ALPHABET SOUP: Okay, before this conversation can go fully off the rails—no, Jase hasn’t been seeing anyone. Why?
MOTHER OF DRAGONS: Please tell me Maddey is right and I’m ACTUALLY going to get one of my besties as a SIL??
MAKES BOYS CRY: What? No. Eww. Geez. I literally think of Jase as a brother. Gross.
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: What she means is we saw him talking to this *gorgeous* girl tonight.
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: Fun fact.
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: She totally blew him off.
MAKES BOYS CRY: Oh she did? *sad face emoji*
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: Yup.
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: *GIF of a baseball player striking out*
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: But…
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: He did get her number from her friends when she wasn’t there.
MOTHER OF DRAGONS: Oh. This is going to be interesting.
ALPHABET SOUP: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Interesting…blah, blah, blah. Since my bestie CLEARLY has some explaining to do—what do we know?
THE OG PITA: Did you snap a pic?
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: No *sad face emoji* She dipped out before I could.
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: But…
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: She’s a Broadway actress.
MOTHER OF DRAGONS: What’s her name?
MAKES BOYS CRY: *GIF of Felicity Smoak cracking her knuckles at her laptop*
MOTHER OF DRAGONS: You know I love a good internet stalk.
YOU KNOW YOU WANNA: Melody Brightly.
MOTHER OF DRAGONS: On it.
Chapter Four
Though I know I’ll end up getting in at least a light workout later, the one luxury I allow myself when I don’t have morning skate is to not set an alarm. By the time I emerge from my bedroom in a pair of faded BTU Titans lounge pants, Skye should be gone, but I’m not at all surprised to find Gemma in the kitchen prepping my meals for the week.
Our squad doesn’t believe in a silly thing like boundaries, so naturally we all have access to each other’s places.
“Hey there, Hemmy.”
I snort at the ridiculous nickname but accept the fresh mug of coffee she holds out in offering. I blame Vince—her cousin, my best friend—for his superhero obsession rubbing off on everyone. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told I look more Hemsworth than Donnelly, but whatever. That’s not a bad gene pool to be linked to.
“Hey, Gem.” I drop a kiss on the top of her head then take a healthy swallow of the nectar of the gods. “Pecan?”
“Yup. Lyle ground the beans for you yesterday knowing it’s your favorite.”
Freshly ground specialty beans is one perk of having a coffee shop owner as a friend.
“What’s on your agenda for the day?” I settle in at one of the barstools at the counter, thumbing through my texts and social media notifications.
DAUNTLESS SUPERMAN: Bro. There are days I wonder which one of us has the more savage sister. I screenshotted this for you since I know JD has him hidden from your feed.
DAUNTLESS SUPERMAN: *screenshot of @BadAssBishop13 IG*
*picture of Jase with Skye and Becky at The Sin Bin last night*
BadAssBishop13 Maybe if @EnforcedByJaseDonnelly13 spent less time in bars with bunnies, he might be scoring hat tricks like @CaptainRyanDonnelly9
*comment* TheMrsDonovan Hey @BadAssBishop13, maybe if you spent more time focusing on your game and not my twin’s, MAYBE you’d be in the running for the Art Ross *shrug emoji* #FoodForThought
My fingers curl around the phone, the protective case around it groaning from the force. Fucking Nate Bishop. For as long as I can remember, the guy has had an issue with me. I want to say it originated from us playing for rival teams in college, but we’ve been taking shots at each other since long before the BTU Titans beat out the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Frozen Four our senior year.
I’m not surprised JD broke her do not engage on social media rule to come to my defense. We’ve been together since conception, and a bond like that tends to lead to rule-breaking when warranted.
“Today is my Storm day. I finished with Harrison this morning, and once I’m done with you, I just have to head next door to Cali’s.” Gemma’s voice breaks through the haze of anger I feel any time Bishop is involved.
She slides a plate across the counter, and it’s filled with an omelet I know from experience is loaded with more vegetables than a supermarket produce section.
“Lunch after? I should be done downstairs by the time you’re at Cali’s.”
She nods then says, “You do know today is supposed to be your day off, right?”
I nod and barely refrain from rolling my eyes. I swear the eight Covenettes have a Dory-like memory when it comes to remembering I already have a mom, and an awesome one at that.
“All this”—I flex my left arm, making the Olympic rings tattooed on the inside of my bicep dance—“doesn’t happen on its own. It’s hard work looking this good.” I heave a sigh. “But it’s my cross to bear.”
A wet dish towel smacks me in the face.
“You, sir, are ridiculous.”
I shoot her a wink and she rolls her eyes, one of the only Steeles immune to my charms.
“And what would Rock say to you not giving your body proper rest time, hmm?” She arches a brow at me and levels me with a knowing look.
Her cousin, my ex-girlfriend turned bestie—yes, I said bestie; it’s not the first time, so deal with it—Rocky would not approve. As one of the best physical therapists I’ve ever had the privilege of having work on me, she would give me a lecture longer than one of Maddey’s romance novels.
Still, I need to train if I’m going to have any hope of stepping out of my brother’s shadow, as Bishop so helpfully pointed out.
“Nah.” I wave the question off. “You know Balboa loves me. She’d be so impressed with my work ethic she would offer to name my future nephew after me, but to keep the peace, I would politely decline. Can’t have Vince getting jealous because his sister loves me more.”
“Oh my god.” She buries her face in her hands, speaking into them. “I can’t even with you. I swear, I don’t know how my cousin ever dated you.”
“Gem, Gem, Gem.” I shake my head. “You love me just as much.”
I get a snort in response, letting the subject drop as I polish off the rest of my breakfast, the sounds of Lauren Hill’s “Doo Woop (That Thing)” filling the silence. Gemma has a thing for 90s R&B, something she has in common with our friend Lyle.