30. Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

Cole

"Freya, I'm done having this argument."

"You can say that all you wish, but I will have my way."

I groan, all too aware of Carissa's eyes on me on the other side of the room. After a long night of back-and-forth texts with Freya and fruitlessly trying to get some sleep, I almost didn't come down to the hotel dining area to meet Carissa for breakfast. It was only the thought of disappointing her that pulled me out of my room and down to the bottom floor. She hasn't texted me at all since last night, and her expression is pretty impossible to read right now as she waits for me to actually join her.

I will as soon as the princess stops talking.

"Freya," I say with a heavy sigh. Even some of the guys are watching me now as I pace in an empty corner, probably looking like a mangy raccoon who has been cornered.

Not exactly the kind of mood I should be in after a win like we had last night .

"Cole," Freya replies, her voice clipped. I'm pretty sure she skipped a meeting for this phone call, and that is not something she often chooses to do. Freya is nothing if not driven by duty. "Unless I have proof that you have friends on your team, you are going to that wedding."

She keeps saying that, and I keep telling her that I didn't have enough time to meet her terms. Granted, I didn't start trying until a week ago, but my efforts should count for something.

"I can't get you proof," I grumble. "But I swear I did everything I could."

"That is not true, and you know it."

Carissa meets my gaze again and offers a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. I hate that smile. I hate more watching Wyatt and Grayson slide in on either side of her with plates of food like they're all the best of friends, Carissa's smile turning brighter at their arrival.

Growling, I grip my phone and stalk across the dining area, slipping into the chair across the table from Carissa before anyone else can. This is going to be a disaster, but I'm out of arguments. "Wyatt, would you consider us friends?"

All three of them—Wyatt, Carissa, Grayson—stare at me like I've grown a second head. I don't blame them, considering I cut Carissa off mid-sentence to ask a ridiculous question and am still holding my phone to my ear.

Wyatt coughs and picks up his fork, spearing some scrambled eggs. "Friends? Evanson, you're lucky I tolerate you."

About what I expected. I look at Grayson. "You?"

He lifts an eyebrow. "I don't know, Cole. You've been a decent captain this week, but that doesn't mean I'm keen to go to the farmer's market with you or anything."

"Everything okay, Cole?" Carissa asks.

Gator is chowing down on a breakfast burrito one table over, and I point a finger at him. "Hey, Finau, are we friends? "

He chuckles and shakes his head.

I could keep going, but now the rest of the team is looking at me like I've gone crazy, so I can probably guess at their answers. Turning my attention back to my phone, I shake my head as if Freya can see me. "It was never going to happen, and you know it, Peach."

"Perhaps you are right."

"Why are you so determined that I go to the wedding of my ex and my best friend?"

A couple of the guys wince and offer sympathetic sounds of pain, but they turn their focus to their plates when I glare at them.

"Because you either needed closure, Coleman, or you needed to make friends," Freya says. "I thought it would be enough of a motivator to get one or the other. You are going to that wedding."

"I'm not going."

"If you do not go to the reception at the very least, then I will not allow you entrance to my coronation in the fall." She hangs up with a finality that leaves my ears ringing. She wouldn't … Except, Freya never makes empty threats and absolutely would put me on a blacklist, and if I had to miss the most important day of her life…

I curse under my breath, setting my phone onto the table with a slow exhale as a sharp pain enters my ribs. If Freya is willing to go to such extremes, she must believe this wedding is going to do something for me. There is no world in which I would miss Freya's coronation, but Sage's wedding? Even the reception sounds like torture.

"I don't know what to do," I whisper to myself because that truth is too heavy to keep inside. I hate feeling helpless, but there is no choice here where I can win. I look up, meeting Carissa's gaze, and she gives me a sympathetic smile. There's only so much context she could have gotten from my end of the conversation, but she seems to understand my predicament. "Freya just gave me an ultimatum, and… "

Carissa tilts her head to one side, glancing at Wyatt and Grayson next to her, who both quickly look at their phones and pretend they're not intently listening. "Would going to the wedding really be all that bad?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Because it's Sage. I may not say that out loud, but Carissa has to understand, right? She's been at the forefront of all my issues the last few weeks. "It feels like a backwards step," I admit. "And no good can come from going."

"What about your old teammates? Wouldn't it be nice to see some of them again?"

Some of them, yes. And it would be nice to get a sense of how many of them have caved to the corruption. But I still don't know if it's a good idea to tell Carissa about that stuff, and I'm definitely not going to say anything when we're surrounded by the Thunder. They're all in danger too right now.

"I…could go with you," Carissa says, though her voice sounds thin. I doubt she really wants to go to something like that, though I feel the weight of her offer in my gut. I don't deserve her.

I shake my head. "You're going to Liam's show. I know you would hate to miss that."

"I could always go another time," she argues. "It's not like I don't know the headliner and his wi—girlfriend." Red splashes across her cheeks, and she drops her gaze to the mostly untouched food in front of her.

Narrowing my eyes, I stare at her for a second. "What did you almost say?"

She doesn't look at me. "I really think you should go to the wedding, Cole."

Yeah, I'm not doing that. I'm more interested in her slip of tongue. "Did you almost say wife ?" Liam wouldn't do that, would he? I huff out a laugh, shaking my head. He would. And if he did… "Carissa, what do you know?"

"I know your old teammates would love to see you."

"That's not what I mean, Paxton, and you know it."

She looks up and fixes a surprisingly powerful glare on me. "Coleman Evanson, why are you so afraid of this wedding? I wouldn't have guessed you were a coward."

Her comment feels like a slap in the face, even if she immediately flinches as soon as the words are out of her mouth. Wyatt and Grayson both choke on their food, glancing from me to Carissa before grabbing their plates and slipping away. We're still surrounded by the team and their obnoxious staring, but at least Carissa and I are alone at our table now.

I grit my teeth, though I can't decide if I'm more bothered by her thinking me a coward or by whatever secret she's keeping from me about Liam.

"You're not a coward," Carissa says, though her expression remains firm. "I know you're not. So why won't you let yourself get a little closure?"

"Because…" I can't find a way to finish that sentence. Derek, Freya, even Carissa. For some reason, they all think I need this, and if I can't trust them… I let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. We'll go to the reception." No way am I sitting through that ceremony, and I'm going to need something to wash away the discomfort that's going to be all over me while I'm there. "But we're also going to Liam's show so I can figure out whatever it is you know that I don't."

Blushing brighter than before, Carissa lifts her chin, looking defiant and beautiful and completely irresistible. "Great."

"Great." I clench my jaw, studying the way her eyes light up with a sense of triumph. She clearly think she's gained the upper hand. And she's right. "You think you're so clever, don't you?"

Her lips twist up in a smile, pulling me closer. "Clever? No. I'm just right."

"This could get messy."

"I can handle messy."

I curse under my breath as a wave of desire rolls over me. This is neither the time nor place, but I can only resist this woman for so long. "I'm going to kiss you now." I lean over the table and capture her mouth with mine, all too aware of my team watching us. Carissa doesn't seem to mind, melting into me the same way she did after the game last night.

The small taste I get of her is not nearly enough, but she pulls away and looks at me, her soft hand pressing against my cheek as her thumb brushes the dark circle beneath my eye. "What else is bothering you?" she asks. "And don't even think about pretending it's nothing. What happened last night?"

Something I can't tell her with the whole team trying to listen in. I sigh. "Did you get enough to eat?"

She glances down at the giant waffle on her plate, of which she's only taken a couple of bites. "Yeah, I'm not really hungry."

I accept her claim only because I'll be with her the rest of the day and can make sure she eats at some point. The team is flying back to Cali in a couple of hours, but I booked us an extra night in our rooms so we can go to Liam's show. Which means I get her all to myself until that stupid reception. As soon as the team's out of the way, I'm going to take advantage of this time while I've got it.

"Can I take you somewhere?" I ask.

Carissa's eyes light up, her excitement settling deep inside me. "Where?"

Anywhere . "Somewhere special."

Nodding, Carissa reaches for her plate, but Sharkie grabs it first. "You kids go," he says, his tone light and friendly, though the look he gives me is anything but .

My body tenses when I realize he's not the only one looking at me like that. It's like the whole team is suddenly giving me silent threats that I read loud and clear. If I do anything that might hurt Carissa, they'll be out for my blood.

I did the same thing to Hank when he started dating Bonnie, so I know better than to underestimate their warnings. They mean business.

"Thanks, Loren," Carissa says to Sharkie at the same time he shifts his expression to a smile. "Cole, I just need to run up to my room for a sec. Meet you back down here in twenty minutes?"

I don't especially want her to leave my side, but based on the way a few of the guys stand and give me sharp looks, I have a feeling they don't want their threats to remain silent. Swallowing, I nod and take Carissa's hand to give it a squeeze. "Take all the time you need."

As soon as she's gone, I'm surrounded by Thunder.