but Connor and I haven't even looked in each other's direction since our argument this morning. Instead of her usual spot between us, Dakota sat on the floor with Birk, leaving our tense bodies directly next to eachother.

Connor was eager to drive Ellie home after, and I don't know if it was because he was trying to get away from me, or if he wanted to get her alone.

Now, my girlfriend sits at the foot of my bed, eyeing me carefully as I scroll through Instagram, back against the headboard.

She raises an eyebrow at me, "you have a weird look on your face."

"No, I don't."

"You do," she looks sure of herself. "You were also avoiding Connor like he had the plague today."

"We had a disagreement," I shrug.

She climbs further up the bed, straddling my waist and I drop my phone, hands automatically resting on her hips. "Parker."

Lightly kissing her forehead, I smile at her. "It'll blow over, don't worry about it."

"If I tell you about my offers, will you tell me what your fight was about?"

"I never said it was a fight."

"You didn't have to," she squeezes my forearms, reading me better than anyone else would be able to.

Staring into her soft eyes, I weigh my options here. On one hand, I'm dying to know the information she's offering up. On the other, I know this girl like the back of my hand, and it'll break her heart to know the fight was over her.

Making my decision, I take a deep breath. "Tell me."

She giddily bounces, shaking my body beneath her. "Okay, are you ready?"