Kiss My Ice

2|6

26.

"Zoe," a deep voice called from my left, interrupting me on my way to the locker room. "I'm glad you're here."

I paused mid step, turned my head to the side to see the voice had belonged to one of Aiden's cousins. My eyebrow raised. Why was he glad that I was here?

"Luke, right?"

He smiled. "Dylan," he corrected.

The two were strikingly similar and I had only ever seen them one time. It was an easy mistake to make. Still, I felt my cheeks warm slightly at my mistake. "My bad." I took a deep breath. "Can I help you with something?"

He shook his head. "I just wanted to apologize for the other day. You seemed pretty upset when you found out about Aiden." Dylan rubbed the back of his neck. "Luke and I didn't realize that it was such a sensitive subject."

I bit my lip. It was cute that he had the same nervous behavior as Aiden. You could tell that the two were related. "That's sweet," I said, offering him a small smile. "But there's no need for you to apologize. I'm not mad at you or Luke."

There was no reason for me to take my frustration out on Luke or Dylan. They were not the ones at fault. Aiden was the one that had intentionally withheld vital information with the intent of using it against me. If anything, I was appreciative that the boys brought it up. Without their push I doubted Aiden ever would have told me the truth.

To my surprise, Dylan's face scrunched into an almost pained expression. "But you are upset with Aiden." His words weren't a question. He knew that I was more than a little upset with his cousin.

"It's complicated." If there was one thing that described my relationship with Aiden, that would be it. Complicated.

Everything about Aiden was complicated now more than ever. After hours of Riley and Lucy pushing and prying, they had officially convinced me that I was hurt because I did like Aiden. It was stupid. Insane. Downright impossible. Somehow, my feelings of hate had turned to something completely different.

"I get it." Dylan's face softened. "Aiden should have told you sooner."

I gave a soft smile, moving my gaze off Dylan. Desperate to find something other than Aiden to talk about, I forced a small cough. "So," I turned my head back to meet Dylan's dark eyes that reminded me so much Aiden. "Do you also play hockey?"

Dylan's lips curled in amusement. He let out a hearty laugh and shook his head. "My dad would have my head."

My brows furrowed. The family tree of these people had to have been the most dysfunctional group of people that I had ever met. Dylan also had daddy issues? I couldn't even imagine not getting along with my dad.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot, awkwardly trying to relieve the discomfort I felt. "You don't get along with your dad either?"

Dylan squinted his eyes as if that helped him to piece his words together. "It's not that we don't get along. He just puts an excessive amount of pressure on me to be like him."

I raised my eyebrows. So it was exactly like Aiden and Lance. I was starting to think that the parents of their family should have taken a parenting class before having kids.

"I'm guessing that you are either an athlete or you dad is a doctor, lawyer, or something of that variety then."

Dylan chuckled, crossed his arms over his chest with a nod. "Quarterback."