OFF LIMITS

CHAPTER NINETEEN - Stay?

MACK

We've been silent for five minutes since I finished telling Rhett everything about me and Kat.

Hudson was also finding out about a lot of stuff right now. He only knew that Kat and I slept together and that some other things had been happening between us, but he didn't know the full details. And he was stunned, to say the least.

Rhett didn't react much during the story. He just listened while he sipped his beer and asked some follow-up questions whenever he deemed it necessary.

I think the hardest thing to admit to the guys wasn't the things about Kat but the whole part about me not being able to sleep since last season.

"When did you find out?" Rhett asks Cole. Scowl on his face, beer on his hand.

"I caught them in a compromising situation in the training facility's parking lot. Then I confronted him about it after his little jealous fit in the locker room when he told the guys not to look at Kat."

Rhett runs a hand through his face right before he chugs his whole beer. I made him an alcoholic, great.

"Why didn't you tell me you couldn't sleep, bud?" Rhett finally speaks to me. I was expecting him to tell me how wrong everything I'm doing with Kat is, but he chose this instead.

"Because it's fucking embarrassing, okay?" I admit. Concern washes over both of my friends' eyes. "It's embarrassing that getting traded affected me so much I can't sleep because I keep replaying the whole situation over and over again."

"You need to see the team psychologist. That'll help. Maybe they can give you something to help you sleep." Rhett speaks, and just like I imagined, he does not understand the whole situation. He's just looking for solutions. "Then you'll be able to stay away from Kat."

"I'm not staying away from Kat, Rhett." I run a hand through my hair, and he looks at me confused.

"Mack, fucking think this through. Please."

I sigh. "I have thought it through, okay? A lot of times. I already tried letting her go, and it didn't work. I'm not staying away from her."

"You understand that all it takes is for Hartley to tell upper management that you're getting in yet another messy situation and that you're a problematic player, then you'll be out of here in no time." Rhett is saying all of this out of concern for me, but that doesn't mean that if fucking sucks for my best friend to be so dense when it comes to understanding me.

"I understand."

"And you're willing to let that happen for a girl that helps you sleep?" He arches a brow.

"I'm willing to let that happen for the girl I'm falling in love with," I say without an ounce of hesitation. This is the first time I admit out loud that I'm falling for Kat.

I've known for a good while. Ever since I caught myself watching her sleep in the morning and smiling at her from afar at the training facility. Ever since I started looking forward to her walking through my door because that meant I would get to spend time with her and have her in my arms during the night.

"I know you don't understand, Rhett. But I've been falling in love with her since the second I saw her at that bar. I never stood a chance." I sigh. Rhett's expression softens, and Cole smiles at me like an idiot. "The only way I'll stay away from her is if she pushes me away, but I'll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening."