The Hockey Star’s Remorse

Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Evie | was trembling. While it was emotionally exhausting, Timothy was meant to be my dark secret.

| don’t consider myself an open book, and it wasn’t like most people were compelled to ask me about my personal life. | considered that a fortunate consequence of keeping to myself and focusing on my work. Lucas was far too perceptive, and I'd dare say that he cared too much.

| looked over at Aria, who was drunkenly swaying in her seat as the love song came to a close. | took that opportunity to scoot closer to Lucas and whisper in his ear.

“I need you to act like my boyfriend,” | said quickly. | snuck a glance back at Timothy, who was attempting to step away from the woman at the counter.

“Huh?” Lucas jerked away, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

“That guy over there, my client...” | nodded at Timothy, who was still by the bar, “I've been stuck with him ever since we started his case. It wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t trying so hard to get close to me. I’m not interested in intimacy right now.”

Lucas chuckled. “Quite the scheme. You must really be into him.”

“No, I’m not into him. That’s why I’m telling you to pretend to be my boyfriend. So he can take the hint,” | hissed. “And don’t let Aria know, or she'll kill me.”

| flinched when Aria started laughing at the other end of the booth. She downed the rest of her wine before pouring herself another glass. She seemed to be singing the words to the love song on the speakers, blissfully unaware of my scheme.

“Who cares if you're not into him like that?” asked Lucas. He nodded at Timothy and smirked. “You could just sleep with him. I’ve heard of how popular he is with the ladies, being the lover—boy that he is.”

| scoffed. “You're serious?”

“Evie, he knows he’s hot and can get any woman he wants. Why not take advantage of that? You'll be benefitting too if you sleep with him.”

“Lucas,” | started, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration, “I'm just not 14

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interested. He's barely my type.”

7

“Yeah, right.” Lucas took the wine bottle and poured the rest of it into his glass. | hadn’t even realized we had drunk so much. The wine hadn't done much to ease

my nerves, unfortunately.

“If you're telling me that you don’t want a piece of that,” Lucas said, pointing hist thumb at Timothy, “Then you’re clearly a sexually frigid person. Get some help.”

| groaned, placing my head on the table in defeat as Lucas continued laughing at me. Eventually, he settled down and patted me on the shoulder before making at show of wiping away imaginary tears.

“I'll do it, Evie,” Lucas said finally, his eyes trained on Timothy’s muscular body. “But I’m not sure what I’ll say.

That didn’t necessarily ensure me, although it was a start. Lucas loved to tease, a trait he’d clearly held onto since our time in college together. He surely wasn’t the best person for the job.

Lucas could be casual, even careless at the worst of times. However, | knew that he could be trusted when it mattered. Hopefully this situation with Timothy mattered enough.

| shook my head and grabbed the empty bottle away from Lucas. | stood up and slid out of the seat, motioning for Lucas to follow. Aria whined, begging for one more drink.

“We're going to get some more wine,” | assured her, hauling Lucas out of the booth. After reaching a safe distance, | pulled him close.

“Just follow my lead,” | whispered to Lucas as we walked toward the entrance.

Suddenly, Lucas slid an arm around my shoulder and drew me close. | almost pulled away before spotting Timothy heading in our direction.

way that

Desperate, | cuddled closer to Lucas and even squeezed his arm the woman had with Timothy. At the table, Aria gave us a questioning look, ready to interrogate us before a loud voice broke over her.

“Evie!” Timothy was close to me, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked over the both of us before landing his attention on Lucas‘ hand on my arm. His expression hardened. “Didn't realize you were here.”

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Ss

Aria looked over at Timothy in a daze. If the drink wasn’t slowing her down, she probably would have been crawling over him. | figured it was best that none of us were sober for the occasion.

Timothy pointed at Lucas. “Who's this guy you're with?”

| shifted awkwardly as Lucas rubbed my shoulder, playing the protective boyfriend rather well. | snuck a glance over at the bar behind us, seeing that the woman Timothy had been with was gone.

“| could ask you the same,” | said slowly. “About that woman you were with. You'd better be careful, Timothy.” Timothy clenched his jaw, hyper—focusing on Lucas‘ hand as it snaked around my waist. “And why is that?”

“| know you've got a reputation for flying through women, but it would benefit you to be a little safer at this time, given that your current case is very image conscious. If you caught an STD now, that could diminish your position in the termination lawsuit.”

Timothy shot me an incredulous look. “What? Evie, that’s the team doctor, Bessy. She was just asking me how | was doing after | strained myself during practice.”

“Oh.” | couldn't help but sigh in relief before catching myself. “That's nice. Glad you’re keeping up with your physical health then.”

Timothy pressed his lips into a firm line, looking between Lucas and me. He considered us for a moment, and | could see the gears turning in his head. After a moment of silence, Timothy huffed.

“Okay, | answered your question. Who’s this guy you’re with, Evie?”

I smiled. “Oh, you haven’t met my boyfriend yet, have you?” | patted Lucas on the arm. “This is Lucas. Lucas, this is Timothy, my client.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Lucas greeted, offering his hand for Timothy to shake. He received a cold glare in return. “Evie mentioned you. You've got quite the suit on your hands.”

Timothy grunted, turning his attention to me. “Yeah. Odd that she’s here with you instead of with me. As her very important client, that is.”

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Lucas tilted his head to the side, showing all his teeth as he smiled. “Well, my girl’s got to take a vacation every now and then. She tells me you’ve been working her like a dog.”

“That was not my intention,” Timothy stated firmly. “I want this to be a team effort. If things go well, this will all turn out in Evie’s favor as well as my own.”

| stared up at him in awe. It sounded so noble, but his expression didn’t betray any hint of hurt or remorse. It was like watching a statue built of stone.

“Also,” Lucas added, tugging a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You can’t have her all to yourself, champ. We just wanted to enjoy a nice night out.”

“That’s fine,” said Timothy. He squinted at me and shook his head. “Whatever. Just make sure you don’t get too distracted.”

He started backing away, taking us in one last time before clicking his tongue. “And I'll be sure not to catch anything, since you're so concerned.”

| frowned, watching as Timothy retreated to the bar. He demanded another drink. from the bar tender, purposefully turning his back to us as we walked back to the booth. Aria was slumped over the table, her empty wine glass ready to fall out of

her hand.

As we took our seats, Aria looked up and scrunched up her face.

“Where’s the wine?” she pouted, then dropped her head back on the table. Once she started snoring, Lucas laughed and pulled me close once more.

“He totally bought it,” he said into my ear. His teeth were close enough to nibble at the skin on my lobe and | felt the heat rising in my cheeks. Lucas was way too good at fooling a crowd.

“He looked like he was ready to pummel you, or something,” | whispered back, faking a laugh for effect. | could feel Timothy's eyes burning into me from afar. He seemed so hopeless watching Lucas drape himself over me.

For once, | felt in control. |,had closed the door right as Timothy started to walk in. While he deserved it, part of me couldn’t help but recall the emptiness in his eyes.

To my surprise, Lucas grabbed my chin and placed a kiss right on my lips. | made sure Timothy was still looking, then leaned into the kiss for effect. Perhaps the alcohol was making our charade easier.

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After pulling away, | pecked Lucas on the cheek and snuggled close to him, trying not to imagine how a certain someone else’s lips would feel on mine. It was a feeling | refused to entertain.

“We probably head out soon,” said Lucas as he patted me on the head. “You look like you’re ready to fall asleep.” “Aria beat me to it,” | mused, watching as Aria drooled all over the table.

After waking Aria, we began making our way toward the entrance. Timothy chose. that moment to tell the bartender to close his tab before sliding a tip in his direction. Red in the face, Timothy grabbed his coat and made his way toward us.

“Am | sensing another confrontation?” Lucas joked.

Timothy didn’t even glance in our direction. As he walked by, he bumped into Lucas‘ shoulder, not even excusing himself and he pushed through the double doors and crossed the street.

Surprisingly, Lucas was more amused than offended by the interaction. He released me from his grasp, dropping the couple act as he laughed it off.

“He has got it bad for you,” he said wryly, poking me in the ribs. 315)