Page 13 of The Kiss Connection

Archer meanders over, smirking as he grabs the chair and turns it around to sit backward as he faces us. “Jealous?”

I inhale sharply, doing everything in my power not to clock Archer, because I want to pound the shit out of him. What is it about him that makes girls so attracted to him? It’s obviously not his personality because he’s a dick.

I slide the chair back from the table. I can’t take it anymore, and the thought of going home, back to my place that I share with Archer, no fucking way.

Conrad stands with me. “Come on, let’s get out of here. You can crash at my place tonight.”

It’s like my best friend can read my mind.

I keep playing over that stupid kiss in my head. “Why the hell would he do that?” I glance at Conrad, stretching out on his sofa.

He rummages through the hall closet and then tosses a pillow and blanket at me. “The couch is yours for tonight.” It’s a four-seater with a chaise, plenty of room for me to crash, and it’s super plush. It’s better than any couch I slept on during college, that’s for sure.

“Why would he kiss that girl?” Conrad asks.

“Juniper. Yeah, why would he hit on her when he knows how much I hate her?”

“Do you hate her?” Conrad stands in the hallway, not looking so convinced.

“Yes! She told me off on that stupid dating app.”

Conrad sniggers and shakes his head. “You’re a fool.”

“Excuse me?” I fix my “bed” for the night and stand, staring at him. “What do you mean? She made it positively clear she hates me.”

“Oh, I get that, but the heat between the two of you. I was waiting for one or both of you to go up in flames. You both have some serious chemistry, for hating each other.”

“Yeah, well, she doused that flame when she shoved her tongue in Archer’s mouth.” My stomach roils just thinking about their kiss.

Conrad scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah, I don’t know, Archer does like to kiss anything in a skirt.”

“She wasn’t wearing a skirt tonight.”

“You know what I mean—and you noticed what she was wearing?” Conrad is right on top of that crap. “She had your jersey on.”

Slowly, I nod. “Yeah, doesn’t make much sense. She had to have borrowed it or something. Maybe she found it at a thrift shop, or it was a gift?” I’m grasping at straws, but I can’t fathom why she’d buy my jersey and wear it when it’s obvious she despises me.

“Girls don’t wear hockey jerseys of guys they hate, Myles.” Conrad drops down beside me on the couch. He pats my shoulder reassuringly. “The girl has complicated feelings for you.”

“Understatement of the century!” I roar and toss my head back to stare up at the ceiling. “Doesn’t matter, Archer is probably fucking her right now.”

“Probably,” Conrad says. He doesn’t even try to convince me that isn’t happening. “You know, you should just forget about her. Find another girl. There are plenty out there; now that we’re pro athletes, it’s not like there’s a shortage of girls to date. You should add that to your dating profile.”

“Right.” But the thought of anyone else feels inconsequential.

Conrad smirks. “You’re down bad for her.” He flips through his phone, and when he opens the app and glances at the matches, he shows me that he matched with her.

I already saw him swipe right on her profile picture. It’s not news to me.

“I knew I recognized her,” Conrad says with a laugh. “She’s cute and sassy, but I’m not hooking up with anyone your brother’s stuck his dick inside.” He continues to view the other matches on his profile before putting his phone on the table.

Just imagining Archer and Juniper together is nauseating. “He’s such a tool, hooking up with her.”

“He’s Archer. And you don’t know they hooked up.”

“Well, he played tonsil hockey with her…” I remind him. It’s a vision engrained in my head that I’ll never forget. I’m also not sure I can forgive Archer for it either. Why the hell did he have to chase her down? There were dozens of ladies at the bar; any of them would have been happy to make out with him.

Why did he have to go after the woman I…