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Honestly, I just wanted to be around her more.

But she’d disappeared after the workout before I was even off the ice every day over the last week and a half. I had a creeping suspicion that she was avoiding me.

Even Stephens had come up, brow arched, asking what I’d done to piss her off. To my surprise, there’d been a thread of protectiveness in his tone that I wasn’t used to hearing.

“You and Ariella doing anything this weekend?”

I winced at the sound of Jimenez’s voice. I needed to ask about telling him because keeping him in the dark was starting to eat at me. There was no way I could keep it up for long. “Um, not sure yet,” I answered, closing my locker and trying to play it cool. “I mean, it’s only Thursday, we’ve got another day before the weekend.”

“Well, what did you do last weekend?” he asked, shaking his head when I stared dumbly at him. “Y’all are new. You need to start thinking about these things ahead of time. Take her out. Wine and dine her. Women love that.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Not Ari,” I said, a grin spreading over my face. “She’s…more independent than that.” I thought about how she’d chewed me out for not letting her give back the money I’d sent her before she gave me her number.

Not that I’d done much with it since. Just a quick text to get her address. After that, she’d insisted on finding her own way to work.

Honestly? I hadn’t texted her because part of me was too chicken shit that she’d turn me down flat. Better to just avoid texting her altogether…right?

Jimenez snickered, breaking me out of my thoughts, and irritation coiled in my gut at his reaction.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I said, more defensively than intended. “There’s nothing wrong with a woman knowing she can provide for herself. Maybe she doesn’t want to come off as needy. Hell, maybe she doesn’t want to give someone power over her.”

Her words from that day in the car had stuck with me.

I’d grown up with a single mother, and she hadn’t had anyone to help her. There were nights I’d lay awake waiting to hear her come home from her second shift of the day, wishing she had someone to help her pay her bills. But now—now I wondered if my mom chose to make all her own money instead of letting someone else pay for our way of life.

My gut clenched.

Being a six-three white male came with a lot of privileges, most of which I often took for granted. But Ari’s fear was actually one I could sympathize with.

Christian closed his locker and looked at me, blinking a few times before breaking out into a smile. “Damn. You really do like this girl. Never heard you get that defensive about your ex. And I talked a lot of shit about Emma.”

I frowned. “Not to me.”

“No, I definitely gave her backhanded compliments in front of you.” He shrugged, picking up his gym bag and looping it over his shoulder. “Hoped it would convince you to run away from the bitch’s icy clutches.”

“Jimenez.”

He held up both his hands. “I know, you don’t like when I call women that word. But there’s literally no other word for her.”

“Your ex is a cunt.”

“Cunt.”

My best friend nearly choked on his own spit when I said that. I thought I might have to perform mouth-to-mouth.

“Excuse me?” he asked, clutching his chest like he was thoroughly scandalized.

I smirked, knowing he’d love this next part. “Ari said my ex is a cunt.”

Just as I’d guessed, he broke into laughter, holding onto his sides as he slumped against our lockers. He caused quite a scene, and some of the other guys came over to see what had him losing his shit. He wiped up the tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

“Keep that fucking girl forever.”

Why did that sound so appealing?

“Dalton.”

Hearing my father call my name was the last thing I wanted to deal with. I was ready to go home and plop down on my couch.