Capture the Moment (Moments #1)

30. Blake

thirty

Blake

The boys all stare at me wide eyed with dropped jaws as I chase the most beautiful woman in the world out of my room in a pair of cartoon boxers.

“Cleo! Wait, no—” I call after her only to stop in my tracks on the lawn as she drives off faster than an F1 cart.

This was not how that was supposed to go.

I was supposed to tell a little joke and she’d laugh and then spend the whole day naked in my bed running our hands through each other's hair because we finally got things right between us.

Instead, I have five grown men watching me stand on the lawn practically naked with shocked expressions on their faces, probably holding up a camera to capture this moment for the team.

“You’re in deep shit,” is all that I hear from Jace before he pushes past me and hops into his own car presumably driving after the girl of my dreams.

Fuck.

43 times.

I texted Cleo forty-fucking-three times since last week and she has yet to even read a message. Neither she nor Denver have shown up to any of our lectures and I’m pretty sure Georgia and Sienna are off the radar too because whenever I try to text any of them, none of my messages go through.

This would all be easier if I could talk to either Coach or Jace but that’s damn near impossible considering Jace hasn’t talked to me since last week and I can’t tell Coach that the girl I’m freaking out about is his own daughter.

When did life get so hard? When I was little rent was $500 and getting a girl to be my girlfriend only took me asking her out at the school dance. Now rent is $1.7k for a studio apartment and the girl I want is more stubborn than a hangnail.

“Leave her the fuck alone, Wilder.” Jace’s cold voice spits at me in the locker room.

Tonight’s our first game of the season and my head is fucked, my girl hates me and my best friend has a shitty attitude too. And you know what? I’m fed up. I’m tired of all this shit.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” I snap back, shooting daggers at him with my eyes.

Is this really how he wants to do this? With me of all people?

“Or what? You think you're big shit? You’re not. Leave her alone. I told you to fucking leave her alone before you even met her.” He’s seething.

I reel back at his words because what does that even mean? He’s never told me that and I don’t have to listen to anything this blonde motherfucker says. I’m a grown ass man. “She’s an adult, who can make her own decisions, and I am too.” I stand, stepping closer to my best friend as we look at each other eye to eye.

I really could go without fighting him tonight, his punches pack a bite to them.

“And she decided not to go with you, take a hint.” His eyes narrow, jaw clenching.

“Are you jealous or something? Are you mad because she wants me and not you? Newsflash, Heart, you had 17 years to get the girl, I’ve nearly done it in two months.”

Yeah… I knew that was going to get me punched before I even said it .

It’s like a cat fight only with tall sweaty grown men in hockey padding. We each get a couple good hits in before Braxton, Derek, and Charlie haul us from each other.

Our chests heave as we stare one another down but Jace is the first to speak up. “You hurt her feelings,” he says and my stomach drops.

“I didn’t mean to, I honestly said it as a joke…” I sigh, grabbing the tape for my stick to keep myself busy.

“Yeah, well, she didn’t take it that way and since you two are my closest friends, I need you to understand that when she hurts I will bring down hell for her. I’ve been protecting these girls since I could walk, and I’ll be damned if I watch them get their hearts broken by someone that I called a friend…” He holds my gaze before sighing.

I nod in understanding and thank the hockey heavens that the rest of the team isn’t here yet. We got here a few hours earlier than our call-time to do some free skating before the game.

“You’re a good guy but dude you have to read the room… CJ is reclusive when it comes to men. She’s been scorned before and it’s hard for her to get back into the swing of things, especially after everything with Marcelo. I just don’t need any more motherfuckers breaking my best friend's heart.”

His last two sentences catch the both of us off guard, Jace’s eyes widen to the size of saucers as he becomes paler at the mention of Marcelo.

My body is hot with anger at the thought of Rivers potentially hurting a woman like Cleo. “What did he do to her?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“Let’s just say he made Hell a place on Earth for her. He was sneaky and manipulative and an overall bad guy towards her. I know you’re not like him, but she doesn’t. You must move at her pace and allow her to come to you first. I know I said leave her alone but that was when I was mad at you, you fucker.” He chuckles, running a hand through his hair before taking a sip from his water bottle.

“Be patient and kind to her, I’m giving you my blessing so don’t fuck it up or I’ll have to actually black one of those pretty blue eyes.”

I roll my eyes at the idiot to my left just as the guys poke their heads back into the locker room. I hadn’t even noticed they’d left but Charlie is the first to reenter the room.

“So, what I’m hearing is that we’re kicking some Brighton ass when we see them?” the long-haired man asks, smiling deviously.

“Oh, they’re going to wish they’d never stepped foot in Maryland.” Derek chuckles, patting my shoulder as he takes a seat in his cubby between me and Jace.

“Are we good now?” I ask the blonde on the other side of Derek as he nods with a small shrug.

“Of course, and keep your head on the ice tonight. You’ve got a season to open.”