Neon & Nets (Venom Next Gen #1)

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Knight

I lie back on my bed and throw a ball against the wall, over and over in the same repetitive rhythm. In theory, I’m working on my reflexes. In practice, I’m hoping the repetition will help me think clearly.

Sofia’s been avoiding me since movie night. Not that it’s hard, since we don’t move in the same circles. I tried to lure her out to meet Tristan on Wednesday for a tour of the city, but she said she had other plans.

Other plans, as in, a date? With some guy she met on the internet? I didn’t ask, because she’s right: her private life isn’t my business. Even if I want it to be.

I could have handled that conversation better, for sure. Looking back, I sounded like a constipated grandpa. But now I’ve messed things up, first by getting snippy with her at movie night, then by backing myself into a corner with too many messages that have been left on read.

I look desperate. I am desperate. Maybe I should just take the hint and—

“Oh my God, will you knock it the fuck off, please!” Knova shoves my bedroom door open so hard that the wall trembles.

I shriek and fumble the ball I’ve been bouncing, which conks me in the nose before dropping to the floor among my dirty laundry. “What the hell, Knova? Knock next time. I could have been naked!”

My twin crosses her arms and glares at me. When I was younger, that glare threatened blackmail, which meant that she won almost every argument we got into. Fortunately, she’s always saved the worst of her ire for Viktor, which takes some of the heat off me.

“You are demonstrably clothed,” she snaps. “You are, however, thinking. It’s fucking annoying.”

“So you came here to yell at me?” I scramble around into a sitting position.

“I came here to help you solve your problem so that I can finally get some sleep.” She strides over to the bed and hops up next to me.

“Sleep? It’s barely six. We haven’t had dinner yet.”

“I need my beauty sleep,” she deadpans. “So stop beating around the bush and tell me what dumbass thing you said to Sofia now. I saw the way she hightailed it out of movie night. And that can mean only one thing. You done fucked up.”

My jaw drops. “Are you a mind-reader?”

Knova kicks her feet back and forth. “I don’t have to be. You’ve been thinking about Sofia since you were five. When are you going to start doing something about your feelings?”

I flip onto my back again and rest my legs upright against the wall. I think better this way. This posture has the added bonus of making it easy to avoid eye contact. “I am doing something about it. I’m here. Just in time to see her trying to date other guys.”

Knova sighs. “She wouldn’t date other guys if she knew you wanted to be with her.”

“Why would she ever want me? She’s brilliant. I’m not. She’s stunningly beautiful. I’m…” I pause. Listen, I’m modest, but I’m not a liar.

My sister groans. “Yeah. You’re hot. Whatever. Apparently I managed to get all the confidence in the gene pool. How could you possibly think you’re not good enough for her? You’re a reasonably attractive, college-educated, somewhat smart NHL player, for fuck’s sake! And you’re my little brother.”

“Only by a few minutes! And it’s not that. I think I could make her happy if she’d let me. I mean, I want to. But she’s so confusing! First she was talking about how she didn’t want to date at all, and we bonded over that. The next thing I know, she’s getting matches on dating apps while she’s got her head on my shoulder. What am I supposed to do?” Moments of surety collide with moments of confusion, sending me into a major mind fuck.

“Here’s a crazy idea. Stop making assumptions. Talk to her.”

I shake my head. “If I make a move, and she shoots me down, that’s it. I could live with that. But what if she rejects me because she doesn’t want to date anyone right now? Or, worse, what if she agrees to date me as some kind of experiment for her thesis? When a man shoots his shot with the woman he’s always wanted, there are no second chances if it doesn’t go in!”

Knova hums thoughtfully. “Is pity dating you something she’s likely to do?”

“I don’t know. She told me she had some epiphany in the shower the other night—”

Knova holds her hands in a time-out T. “Hold that thought. Just to clarify, you weren’t in the shower with her at the time?”

“No. She took a shower after my party.”

“While you were there?”

I nod.

Knova mutters something under her breath. When I tip my head to one side, a move made more difficult by the fact that I’m still partly upside-down, she gestures for me to continue. “Okay, she had an idea in the shower. Carry on.”

“So, she had an idea about her thesis. And some of her research involves dating guys. Or at least, signing up for dating apps. And she said something about being too picky—”

All of a sudden, it clicks into place. I’ve offered to help Sofia with her project. Her project now involves meeting randos online.

“I’ve got it!” I drop my legs from the wall and flip around again. The mattress bounces enough that Knova narrowly avoids being launched into unwilling flight.

“The fuck?” she yells.

“I’ve got a plan. I need to help Sofia with her thesis… by offering to assist her. She’s already picky, so all I have to do is point out all the flaws in her potential dates. Or, better yet, encouraging her to find flaws in them! That way, they all look like losers, and I keep looking better and better by comparison.”

Knova seats herself more firmly on the bed. She’s looking at me like I’ve grown a second head. “Your plan is to spend a bunch of time with her and encourage her to find flaws in every guy she meets? All while ensuring she won’t be spending time with anyone else?”

“I know. Brilliant, right?” I hop off the bed and begin to pace.

“Sure. Except for the part where she’s now going to be even pickier when it comes to you, which is why you’re the dumbest dumbass to ever dumbass.”

“No, I’ve got this. Think about it… when I have her list of things she doesn’t like, I can avoid all that stuff. I’ll be getting advice on what Sofia wants from a boyfriend in her own words.” I may not be as smart as Sofia, but this is the best idea ever. It might be the best idea anyone’s ever had, period. “If a woman’s going to draw me a map, I’m going to use it to find my way. ”

“So, you’re going to change your whole personality in order to lure Sofia into a relationship?” Knova asks.

I pause mid-pace to pout at her. “You wound me. Do you really think I’d have to change my whole personality?”

“I think if you want to seduce Sofia, you could start by talking to her like a reasonable fucking adult. And, call me crazy, you could learn to do your own laundry. Women like competent a man. One who can show he would be a good partner in the future and not treat her like a slave.” She extends a leg to nudge a pile of dirty gym clothes with one toe. “Seriously, dude, Sofia already likes you. She might not be ready to jump into a relationship, but the connection is there. Besides, how would you feel if Sofia told you that she was going to change who she is in order to live up to a guy’s fantasies?”

“But Sofia is perfect,” I protest.

“Actually, she’s not.” Knova crosses her arms over her chest and leans back against the wall.

“How can you say that? I thought you were friends.”

“We are friends. The best of friends for years and years. Which means I know her as a human being. Loving her doesn’t mean that she’s perfect. Nobody is. But I do agree that Sofia is perfect for you. As in, the real you.”

We stare each other down for a long moment. I don’t know what her problem is. She wants me to talk to Sofia, but there are a million and one ways that could backfire. My plan is obviously foolproof. Worst case scenario, Sofia and I stay friends… even if she finds someone she likes in the process. Best case scenario, Sofia and I spend a ton of time together, and she finally sees me as a potential match.

I’ve already pictured my future with her. Wife. Mother. Life partner. The person I kiss on the ice after I hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time. She’s all the things in every recess of my mind.

Knova eventually rolls her eyes and sits up. “Whatever. When your dumb plan bites you in the ass, let me know, and I’ll help you out.”

“I’m doing fine on my own,” I mutter.

“Fine. If that’s what you want to believe.” Knova climbs to her feet and makes a big show of hopping around my dirty laundry like they’re little landmines I’ve left around the room. She leaves without shutting the door.

“Hey!” I bellow. “What gives? First, you slam the door open, and then you leave it there?”

“Are you afraid someone will see you’re still a little piggy who doesn’t clean his pen?” I can’t see Knova anymore, but her faint oinks echo down the hall.

“You’re the worst!” I tell her.

“You want to see my worst? Keep throwing that damn ball at the wall during my naptime!” She slams her bedroom door. She always has to have the last word.

I reach for the rubber ball just as my watch chimes. It’s a message from the team’s publicist, the one with the crying baby that constantly makes Briggs whip his shirt off so he can baby whisper. I smile as I read the announcement. Oh, this is perfect. My plan is getting better by the minute.

Before I reply, I whip the rubber ball at the wall as hard as I can. From the room next door, I hear Knova scream into her pillow.

Mic drop. Looks like I win this round.