Clipped by Love (Bellevue Bullies 2)

“Huh?”

“Jayden Mitchell is my name, and I’m sorry, but we don’t want anything from you,” I say as Jace’s eyes go wide, and I feel his gaze burning a hole in the side of my face.

“And why is that?”

“Because we don’t need it. And my thing is, if you have an extra twenty grand lying around, why don’t you give it to Mom so she doesn’t struggle?”

“She threw me out; she gets nothing,” he says simply, causing my nails to bite into my palms.

“Because you are a cheating bastard,” I say, my voice laced with anger. Jace starts to shake his head, his hand coming to rest against my arm, but I refuse to stop. “Why are you even here? Neither one of us wants you here.”

“Because you are my boys and I love you,” he says, his eyes staring into mine, but I shake my head.

“You’re a liar. We don’t matter to you. There is something more. Maybe you are trying to buy our love or sway us away from Mom, but I, for one, want nothing from you.”

“You’re overreacting. I’m just trying to do something nice for you,” he sneers, his eyes darkening to an almost black color. “And you’re throwing it in my face.”

“Because I don’t want it. I don’t want you. Anywhere near me. You are dead to me,” I yell then, letting my anger get the best of me.

“Jayden,” Jace says, squeezing my shoulder. “Calm down, buddy.”

“No, you’ve left all of us to clean up your mess. Claire paid the house off, all of us have been giving Mom money because she’s so in debt, and you just stand by and do nothing. But yet you have money to give to our hockey team! So fucking classic!”

He takes a step toward me, but Jace stands between us, his hand coming to Dad’s chest. “I am your father, you little shit, give me some respect.”

“No! You are nothing to me,” I sneer back. “So stay the hell away from me and mine.”

Turning on my heel, I fix my jacket before walking away, ignoring the unwanted stares. I feel like I’m about to come out of my skin, and

my chest hurts from the anxiety of having to talk to him. But as I reach the side door and push it open, I know I did right.

So why do I feel like utter shit?

“So do you think you could survive in the NHL?”

Grinning, I meet his gaze with my determined one. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to talk to Bryan Fisher, but I’m going to take advantage of my chance. “Don’t let the dress and heels fool you, I can hang with the best of them. You should come out and watch me play.”

Returning my grin, he nods. “Already planned on it. I was actually talking to the Sinclair brothers when Jayden suggested I talk to you. I’ve seen him play; he’s a dynamic player.”

“Best I’ve seen. His two-way game is on point, and his playmaking ability, no matter the situation, is awe-inspiring. I’ve been very lucky to play with him. He’s made me better.”

His grin grows. “He thinks very highly of you too. I’m very excited to see y’all play.”

The fact that Jayden was talking about me pleases me a little too much as I look up at Mr. Fisher. It makes me feel extraordinary, and while it’s weird to feel like that, I am glad Jayden thinks highly of me, because Lord knows I think the same of him. The past month has been amazing. When we aren’t dominating on the ice, we are together, and he is honestly my favorite part of my day. He makes me laugh all the time, and when he looks at me, I swear, I can’t even form a thought. He has been spectacular, and I know I’m falling for him.

Yeah, I know, scary shit. But the more time I spend with him, the more I know I’m reaching my nirvana. Of course, our unknown future scares me to the core. But for now, I’ll take what he is giving me, and I’ll hoard it in case later he’s gone. Just the memories we are making, I know I can’t live without. Like remembering how he likes to lick the tip of my nose when we are facing each other in bed seriously gives me chills. Or the way I love tucking my hands in his pockets. I don’t know what it is, but I just love touching him. It’s the little things that I seriously never want to let go of.

But still, I worry that we are on borrowed time. That at any moment something is gonna pull us apart. The thought really does scare me, and I know that’s what is keeping me from allowing myself to let go completely. I want to believe in the thought of complete nirvana, but it just seems so far out of reach. It almost seems like a fairy tale. A happily ever after that doesn’t happen for girls like me.

Pushing that thought aside though, I smile as I nod. “I’m excited to show you what I can do.”

Nodding, he reaches out, taking my hand in a firm handshake. “It was wonderful meeting you, Ms. Moore.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” I say as he walks away, tipping his beer to me. Sucking in a breath, I let it out, a grin covering my lips. That was good for me, and I need to find Jayden and thank him. But before I can go look for him, my dad stops me.

“Was that Bryan Fisher?” he asks me, his gaze boring into mine.

“Yeah, it was.”