Page 7 of Thrown Off Balance

“I moved back around a year ago.”

“And you didn’t contact Cody?” She frowns.

“No,” I say softly. “It didn’t seem right. We haven’t spoken in years.”

“Are you going to introduce me, babe?” Jude tries to meet my gaze over Sophia’s head.

“Yes! Sorry! Jude, this is Sophia. She’s an old friend of mine. Sophia, this is Jude, my boyfriend.”

The words taste bitter on my lips. I don’t want to be introducing him to someone in the Robinson family as my boyfriend. I never thought I’d see Cody again, but now I wish I was single. Which is stupid. He probably isn't single either.

“Boyfriend, huh?” Sophia gives him a tight-lipped smile. She clearly isn't happy about it.

“How long have you known Sloan?” Jude’s too dumb to realize she doesn’t want to talk to him.

“Since I was in elementary school. She dated my brother for a long time. They were head over heels in love with each other.” She doesn’t take her eyes off of me as she talks to Jude. “I don’t think he ever got over her.”

“Sophia…” I trail off, unsure of what else to say.

She glances over her shoulder at a very attractive man. She holds up a finger, telling him to give her a second.

“I should get back to my husband.” She tugs her phone out of her pocket and arches a brow at me. “What’s your number? I’d love to get together sometime.”

I sigh as I give her my number. I know better than to think she actually wants to get together with me. She’s getting my number for Cody, but how do I tell her no? Jude would question me if I refused to give her my number and things would get weird.

But do I want Cody contacting me?

“Awesome. I just texted you so you have my number too. After the game, you should find me. I can get you down to the locker room. Jax and Cody would love to see you again.”

Before I can respond, she’s climbing over people and returning to her husband. He smiles happily and presses a kiss to her lips. They look so happy together. So in love.

“Wait… Is she talking about Jax and Cody Robinson? Did you date one of them?”

I open my mouth to answer him, but another player slams into the glass in front of me. I gasp and my hand flies up to cover my heart. Jax smirks and wiggles his brows before skating away from me.

How is the entire Robinson family crashing into my life in one night?

“Umm… Yeah. I dated Cody,” I say softly.

“Wow.” Jude shakes his head with a big smile spreading across his face.

“What?”

“I'm dating Cody Robinson’s ex-girlfriend. This is awesome.”

I stare at him in disbelief. There’s no way he actually thinks that matters, right? Does he think he’s special because I dated Cody a long time ago?

Jude ignores me as he watches the game. He’s so lost in the action playing out on the ice, he isn't even paying attention to me.

“What is Cody like?” He murmurs, never taking his eyes off the game.

I sigh as I roll my eyes. I'm ignoring him the rest of the game. I don’t feel like discussing my ex with Jude. Partially because it’s none of his business, but a large part of me feels like anything that happened between Cody and I was special. It was so much better than anything I have with Jude and I don’t want to share it with him.

The last period of the game is intense. The player who tried to punch Cody, doesn’t let up. He’s constantly on Cody and Jax. I don’t miss the way Cody puts himself between the other player and his brother. He won't let anything happen to Jax, he was the same way when we were younger. He’d protect Jax with his life.

The last buzzer goes off and the crowd goes wild. It was a close game, but the Pythons pulled it off. They were able to keep the Wolverines away from the net, even though that player tried his hardest to get through them.

The angry opponent rushes towards Cody. I can see the fury in his eyes. He wants to hurt Cody and Jax. He took this game personally and he won't stop until he feels like he’s gotten revenge.