Chapter 49: Trey: Get Off My Dick

TREY

The pharmacist hands me the painkillers Julian prescribed, and after thanking her, I head for the exit. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"Trey."

The voice catches me a few steps from the doors. I turn, and the sight of Dixie across the lobby holds me there for a second.

She smiles when our eyes meet and breaks into a light jog toward me. I haven’t seen her in months, and she looks hot. Different, but still hot. Her long hair is gone, cut to her shoulders and dyed warm brown, and there’s a new stud in her nose.

The rest is pure Dixie: cropped leather jacket, short skirt, knee-high boots. She’s always dressed like a camera might catch her the second she steps outside, and most days, one probably does.

"Well, look who finally decided to show his face." She slows to a stop in front of me and tips her head back to meet my eyes. "Hi, stranger."

"What are you doing here?"

She glances around the clinic before looking at me again. "What do you think people come here for?"

I cock a brow. "You came down with an STD?"

Her mouth drops open before she smacks my arm. "Oh my gosh, Trey." The outrage doesn’t last long before she starts laughing. "I’m picking up my pills. For insomnia. Remember?"

"Right." Amazing what a little context can do. "This is why you have to be specific. I thought they taught aspiring journalists that."

She keeps her eyes on me for a second, lips pressed together like she’s trying not to encourage me. Then she gives up and laughs. "You’re exactly the same."

Closing the small space between us, Dixie taps a finger against my chest. "Hi, Trex. How’s my favorite wolf?"

He gives a pleased rumble at being included. [Better now.]

Her hand falls away as she nods toward the exit. "Walk me to my car?"

I check my watch. Sadie’s hour is almost up, and she’s waiting for me. But I’m crossing the parking lot anyway. Telling Dixie no just to walk twenty feet behind her like a creep would be stupid.

"Yeah. Come on."

We leave the clinic together. A few steps down the path, she turns her head toward me, her smile not as wide as it was inside. "It’s been a long time, Trey."

"It’s only been a few months."

She lets out a quiet sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh, then looks ahead.

If she’s fishing for compliments, she cast her line at the wrong guy. I know what she wanted me to say. Yeah, it feels like forever. Maybe admit I’d missed her, or give her anything that suggested she wasn’t the only one thinking about the other all this time.

But that isn’t what the last few months have been like for me, and I’m not going to lie.

"That’s mine." She points toward a black Porsche Taycan parked a few rows down. When we reach it, she stops beside the driver’s door and faces me with another smile. "You didn’t bring a car?"

"I walked."

Her brows rise. "Do you need a ride?"

"No. I’m walking back."

She huffs. "That’s surprising. You used to be obsessed with buying cars. Now you don’t even drive them?"

I shrug. "Turns out using my legs occasionally won’t kill me."

She nods slowly, and the conversation should end here, except she doesn’t unlock the car or say goodbye. She keeps looking at me like I’ve missed my cue in some melodrama, waiting for a line I don’t have.

I lift a hand. "Catch you later, Dixie."

I’ve barely taken a step when her voice stops me.

"Trey, wait."

A breath pushes through my nostrils as I pause. First Ezra, now this. This day needs to get off my dick.

When I turn around, she inches closer. Her glossed lips press together before her teeth catch the bottom one.

By the time she speaks, there’s almost a pout in her voice. "When things ended, I blocked you everywhere."

"I noticed."

She tucks a short strand of hair behind her ear. "Every time I saw you, all those feelings came back, along with how angry I was. So I blocked you and figured enough time apart would make everything go away."

Another step brings her close enough to catch a small fold of my shirt between her fingers.

"But seeing you now..." There are very few good ways for that sentence to end. "Nothing’s gone. I still remember how good you smell, all those annoying little things you do. Everything. And I know this is a lot after seven months without speaking, but..." She draws in a breath. "Why did we have to end things?"

"You know why, Dixie."

"I know." The problem is, that has never been enough for her. "I just don’t know if that means we had to."

Her fingers finally loosen from my shirt. She steps back with an awkward laugh, turning away before immediately facing me again, too restless to settle on either one.

"Goddess, this is embarrassing." Her hand disappears into her hair. "I’m standing here confessing my feelings after seven months like the crazy ex you warn people about."

"You’re not my ex."

She goes still and glares at me.

Probably not the part I should’ve corrected, but accuracy matters.

"You’re unbelievable. I even missed that irritating mouth of yours." I’m not sure when being irritating became one of my better qualities, but I’ll take it. "And before you act like this came out of nowhere, I did try to reach you. I texted from a different number."

My forehead tightens. "I didn’t know it was you."

"I literally told you in the text, Trey."

The message comes back to me, including the part where she gave me her name. So she caught me lying. Great.

That should make it even clearer that I’ve been avoiding this conversation. The ignored text, my attempt to leave, the complete lack of encouragement—none of it has been subtle. Dixie knows. She just doesn’t care.

"There was no reason for us to keep talking." This is me being gentle. "I told you what this was from the start, Dixie. Casual. You said you understood, but then you started asking for more and getting mad when I wouldn’t give it to you."

"I know, but I’ve changed since then." She steps closer, talking faster than I can interrupt. "I can be normal about it. Seriously. Looking back, I know exactly what the problem was. I was jealous."

Her mouth pulls into a small, embarrassed smile. "I knew we weren’t together, but every time I thought you might be seeing another girl, I hated it. I wanted you to myself even though that wasn’t what we agreed on."

At least she owns it now.

"But I get it." Hope works its way back into her expression. "I can work with what you want. If casual and private is all you’re offering, then we keep it that way. No expectations this time."

There’s probably no polite way to tell her I’d rather be anywhere else right now.

"I’m not looking for that anymore," I say.

Her fingers close around my arm when I turn away, stopping me. I look down at her hand, then back at her.

She releases me quickly. "Are you still mad at me? Is this a me thing?"

I shake my head. "No."

Her gaze moves slowly over my face, looking for something I’m not giving her. "You’ve changed."

"You told me five minutes ago that I haven’t."

"Well, I was clearly wrong." The softness disappears from her expression, replaced by a glare I remember much better. She folds her arms across her chest. "Because I’ve heard some pretty ridiculous rumors about you lately. Some girl even got added to the WAG group. I couldn’t make it to the Delta Rho party because I had a shoot, but I heard what happened." She tilts her head, waiting for my reaction. "Is this because of her?"

"No."

"Then what is it?" The question comes out close to a whine. "I’m not trying to pressure you, Trey. I just want to understand. We could figure something out, okay? It’s not like we have to start fucking again tonight."

Calling this anything other than pressure is generous. I’m one more question away from being compressed into a gas canister.

"I can give you what you want." She bobs her head eagerly. "You remember what it was like between us. You loved the way I felt. You loved my tongue and what I could do on my knees. I can be your good girl again."

I drag a hand through my hair as several memories I don’t need right now come back with uncomfortable clarity.

We had a good time. A very fucking good time, if I’m being honest, and I’m not going to pretend four months of sleeping together were terrible just because of how badly things ended. I liked having sex with Dixie. She liked having sex with me. That was supposed to be the beginning and end of it.

Except it stopped being enough for her, and every conversation like this makes me feel guilty for indulging in the first place even though we both agreed on what it was. I can’t do the jealousy again. The questions, the expectations, the constant hope that if she stayed long enough, I’d eventually give her something I never promised.

"Dixie." I say it with enough force to make sure she’s listening. "You’ve made a name for yourself. I hear about you all the time now. You’ve got the followers, the shoots, all the shit you used to talk about wanting."

Her expression shifts, but she stays quiet.

"I have hockey. I’m trying to get to the NHL, and I have other things on my mind too." I loosen my grip and let her hand go. "Maybe we should both keep moving forward instead of trying to force something that didn’t work the first time."

Her lips part on a shaky breath.

"We had fun. A lot of it. You’re beautiful, Dixie, and you know it." I give her a moment before adding, "You can have almost anyone. Don’t waste your time trying to convince me."

She looks away, blinking a few times before bringing her eyes back to mine. "You’re really turning me down."

It isn’t much of a question anymore.

"Yeah." I nod. "I am."

Her lips press into a thin line as she moves back toward her car.

"I’ll see you around, Dixie."