Chapter Eight

GRACE

The moment I get into my apartment, I pull out my phone and dial Skyler’s number. I need to talk to her. I need to talk to someone! This is too much for me to process right now. Not only running into Jensen again, but feeling his kiss again, his touch…

Holy shit! Getting fingered on the hood of his car was one of the hottest experiences of my life. But it's also one of the most confusing. How did I go from being icy toward Jensen at the arena to melting under his touch?

My phone rings several times before Skyler answers. “What's up buttercup?” she asks, her voice light and cheery.

I let out a sigh as I kick off my shoes and walk toward my kitchen.

“You're not going to believe this,” I start, reaching for the bottle of wine on my kitchen counter. “You’re not going to freaking believe this.”

“Try me.”

Pulling out the bottle’s cork, I pour myself a glass.

“I ran into Jensen today.”

There’s a pause as she absorbs my words.

At last, she shrieks so loud I have to pull the phone away from my ear. “Jensen? Miami Jensen? No way! No freaking way! What happened? You have to tell me everything !”

I take a deep breath and launch into the whole story, starting with running into him at the arena and ending with our encounter in the parking lot. By the time I'm done talking, my voice is hoarse and my throat is raw.

Skyler is silent for a moment before she speaks again.

“Wow…” she says finally, her voice softer now.

“Yeah…wow,” I echo.

“It’s fate!” she exclaims.

I blink, stunned. Jensen had said the same thing. I’d dismissed it from him, but hearing it from Skyler makes it almost feel real.

“Fate? What the hell… Skyler! No! This is not fate. It’s a crazy coincidence, nothing more than that.”

“Oh, come on, Grace! This is not just a coincidence. This is some fairy-tale shit! You spend an amazing week with this guy, expecting never to see him again, and then he ends up being on Carson’s team! You guys are meant to be. The universe has declared it so!”

I scoff into the phone, taking a long sip from my wine glass. "Skyler, you're letting your romance novels get to your head. This isn't some grand scheme of the universe. This is… complicated."

Skyler snorts on the other line. "Isn't love always?"

The word love has me choking on my wine. I cough violently, my throat burning with the sharp liquid. Once I've recovered enough to speak, I respond with a flustered denial.

"Who said anything about love?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Skyler asks, her voice almost singsong. "You're both still hung up on each other after all these years. You've just been denying it out of fear."

I let out a strangled sound of indignation, shaking my head even though she can't see it. "I am not 'hung up' on Jensen."

"You're sure about that?" she asks, sounding entirely too smug for someone who's three hundred miles away.

"Yes!" I snap back.

“You two could be perfect together,” she insists.

“No, we wouldn’t,” I reply. “Miami was Miami. We wouldn’t work outside of that. Besides, not only is he a hockey player, but he’s Carson’s best friend! If I’d known that in Miami, I’d never have approached him.”

“Then it’s a good thing you didn’t know,” Skyler chuckles.

“You’re not being very helpful,” I mumble.

Before she can reply, a sudden knock on the door startles me.

“Hold that thought,” I gasp.

“What is it?” Skyler asks.

“Someone’s at the door..”

“Don’t hang up on me. Answer it while I’m still on the line,” Skyler insists. “Remember, stranger danger!”

I chuckle softly and say, “All right, hold on.” I move to the door and when I look out the peephole, I’m surprised to find Carson standing out in the hallway.

“Oh shit!” I exclaim. “It’s Carson.”

Skyler releases a low groan. “Oh, geez, you’d be luckier if only it was a stranger.”

Nervously, I open the door and say, “Hey! What’s up?”

Carson grins and holds up two bags with a Chinese restaurant’s logo printed on them.

“I’ve got dinner,” he declares.

"Oh," I say. Usually this would be a pleasant surprise, but given what just happened between Jensen and me, I’m mortified to be face-to-face with Carson. I know if I hesitate, though, he’ll get suspicious. I need to act normal. "Come in."

Carson steps into my apartment, his tall frame filling the entryway. His eyes land on my phone and he furrows his brow.

“Who are you talking to?”

“It’s Skyler,” I tell him.

He scowls. “Are you still friends with that harpy?”

“I heard that, you stupid gorilla!” Skyler shouts through the phone. I have to hold it away from my ear. “You’re lucky I’m not there, or I’d kick your ass!”

“Ha. I’d like to see you try, runt!” Carson shoots back.

“Okay, I’m going to hang up now,” I say. “You two are driving me crazy. I’ll talk to you later, Skyler.”

“Love you, Grace,” Skyler replies. “Eat dick, Carson!”

“You first!”

I hang up the call and release an exasperated sigh. “You two are ridiculous, you know that?”

Carson smiles as if he wasn’t just bickering like a kid with my best friend who lives thousands of miles away. "Whatever. Hope you're hungry," he says as he saunters into the kitchen, setting the bags down on the countertop.

"I'm starving," I admit, closing the door behind him. I hadn’t even thought about dinner yet, but my stomach suddenly growls at the smell of the food.

"I figured," Carson confirms as he begins to unpack the food. "Decided to swing by and bring dinner. Thought you could use some company."

“Well, that’s quite thoughtful of you.”

“That’s me.” He winks. “Mr. Thoughtful.”

I start, padding over to the kitchen island and leaning against it. "More like Mr. Opportunistic."

Carson raises an eyebrow, a playful grin tugging at his mouth. "Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah." I grab a pair of chopsticks and a carton of what looks to be sesame chicken. "You're just here so you can try to beat me at Mario Kart , aren't you? Don’t think I didn’t notice that Nintendo Switch you got me by the TV."

He laughs. "Caught me red-handed."

"I knew it," I say, nodding sagely as I dig into the food. It's still hot and tastes heavenly after the draining day I've had. It’s actually been a long time since we played Mario Kart together, but it was our favorite game when we were kids. The fact that he not only remembered, but got me a gaming system we could play it on, makes me smile.

We eat in comfortable silence for a while, trading occasional banter and laughter. It's nice, easygoing – something I really need right now. I don’t think I realized just how much I’d been missing this. Missing my twin.

I start to relax as I force thoughts of Jensen out of my mind and focus on Carson and being in this moment with him. I’ve kept my distance from him for so long because of what happened to Stacey. It wasn’t his fault by any means, but I couldn’t stand to be around his friends. I hated going to their games and I hated seeing how happy Carson was playing with them. What happened to Stacey didn’t just ruin her life: it tainted my relationship with my brother, because I hated something that was such an integral part of his life. Now, though, maybe I can fix that. We’re adults now, and I want my brother back.

As we finish up, my mind drifts back to Skyler's words.

Could she be right? Am I hung up on Jensen? The thought is ridiculous… and terrifying. Ridiculous because there was no way I could harbor any feelings for him after all these years. Terrifying because if it's true – if even for a little bit – then it means that my life is about to become much more complicated. After we’re finished eating, we clear the table and then Carson claps his hands and rubs them together.

"Ready for some serious gaming?"

I nod. "You're going down."

We proceed to play several rounds of Mario Kart, laughing and insulting each other like we did as kids. It's amazing how easy it is to fall back into our old patterns, even after so much time has passed.

"Last game," he says finally, stretching his arms above his head as he yawns. The clock on my wall indicates that it’s already past midnight.

"But you're winning," I protest.

"That's the point." He grins and picks up his controller once more. "It’s always good to leave on a high note."

I roll my eyes but reluctantly agree to one final game. As our characters speed around Rainbow Road, I find my mind drifting back to Jensen, back to Miami, back to the tangled web I've somehow gotten myself into.

Carson breaks into my thoughts as our race ends, a triumphant holler echoing through my apartment as his character crosses the finish line first.

“Victorious!” He raises his arms in an exaggerated gesture of victory before turning to me with a smirk.

“Don’t let this go to your head,” I warn him as I drop my controller onto the couch next to me.

He snorts and leans back against my couch, looking warm and content in the dim light of my living room.

"Don't worry," he says with a lazy smile. "I won't."

He loops his arm around my neck and pulls me in for a hug and a rough kiss on the forehead.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he says.

I pat his arm. “Me too.”

We get up and I walk him to the door. As we say goodnight and he leaves to head to his own apartment, anxiety begins bubbling in my stomach. Carson is my brother. My twin. He’s the person I’ve been closest with my whole life. I can’t risk ruining that. I can’t risk driving him away again, especially not for some hockey player.

I have to bring things with Jensen to a firm and decisive end.