Bracing the Blue Line
Read Bracing the Blue Line Online
Authors: Lindsay Paige
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Bracing the Blue Line
Copyright © 2014 by Lindsay Paige
Editing by K² Editing
Cover Design by Damonza
Print and eBook Design by JT Formatting
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Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products, bands, and/or restaurants referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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DAMN, THAT GAME was brutal. Going up against one of the best teams around will do that to a defenseman. I'm nearly too tired to head to the bar with the team, but I'm going anyway. It's better to go and deal with it than to hear shit about me going home early. So I tag along and by the time we get to the bar, I'm not as tired. I'm probably going to regret going though because it's a three game week with one today that we just finished, tomorrow, and Saturday.
We take up two booths and I, along with a couple of other guys, pull a chair up to the table for all of us to have a seat. A pretty waitress walks over with her low-cut white t-shirt and red bra underneath to take our drink order. She knows us because this is where we usually come to hang out after a game when there isn't a party. Her smile is friendly and flirtatious, particularly aimed at one of my teammates. They have this weird non-relationship, but almost a relationship thing going on.
“What time do you get off?” Vincent Taylor, another defenseman, asks her.
“Around the time you all end up leaving.”
Vincent grins and subtly nods. “Good.”
“Who I go home with, if anyone, is debatable.”
His smile quickly disappears, and her comment obviously pisses him off. They insist on this cat and mouse game it seems. I have no idea why. Once she walks away, I look up from my phone and am about to open my mouth to say something to him when arms wrap around my neck. Who the fuck is this?
“Winston Brooks!” a voice that I haven't heard in a long time squeals in my ear. Her voice immediately makes my stomach drop and my heart rate increase.
I turn in my seat as her arms loosen to see my best friend's baby sister and my sort of ex-girlfriend. “Maddie? Wow, you look...” my voice trails off. This girl doesn't look anything like I remember. She looks even better. Maddie was always pretty, but wow. She's wearing tight, olive green skinny jeans that, in combination with a skin-fitting black top, shows off a figure I never knew existed.
“Hot as hell, right?” she grins. Did she cuss? Wait, she's smiling at me? I can't believe she would even come up to me. Not after what happened, not after what I did to her.
“Who's this?” Grant Faison curiously asks. He's our goalie, a junior like me, and rarely goes out with us. He likes to study too much, but tonight, he decided to come.
Before I can introduce her, Maddie sticks out her hand. “I'm Maddie, a friend of Winston's from back home.”
A friend. We were way more than friends, but only we knew that. It almost hurts that she called me an old friend. It shouldn't, especially not after how I hurt her. They shake hands before she brings her attention back to me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, slipping my phone into my coat pocket.
She laughs. “Haven't you talked to Dave lately? I go here now.”
Dave Evans is her brother and my best friend, who goes to another university. “Yeah, but he never mentioned it. Here,” I say, sliding out of my seat so she can sit down. Once I grab another chair for myself and sit next to her, she leans over to hug me.
“I've missed you! I kept hoping I would run into you. How have you been? Dave only talks to me like once a month, and you're never on Facebook, so I've been out of the loop.”
“I've been good. What about you?” I ask, trying to get my brain to catch up from the girl I left behind to the girl she is now. She's small, probably only five feet tall, a stark contrast to my 6'1” height. She used to be heavier, something her brother teased her about endlessly. She was gorgeous, still is. Not to mention that she actually seems happy to see me. Maybe Maddie didn't hold a grudge.
“I've been great. It's fun making new friends, going to parties, and exploring this place.”
“You've been going to parties?” I question with disbelief. “What parties? What happened to you?” I joke. According to Dave, Maddie never went to parties when we were in high school, although we were a little older than her and she did go to one, but only briefly. His baby sister was too good for that kind of thing. If he only knew.
Before she can answer, Neil Lawson, our captain and a senior, saddles up next to her, laying an arm around her shoulder. He's grinning one of those smiles that always makes girls want to go home with him. It makes me want to punch him because that smile doesn't need to be directed at Maddie.
“Who might you be?” he asks.
“Maddie.” She smiles, but turns to me, effectively ignoring him. “We should catch up sometime. We're still friends, right?”
And there it is. The first acknowledgement of our past together has softened her voice, showing a vulnerability I'm responsible for, and it makes me want to fix things between us. Not to get back together, but to right a wrong. I never truly apologized.
“Yeah, of course,” I struggle to say.
Maddie doesn't notice, though. She smiles and almost looks relieved before reaching into my coat pocket for my phone like she has the right to stick her hand into my pocket and retrieve whatever she wants. She used to do that all the time, so her action doesn't completely surprise me. While she does whatever with her eyes on the screen, she adds, “We can get to know each other again.” She glances up at me with her brown eyes and smiles.