Realizing I probably had horrible morning breath, I lifted my head and tried to wriggle out of his grip, but his arm held me tighter, keeping me in place.

“No way.” His tone turned deep and gravelly. “I sped home for this.”

I laughed, turning my head partway to face him. “I need to brush my teeth. Especially because you already did.”

“Fine.” Chase sighed, reluctantly releasing his hold. “But make it quick.”

In a sleepy daze, I used the bathroom and brushed my teeth. When I opened the bathroom door again, he patted the mattress beside him, inclining his head.

“You. Here.”

Pulling back the covers, I crawled in and faced him. “You sped home to snuggle?”

He shrugged. “I sped home to do whatever you want. But I have some ideas if you need suggestions.”

33. double-edged

CHAPTER 33

DOUBLE-EDGED

Chase

After spending the night—and morning—with James, I was on cloud fucking nine. I drove her to class, popped back home for a few, then headed to campus, where I spent the day basking in a perfect post-sex high.

Okay, so I wasn’t overly focused on my lectures. Economic theory was going in one ear and out the other while I daydreamed about various naughty scenarios—with the odd hockey-related tangent thrown in—but I was in a good mood, at least.

Dallas, on the other hand, was not so chipper. Like he was brooding underneath a massive black cloud. I’d seen him in passing on my way out the door, and he was grouchy as hell. When I’d said “see you later,” he’d grunted. Snarled might have been a more accurate descriptor.

By the time practice rolled around in the late afternoon, his mood hadn’t improved. He barreled into the dressing room and threw his bag down on the bench beside me like it had personally offended him.

I finished pulling on my socks and glanced up at him with a questioning look. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” he said under his breath.

Right…

“Are you and Shiv okay?” I asked, trying to catch his eye. “I thought I heard you two arguing this morning.”

Over Dallas’s shoulder, Tyler widened his eyes, shaking his head emphatically. Whoops. Too late now.

Dallas avoided my gaze. “Dunno.” He bent over and unzipped his bag, then pulled out his socks and base layers and worked on removing his street clothes.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” I said, fastening my shin pads. “How can you not know?”

Ty cleared his throat loudly and shot me a what the fuck look. But subtlety had never been my strength, and it was a genuine question. My relationship experience was obviously pretty limited, but wouldn’t one know if their relationship was okay or not? Didn’t people talk to each other? Especially when they’d been together as long as Dallas and Shiv.