Because It's You (Carolina Rebels 2)

I nod. After a moment of hesitation, I add, “Despite what I do or say, always follow after me, Marc.”

His grin pops onto his face. “Oh, don’t worry. I knew before I left that I would be coming back. I followed you. It just took some time.”

WHEN I GET to the practice arena, I see Brayden talking to some young guy and overhear him offering his place as somewhere to stay. Must be a new guy. He looks familiar, but I can’t for the life of me think of his name.

“What’s up, Marco?” Noah says from the locker next to me.

“Nothing much.”

He starts laughing, which confuses me. “Did you decide to start wearing lipstick without bothering to learn how to put it on correctly?”

“Fuck.” I grab a towel and start wiping my mouth. Pink marks are left behind. That explains why the security guards either gave me an odd look or smirked at me on my way in. “I stopped to see Elizabeth, who apparently only wears lipstick when she goes to work.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“Why didn’t Lizzy tell you she left lipstick smeared all over your face?”

That’s a good question. Maybe it was payback for barging into her work. Maybe she just thought it would be funny. I don’t know, but I’ll find out later.

“Who’s the new guy?”

“That’s Z.”

“Thanks for the helpful info, Rams.” I slap him upside the back of his head and grin when he glares at me.

He lowers his voice. “Lowe was traded for him. His name is Zane Landry.”

That’s when it clicks. He’s a twenty-one-year-old defenseman. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Rebels wanted him for two reasons. He may be young, but he’s known for being fast and he’s got good instincts. I think he’ll be a good addition to our team.

Coach Mike comes in to introduce Z to everyone and then tells us to be on the ice in ten minutes. Today is going to be a full one. There’s practice, we’ll watch tapes for the game tomorrow, and working out. They’ll probably play around with some of the defensive pairings to see who Z will work best with. Jimmy played with Reid most of the time, but he sometimes played with Ian, too. It just depends. Then, I have to go home, cook dinner, and talk about my father. The last person I talked about my father with was my agent, who helps me keep things under wraps.

I wasn’t going to leave Elizabeth’s last night, but I needed time to figure out my next step and I knew if I went inside, she was going to decide what it would be for me. There was no way I could’ve held back had I gone inside. Just thinking about talking to her tonight makes me want to drag her to the trampoline park and jump instead. Having fun is always better than being serious. I should know. It’s how I’ve coped my entire life. Elizabeth is making me be too serious too often and I’m not so sure I like it.

However, I don?

??t think I care enough when compared to how much I like her.

Damn woman.

Damn myself because I honestly don’t care. She can take what she wants, she can demand what she wants, she can do whatever she wants, she can change me into a different person for all I care, and I won’t mind at all as long as she’s keeping me around.

“How’s Lizzy?”

I glance at Scotty while we watch a group of guys take their turns at doing drills. “What do you mean?” Shouldn’t he know?

His eyes narrow. “I tried calling her last night. No answer. Tried calling this morning. No answer. Lizzy ignores Sylvia; she doesn’t ignore me.”

“I don’t know why she’s not answering your calls.” Our argument wouldn’t be a reason why. “Were you calling about Christmas or something? Maybe that’s why.”

“She told you about that?”

Okay, so I get that Elizabeth is who she is with them, but she isn’t that person with me, and I wish Scott would understand that. Just like I’m not the same person with her as I am with him. His disbelieving questions over what she’s discussed with me are starting to piss me off. How much of it has to do with her and how much of it has to do with me?

“Why are you always so fucking surprised she’s talking to me? Does Sylvia talk to you?”

“That’s not the same thing,” he interrupts.