End of Regulation - final book in the Love Misconduct series

Chapter Nine - Part Two

Juliana's POV







"Jeff, what's wrong?" I whisper as we enter the dark hotel room.

"Nothing's wrong," he mumbles, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

I walk over to the nightstand and I turn on the lamp, lighting up the dark room instantly. I look over at Jeff who has an angry expression on his face. His eyes are narrowed, his cheeks beet red. He looks as if he is about to erupt, and I do not want that to happen.

I sit down next to him and I slowly wrap my arm around him, only to have him shrug me off and a deep growl to escape his throat.

"Jeff, please." I whisper, grabbing his hand and holding it tightly.

"Nothing is fucking wrong!" he snaps, pulling his hand away as he stands up from the bed.

I think about to when he started acting sour. After what happened with Meghan, he hasn't been the same since. He told me he rescued her from whatever Justin Faulk was about to do to her. But something must have happened between the two once they were alone in the bathroom. The way Jeff stormed out was a sign, and so were the tears trickling down Meghan's face. The only thing I could think of is that Jeff is still in love with Meghan.



"It's Meghan, isn't it?" I clear my throat and I cross my arms over my chest.

"What?" he asks confused, turning to face me. "Why are you bringing her into this?"

"You've been acting out since you talked to her. She was crying, Jeff." I reply, slowly walking up to him.

"Meghan always fucking cries," he mumbles, turning back to look out the window to see the Denver skyline.

"You still love her." I mumble, narrowing my eyes at him.

He turns back to face me, his face beet red and he glares at me. His nose flares as he tries to take a deep breath. I must have just hit a fuse, because he only looks like this when he is about to explode.

"You brought up the thought of you two together to her again, didn't you? You can't do this to her anymore, Jeff. She's getting married and you're getting married to me. You're playing both of us!" I exclaim, raising my hands in the air.

"Fine, maybe I still love her. Maybe I can't admit to myself that I am still devastated for when she broke my heart three years ago. I've tried moving on, but she was my first love. They're so hard to let go." Jeff replies, staring into my eyes.

"I've been by your side for three years, helping you through this. You could really just throw us away like this?" I whisper, my eyes filling up with tears.

"Juliana, I can't fucking help it! If I knew how to get rid of my feelings for her, you know I would!" Jeff exclaims, throwing his arms in the air.

"You've had three years, Jeff! Three whole years! I can't deal with this anymore!" I shout through my tears, quickly wiping them away with the palm of my hand.

"Then maybe you shouldn't be here!" he shouts, his words of venom shatter my heart, causing my eyes to quickly transform into Niagara Falls.



After a few seconds of silence, I choke back the tears for a brief moment. I grab his jersey and I roll it up into a ball, soon throwing it and hitting him square in the chest with it.

I pick my bags up off the floor, frantically packing everything into them. He doesn't try to stop me, because he knows he won't be able to. I'm leaving him, and that's final.

"The wedding is off." I mumble, zipping up my suitcase and I drop it onto the floor, soon pulling it behind me.

"Excuse me?" he growls as he grabs my wrist tightly, pulling my body back towards him. "What did you just say?"

"The wedding is off!" I shout as I pull my wrist away from his grasp, opening the door and walking as fast as I can to the elevator.

"Go ahead. Go. See if I care!" Jeff shouts from behind me, his voice becoming more distant as the elevator doors open and close.

Now the only sounds I hear are the 'dings' of the elevator passing the floors and my choked back sobs.








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Meghan's POV









"Meghan, what's wrong?" Matt's girlfriend Ashley asks as she puts her hand on my shoulder, awakening me from my daze. A daze which included the events that unfolded between Jeff Skinner and I.

"Nothing's wrong, Ash." I reply with a sigh, zoning out at the ice. "I'm fine."

The truth is, I wasn't fine. In fact, I was anything but fine. I was miserable. The scene Jeff had caused tonight was inexcusable, uncalled for. There was no need for him to bring up the events from three years ago again.

I'm still debating whether or not to tell Gabe. How do I tell him that his best friend - and best man at our wedding - is still holding this over my head? I couldn't possibly tell him tonight; especially if he and his team won the Stanley Cup. That would bring his victory and excitement down, that's for sure.

Ashley looks at me and gives me a smile full of understanding; as if she knows I don't want to talk about the current situation at this moment in time. All I want to focus on is number ninety-two in burgundy and blue.



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The teams take the ice and the national anthem is sung. The Stanley Cup awaits in the tunnel, waiting to go to its rightful owner at the final buzzer. Whether it will be the Avalanche or the Hurricanes, no one knows.