By admin Fake Dating My Ex’s Favourite Hockey Player Novel CH 133
TESSA
D
20
The irony doesn’t escape me. A few months ago, if you’d told me I’d ever feel relieved to see Aaron so relieved I can’t tear my eyes off him, even when his stare burns with something I wouldn’t have recognized before but now know instantly for what it is: anger I’d have told you to go fuck yourself.
Aaron’s voice, low and certain, cuts through the air like a blade. “She said let go.”
For the first time tonight, Lyle’s grip actually falters. Not enough to set me free, but enough for me to feel the shift. Of course, doubles down, squeezing tighter like the stubborn bastard he is. Pain blossoms sharp in my arm. Perfect.
he
He turns to Aaron with that fake–charm smile, the one that never touches his eyes:
“I’ve got it under control, yeah? This is me and Tessie’s business. No need for you to play hero.”
Aaron doesn’t answer right away. His jaw ticks, that sharp muscle shifting, his silence louder than most men’s shouting. move from Lyle’s hand on me, like he’s already decided how this ends.
His eyes
don’t
Let her go.”
Lyle scoffs, his grip tightening until I wince. That hurts, you dumb fucker. “And if I don’t, what the hell are you going to do about it? I don’t know what your problem’s always been with me, but I suggest you stay out of this.”
Aaron nods, but it feels like he’s agreeing to something entirely different. “So you won’t let go?”
Lyle’s nostrils flare, annoyance brimming over. “Is this about your stupid little crush? I already told you to fuck the hell off, she’ll never fuck a bastard like yo-”
ま
He doesn’t get to finish. One second he’s running his mouth, the next he’s stumbling back, clutching his jaw, almost falling over from the sheer force of Aaron’s punch. The crack of it makes me wince, but it’s not fear that courses through me–it’s something sharper, something that makes my chest ache.
Aaron doesn’t even look at him. He walks straight to me, steady, focused, like the only thing in the room is my arm still in Lyle’s shadow. He reaches out, then hesitates midair. His voice is low, almost unsure. “Can I…?”
I nod before I can even think about it. Maybe it’s muscle memory, maybe it’s just him rubbing off on me, but whatever Lyle’s shouting in the background fades into nothing.
Aaron’s hands are careful, almost reverent as they settle around my arm. His touch is barely there, lighter than air, but his eyes…. his eyes darken the second he sees the angry mark blooming on my skin. Anger flashes again, raw and unguarded, like he’s holding it down only for my sake.
“Does this hurt?” he asks
The truth is no, not with the way he’s touching me. But when he looks up from my arm, I freeze. Kve never seen anyone look at me like that. Not pity, not possession, not boredom. It’s something heavier, truer. It sinks right into me, lodges under my ribs, and I don’t even know what to call it.
My words tangle in my throat. I should laugh it off, brush it away like I always do. Instead, I find myself nodding, chasing that look even if it makes no sense.
“It hurts,” I whisper, almost testing him. “It really hurts.”
He waits, searching my face like he doesn’t believe me, like he wants to fix something deeper than a bruise. My chest feels tight.
“My…” I look down, and the words come out softer, different from the last time I said them months ago. There’s no teasing, no armor in it. Just the truth sliding out of me before I can stop it. “My feet hurt too.”
He carries me into his Jeep again.
The same way he did last time like I’m breakable, like he’d rather die than let me slip. Once he settles me into the passenger seat, he
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Chapter 134
crouches down and starts on my heels. This time I don’t argue, don’t swat at his hands. I just let him. My pride feels too heavy to lift right now.
He disappears for a second, opening the back door, rummaging. When he slides into the driver’s seat, he’s holding a bottle of water, frosted solid. He twists off the cap, glances at me. “This okay?”
I nod, take it. The plastic bites against my fingers, freezing them instantly. I brace myself before pressing it against my arm. The sting makes me hiss through my teeth. Who even drinks water this cold when the whole world outside feels frozen?
“Thank you,” I murmur, softer than I mean to,
He doesn’t answer, but his eyes flick to me–steady, unreadable, like he’s holding back words he knows I’m not ready for.
“To Owen’s?”
I hesitate. “There’ll be people there.”
Maybe I’m losing it, but I swear the corner of Aaron’s mouth tilts up. “That’s a no. Should I take you home?”
20
I don’t answer right away this time. Instead, I just… look at him. Really look at him. His sharp jaw, the way his black hair has grown long enough that he could probably tie it into a ridiculous little pigtail, the veins in his arms shifting under my stare. None of it makes sense. None of him makes sense.
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
Finally, his gaze settles on me, confusion flickering in his eyes like I’ve asked the wrong question. “Am I not supposed to be?”
I shake my head. “That’s not “I stop, realizing I don’t have an end to that sentence. My throat works uselessly, so I shake my head again. “Forget it.”
But
he doesn’t. Of course he doesn’t.
“I meant what I said,” Aaron murmurs, his voice low and deliberate, each word heavy, unshakable. “I’m in love with you, Tessa. I’ve been for a long time.” His eyes never waver. “And I want to be good to you.”
The words slice through me. “Because…” My chest aches around it, but he doesn’t look away, not even once. “Because you’re in love with me.”
He nods once. Then again. “Yes.”
“Even when I ignore your When I toss your gifts aside?
Even when I arep at you? Even if I could never -never feel the same way?”
That’s when he finally looks away, only to start the car, his hands tight on the wheel as he pulls us out of the parking lot. “I already told you,” he says quietly. “I’d take being a placeholder. I’d take anything. As long as it makes you look at me.”
The familiarity hits hard, a mirror I don’t want. My stomach twists. “We really are alike, aren’t we?” I whisper. That’s exactly how I felt about Lyle once. And look where that got me. “Completely fucked in the head.”
Aaron just shrugs, eyes still on the road. “Normal’s overrated anyway.”
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