Wasn’t that part of the problem? a voice asked in Alec’s head. Didn’t you always feel as though all you had to do was call and he would come fight for you? Maybe it’s time you started to fight your battles, especially so Jack doesn’t continue to get into trouble on your behalf.
Alec sighed. He didn’t want to think about that, even if the voice had a point.
“Look, man,” he said instead. “Whatever you think you’re entitled to, you can shove it up your ass. Rumors are just rumors. I’m not giving you a quote. Whatever you think you heard is moot, you got that? Seraphina Hanson is not going to bench me.”
“Even if you continue to sleep around to the point where it affects your game?” Zummo pressed.
“How does sleeping around affect my game?” Alec asked. He shifted his weight, deciding to drop the hockey bag and the sticks since it looked as though he was going to be here longer than he originally anticipated. “What gave you the impression that my game was not on point thanks to my love life.”
“You mean, your lack of a love life,” Zummo said. “Until now, that is.” He turned to Noah. “Noah, here, claims not only to have a personal connection to you but that you guys are together. Romantically. Is that true? And before you tell me it’s not my business, well, I already laid out why I think it is. Plus, she told me so, in a way, she involved me in it.”
“How do you know her, anyway?” Alec asked. He crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. He knew he was avoiding the question, and there was a good chance Zummo knew it too. He just hoped that Zummo would take the bait and talk more about himself than focus on the nature of Alec’s relationship with Noah because, quite frankly, he sure as shit didn’t know the status of that.
“She never told you?” He grinned, though there was a darkness to it. Alec didn’t like it. He wanted to pull Noah away from Zummo and shield her from him, which was strange because he had never felt any desire to be protective over anyone save for Lily before, especially Noah. Noah could handle herself; she didn’t need him protecting her, and probably didn’t want it. “She dated one of my friends for a few years. I thought they were still together but she’s claiming they aren’t.”
“Claiming?” Alec furrowed her brow. “What do you mean, she’s claiming? If they aren’t together, they aren’t together. Simple as that.”
At least, to Alec it was that simple. Pat Zummo seemed to be stuck in this la-la land where things were done a different way. What Alec wanted to know was why. Why was Alec antagonizing Noah? Was it because she said she and Alec were dating, or was it because of something else? Clearly, the two had a history. Maybe he was being protective of his friend. Alec could understand that, but Noah didn’t seem like she was acting like a heartbreaker who had stomped all over Zummo’s friend’s heart. If anything, she was acting scared, and that was something Noah didn’t do – at least from what Alec remembered.
“I guess I’ll have to talk to him for confirmation,” Zummo said with a shrug.
Noah dipped her head, her eyes going to the floor. That didn’t seem to sound like something she wanted to happen.
“No, you won’t,” Alec said before he even realized what he was talking about. From his peripheral, he saw Noah’s head snap up, confusion in her eyes.
“Oh, no?” Zummo seemed amused, his lips tugged into a smarmy smile. There was a challenge making his eyes sparkle. It was something he wanted to punch out of Zummo, but he needed to contain his frustration. “And why is that?”
“Because…” Alec swallowed. He had no idea what he was going to say. He shifted his weight and happened to glance over at Noah. It wasn’t like he needed her to feed him answers, but looking at her helped him focus. It was difficult to explain. “Because she’s right.”
“What?” Noah asked, her voice flat.
“Right about what?” Zummo asked at the same time.
“Me and Noah.” He flashed her a grin, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt. He threw his arm around her, bringing her in close to his chest. He knew he probably smelled after that practice and he still needed to shower, but this was part of her punishment for throwing him under the bus. “We are together.”
“You smell,” she mumbled somewhere by his arm pit.
“You are?” Zummo asked, his voice flat.
“We have been for the past few weeks,” Alec continued. “Whoever this asshole is that thinks he’s still with Noah can go fuck himself.”
Zummo’s eyebrows raised, wrinkling his brow. Noah stilled underneath him. Something he said surprised both of them, but he wasn’t sure why. In all honesty, Alec didn’t care. He just wanted to get rid of Zummo and go home. Noah could come with him or do something else, he didn’t particularly care.
“Well, I guess that answers my question,” Zummo said after a moment.
“That’s it?” Alec asked, surprised.
“Yeah.” Zummo nodded. He rested his eyes back on Noah. “I guess I’ll let Aaron know.”
Before Noah or Alec could say anything in return, Zummo headed out of the rink, leaving Alec more perplexed than he thought he could be. Something was going and, as crazy as it made him feel, he was curious as to what that was.
8
Noah
“Wanna tell me what that was about?”
Noah sighed, trying to avoid Alec’s beseeching look. She knew he deserved some sort of explanation, but she didn’t want to give him one. He helped her – she was surprised he did, actually, but that was neither here nor there –
