“One misleading picture can’t tell you shit about my feelings for you,” he growled.
“Misleading?” she shrieked. “So you didn’t have another woman sitting on your lap? So you weren’t grinning like the cat that ate the canary?”
He cursed under his breath. “I’m coming over so we can talk.”
“Don’t bother,” she snapped. “I won’t be here.”
“Where the fuck are you going?”
“None of your damn business.”
“The hell it isn’t.” He had the nerve to sound territorial.
“If you must know,” she taunted spitefully, “I’m going out with my friends. You’re not the only one who enjoys having a good time.”
“Goddammit, Nadia,” he snarled. “Don’t get any crazy ideas about picking up some asshole at a club.”
“Fuck you,” she spat. “I’ll do whatever—or whoever—the hell I want!”
He swore viciously. “Nadia—”
She hung up on him, shaking with outrage and adrenaline. Fighting back hot tears, she threw her phone down on the bed, grabbed the remote and punched on the television.
When Nelson came home an hour later, he found her lying in bed with her pillow clutched to her chest. She was watching a wildlife documentary, her eyes glazed and unfocused.
“Hey,” Nelson greeted her.
“Hey,” she mumbled.
She could feel him studying her from the doorway, his concern reaching her in waves of twin telepathy. “What’s wrong?”
Without a word, she pointed to her closed laptop on the desk. Nelson walked over and lifted the lid, leaning closer to peer at the page that appeared on the screen. When he saw the photo of Reid and the brunette, his jaw hardened with fury.
“That son of a bitch!”
A sad, bitter smile twisted Nadia’s mouth. “I guess now we know.”
“Know what?”
“He’s not a changed man.”
Nelson muttered a few choice expletives under his breath.
Just then Nadia’s phone rang. When she saw Reid’s number, she sat up quickly and slid off the bed. “I need to move my car.”
Nelson frowned. “Why?”
“I think he’s on his way over here.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.” She stood and shoved her feet into her bedroom slippers. “I don’t want him to know I’m here. So I’m gonna park down the street.”
Before she could take another step, a heavy fist banged on the front door.
She shot a panic-stricken glance at Nelson.
He looked murderous. “I can’t believe that motherfucker showed up here. I’m gonna—”
“No!” Nadia grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. “Don’t open the door.”
Nelson scowled. “Why not?”
“I told him I wouldn’t be home.”
“I’m sure he saw your car parked outside.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want to see him.”
“You don’t have to. I’ll get rid of him.”
She shook her head. She already knew how her body betrayed her whenever Reid was near. She didn’t trust herself to hold her ground if he barged his way into the loft and hauled her into his arms.
Nelson was frowning. “The sooner I send him packing—”
“No.” Nadia licked her dry lips. “If you open the door…things might get ugly.”
Nelson’s eyes narrowed. “Are you afraid of him?”
“No.” Just my pathetic weakness for him. “Don’t open the door, Nelson. All right? Please?”
He regarded her a moment longer. Then he clenched his jaw, spun on his heel and stalked out the door.
Nadia followed him to the living room, nervously wiping her damp palms on her leggings.
Another knock sounded. Louder. More insistent.
“Nadia?” Reid called through the front door. “I know you’re in there. Open up so we can talk.”
Nadia moved to the far side of the room and folded her arms around her waist in a protective, defensive gesture.
Nelson looked grim and tense.
Reid pounded on the door again. “C’mon, baby. Open the damn door. Give me a chance to explain what happened.”
I already know what happened, Nadia thought bitterly. You fucked another woman behind my back!
“Nadia, please.” His voice was ragged with desperation. “I’m not leaving until you open the door and hear me out. You owe me that much.”
Nelson frowned at Nadia. When he made a move toward the door, she vehemently shook her head, wordlessly begging him to remain silent.
His jaw tightened, lips flattening with displeasure.
“Please don’t do this, Nadia,” Reid entreated. “Don’t let a stupid misunderstanding come between us.”
It was all Nadia could do not to scream at him: You screwed some random bar slut! There’s no misunderstanding about that!
“I fucked up, all right? I shouldn’t have let her sit on my lap. I was feeling shitty about the game and missing you. She came over and started flirting with me, and I flirted back. I’m not proud of that. But nothing else happened, I swear to God.” Reid pushed out a deep, heavy breath. “Please, baby. Don’t break up with me. Open the door and talk to me. We can work this out.”
Nadia closed her eyes, her heart breaking into a million pieces. She wanted to believe him, wanted to trust him again. But she’d learned her lesson. Never again.
She startled when another thud rocked the door. His shoulder?
“Fuck this,” Nelson muttered darkly.
Before Nadia could stop him, he stalked over to the door, slid the safety chain into place and yanked the door open just enough to scowl at Reid. “You need to leave, man.”
“I wanna talk to your sister.” Reid’s voice held a dangerous edge.
Nelson glared. “She doesn’t have anything to say to you.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s not here.”
“Bullshit. I saw her car outside.”
“One of her friends picked her up.” A malicious note entered Nelson’s voice as he improvised, “She left half an hour ago, pissed off and dressed to kill. I’d be worried if I were you.”
“FUCK!” Reid swore, banging his fist against the door.
Nadia jumped at the sound, then clapped a trembling hand over her mouth. Her heart was racing, and her eyes and throat burned with unshed tears.
“I was rooting for you,” Nelson told Reid with just the right amount of reproach, disappointment and disgust. “I thought you were different. Clearly I was wrong.”
“I didn’t sleep with that broad,” Reid snarled impatiently. “Nothing happened.”
“I don’t know, man. The photo was pretty damning. But I’m not the one you need to convince—my sister is.”
“I know that. But how the hell am I supposed to convince her if she won’t even talk to me?”
Nelson shook his head. “Face it, man. You blew it.”
“No. Fuck that. I’m not giving up that easily.”
“Dude—”
“Which club did she go to?” Reid demanded.
Nelson snorted caustically. “Like I’d tell you.”
“Dammit—”
“You need to leave before I call the cops,” Nelson warned. “I’m serious, man. This ain’t cool.”
Reid fell ominously silent.
Nadia held her breath, her heart knocking against her ribs. She could feel Reid’s white-hot anger, frustration and testosterone seeping through the door. Her mind flashed on an image of him using his shoulder to smash the door in, flinging Nelson aside like a Raggedy Andy. He was a big, tough, physical guy who steamrolled other big guys for a living. It would have been so easy for him to send the door crashing into the wall the way he checked opponents into the boards.
Nadia squeezed her eyes shut, desperately willing him to leave without causing even more of a scene.
After several interminable moments, he fin
ally relented. Sort of.
“Tell your sister this isn’t over,” he growled fiercely. “I’m not giving up on us. She means too damn much to me.”
“Yeah? Good luck with that.” Nelson shoved the door closed in Reid’s face and secured the dead bolt, then looked over at Nadia. She put her finger to her lips, signaling him not to speak until they knew for sure that Reid had really left.
Nelson checked the peephole. After several moments, he announced, “He’s gone.”
Nadia breathed a sigh of relief mingled with regret. “Thanks for getting rid of him.”
“For now,” Nelson said grimly. “You heard what he said. He’s not giving up.”
Nadia shivered at the thought. “He’s wasting his time.”
“Is he?” Nelson countered quietly.
She didn’t respond.
He searched her face, his eyes gentle with concern. “Are you gonna be all right?”
She swallowed hard and nodded.
“Have you eaten? I can run out and pick up some dinner.”
“Sure. That’d be fine.” She forced a small smile of gratitude.
“What would you like?”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m not very…” She trailed off.
Nelson took a step toward her. “Nadia?”
“Excuse me.” Abruptly she turned and hurried to her room, slamming the door behind her just as the dam burst, releasing the flood of tears she’d been holding at bay.
Wracked by the pain of Reid’s betrayal, she slid to the floor, pulled her knees up to her chest and wept with longing for what might have been.
Second Period
20
Weeks passed.
Three long, torturous weeks of sheer heartache and misery.
On the night of their breakup, Nadia blocked Reid’s number so he couldn’t call or text her, then unfollowed him on Instagram. The next day, she boxed up the Chanel purses he’d given her and shoved them deep into the back of her closet. She couldn’t bring herself to burn them or give them away.
She cut up the credit card she’d never used, then packed up his jersey and headed to the post office to mail it back to him. But halfway there, she broke down in tears and had to turn around and go back home. She cried herself to sleep that night while listening to Alicia Keys’ “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” and Meshell Ndegeocello’s “Fool Of Me,” two of the many sad songs she now had in constant rotation on her playlist.
True to his word, Reid made several more attempts to see her. He stopped by her loft twice, but she stood firm and didn’t open the door. He tracked her down at a high school where she was giving a recruitment presentation. When the excited crowd mobbed him afterward, she made her escape.
When he showed up at her job one afternoon, the department secretary at the front desk informed him that Nadia was off campus that day. Thankfully he left without causing a scene. Once the coast was clear, Nadia snuck out from her office to thank the secretary for covering for her. The older woman, a diehard Denver Rebels fan, admitted that she’d almost broken down and asked for Reid’s autograph before sending him on his way.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she told Nadia. “Not many girls would throw away a man like that, cheater or not.”
Jess, of course, had been telling her the same thing.
“I think you should give him another chance,” she’d advised over lunch one day with Nadia and Scarlett. “You know how furious I was when you first showed me the picture of him with that Canadian bitch. I wanted to cut off his balls on your behalf. But the more I see how heartbroken and miserable you are without him, the more I’m wondering if you did the right thing by breaking up with him. I mean, what if he was telling the truth, Nadia? What if nothing happened between him and that bimbo?”
Nadia didn’t want to admit that she’d been second-guessing herself. So she got defensive. “Whose side are you on?”
“Yours, of course.” Jess’s voice gentled. “I just want you to be happy, Nadia. Reid made you happier than I’ve ever seen you. Honestly, I don’t know if any other guy will come close to measuring up.”
Nadia already knew none would.
Scarlett reached over and squeezed her hand on the table. “I hate seeing you like this, girl. I really wish there was something we could do for you.”
Nadia gave her a grateful smile. “Just being here for me is enough.”
“What about Reid’s teammates?” Jess suggested. “They were at the bar that night. What if they vouched for him? What if they came to you and confirmed that Reid didn’t go home with that hockey hooker?”
Nadia scowled. “I wouldn’t believe them. You know those guys tend to stick together and cover for one another. They probably live and die by the guy code ‘Bros before hoes.’”
Jess made a face. “True.”
Scarlett looked angry and grim. “I’ll tell you one thing. Seeing what you’re going through has made one thing crystal clear to me.”
“What’s that?”
“I could never date an athlete,” she vowed. “Under no circumstances could I put myself through this kind of bullshit.”
Nadia sighed. She figured now wasn’t the time to tell her cousin that Viggo was interested in her. Which was just as well. She wasn’t in much of a matchmaking mood anyway.
During one of her weaker moments, she checked out the gossip blogs to see if Reid had been spotted with other women since their breakup. As much as her stomach churned at the idea of him hooking up with random puck bunnies, what she dreaded even more was the possibility of him finding her replacement—a woman he connected with.
She held her breath as she scoured the contents of the blogs. To her relief, there were no recent photos of Reid anywhere. All she found was a short blurb that quoted anonymous teammates who claimed that Reid was nursing a broken heart over Nadia. She felt a twinge of petty satisfaction at the thought of him suffering as much as she was.
She couldn’t bring herself to watch him play. If she walked into the living room where Nelson had the game on, he’d quickly turn the channel until she left. But one night when she was feeling particularly masochistic, she’d plopped down beside her brother and forced herself to watch the game.
The Rebels had lost only once since they got thrashed by the Canadiens, and Reid was a big part of their success. That night against New Jersey, he played like he was out for blood, channeling his raw emotions into a singular intensity that made him an even more formidable competitor. He was both electrifying and terrifying to watch as he dominated at the blue line, forcing opponents into the corners and aggressively shutting down the Devils’ top scorers. He seemed unstoppable as he blasted around the ice, passing the puck to his forwards or leading rushes on the goal himself.
Nadia cringed every time he viciously checked an opposing player, using his body like a battering ram. He talked plenty of trash, clearly spoiling for a fight. When it happened, Nadia sat there perversely hoping he’d get his ass kicked or at least get a tooth knocked out. It’d serve him right.
When the camera panned to him in the penalty box, he wore a brooding expression as he scanned the arena, as if he were searching for someone in the crowd. Nadia wondered if that someone was her.
When a sharp pang of regret shot through her heart, she called herself all kinds of an idiot. She felt like an even bigger fool for getting choked up when Reid scored the game-winning goal. As she sat there watching him celebrate with his teammates, it saddened her to realize that she wouldn’t be around to congratulate him when he scored his three hundredth career goal.
Since Nelson was still covering the hockey beat, he saw Reid after every home game. Nadia knew how hard it was for him to do his job when he sorely wanted to kick the star player’s ass. Fortunately, Reid had gone back to shutting out the media, so he and Nelson barely interacted with each other. But whenever Nelson came home from a game, it was all Nadia could do not to ask him questions about her man.
Ex-man.
> At work, she and Emily were two miserable peas in a pod, both of them dealing with their own baggage. After much soul-searching, Emily had decided to keep her baby. But she dreaded the prospect of motherhood, and she wasn’t looking forward to raising a child with her irresponsible boyfriend.
Seeing what she was going through made Nadia feel a lot less sorry for herself.
That is, until she was lying alone in bed at night, her heart and body aching for Reid. She couldn’t sleep, and even when she managed to catch a few restless hours, he haunted her dreams and was on her mind first thing the next morning. She missed having him in her bed. Missed the feel of him inside her, hot and hard, bringing her to an earth-shattering orgasm.
But it wasn’t just his unforgettable lovemaking that she ached for. She missed his company, missed their conversations and warm laughter. She missed meeting his blue eyes across a room or over a candlelit table. She missed hearing his deep voice whispering her name as reverently as though he were reciting poetry. She missed the way he walked, a lazy saunter that contrasted starkly with his explosive speed on the ice. She missed snuggling with him, savoring his masculine scent and the protective strength of his arms around her.
She didn’t feel whole without him. She walked around in a state of numb misery, disconnected from her body and the people around her. She felt like she was missing pieces of her heart. Pieces of her soul.
She wished she’d never met him.
But that was a double-edged sword, because she’d experienced some of the happiest moments of her life with Reid.
And it was because he’d given her so much pleasure that she now felt so much pain.
* * *
Late one night when she couldn’t sleep, she crept out of her room and headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
As she passed the living room, she saw Nelson sitting on the sofa. The television was on, but the volume was turned down low. He was staring intently at the screen of his MacBook Pro.
“Hey,” Nadia murmured.
Startled, he quickly slammed down the lid of his laptop and stared at her. “What’re you still doing up?”
Wicked Games (Denver Rebels) Page 29