Page 25 of Homebound

“I want to, but…” I shake my head even though he can’t see. “It’s complicated now. I’ve got Vi, and she’s only ever seen me as a friend.”

“How the hell is that even possible?” Cruz says. “You’re sexy as shit.”

A laugh jumps out of me. “I don’t know, man. She likes guys with dark hair. Maybe I should dye my hair.”

“Don’t you fucking dare. You better not change a single hair on your head for any woman.”

“I don’t know how to change her mind.” I groan, already googling hair salons on my phone, but then I close it out.

Dumbass idea. I’m not dying my hair. Then, I wouldn’t look like Vi, and I love looking like my baby girl.

“You ever tried taking your shirt off in front of her?” he asks.

I chuckle.

“I’m serious, man,” Cruz says. “You’re fucking ripped. Whip that shirt off every time you’re around her. Guaranteed she’ll notice.”

My ears go hot, remembering the time I came back after gaining twenty pounds of muscle. She’d been on a big weightlifting kick the summer before, so I obviously had to bulk up to reach her level. I spent that whole summer shirtless, puffing out my chest, hoping she’d notice.

She didn’t.

I towel off my sweat. “I don’t know. We used to swim in this creek growing up, but she never cared. I tried everything.”

“What is it about this woman?” he asks. “Why’s she got you all twisted up?”

I stare at Dakota as she glares down a bull, and that same glowing sensation I’ve had for years flares in my chest. “She’s always been the one for me. You know my parents, they’re flower farmers and one’s a middle school hockey coach—they never really pushed me toward anything. But Dakota? She always pushed me toward hockey.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’d tell me to raise hell, to do whatever I wanted. She’s the one who told me to dream big and go for the NHL. I probably wouldn’t have even gone for the League if it weren’t for her. She’s ambitious, and I needed that ’cause I didn’t have much direction growing up. She’s good for me, and I know I could be so good for her.”

“Fuck.” Cruz snorts. “I didn’t ask for a novel, man, but alright, I got it.”

“What am I supposed to do?” I take a hefty swig of lukewarm water and toss an extra bottle to the guy next to me since his is empty.

“Alright…” He sighs overdramtically. “This is a tough one, but here’s what you’re gonna do. You’re gonna grow a fucking pair, and tell her you’re in love with her, and then you’re gonna kiss the hell out of her so she gets the damn point. Problem solved.”

Part of me is tempted to go for it, but that’s a risky move. She could reject me, and then I would mess this up. Not to mention I’m not feeling as confident as I used to feel when I constantly smell like wet wipes.

It might make me old-fashioned, but I want her to fall for me naturally because falling for her was the most natural thing in the world for me.

“It’s not that easy.” I stand here, my eyes glued to Dakota’s muscular silhouette in the distance. “I can’t blurt that I’m in love with her. She hates me right now, so I’ve got to make things right first. What if I ruin everything?”

“That’s exactly what you need to do. Ruin everything. Ruin that friendship. Set it on fucking fire. She’s only ever seen you as a friend? Fine. You need to show her you’re the man that got a woman pregnant with a condom. Those are some strong swimmers, Patty.”

I huff a laugh. It’s funny, but it’s not.

Even though my life didn’t turn out as I planned, I don’t have any regrets about Vienna. She’s not just part of my world, she is my world, but it’s hard to ask someone to make my daughter their whole world too. “Yeah, but I’ve got my girl to think about, too. I come with a lot of baggage.”

“Any woman who thinks your daughter is baggage shouldn’t be your woman,” Cruz declares, and dammit, he’s not wrong.

“Okay, maybe you’re right.”

“I’m always right. You and Tremblay don’t give me enough credit. The next time we talk, you better have made your move, or I’m flying down to Texas to force you, and then…”

He keeps talking, but a whistle in the distance draws my attention. The flank men open the gates, setting the bull loose with Dakota on its back.

This is only a practice round, but she’s wearing that same determined expression that always makes my heart hammer. They let her go in the arena, and then the bull is bucking wildly with her holding on for dear life.