35. Much Rather Be Surfing Than Skating
35
MUCH RATHER BE SURFING THAN SKATING
KYLIE
Seth and I settle into a routine over the next few weeks. Whenever we’re both in town, I stay at his place, and I’ve attended a few games, though I’m still not comfortable enough to sit in the family box, preferring to sit with my own family instead.
By the time Will’s plane lands a few weeks before Christmas, I’m more than a little excited to see him, along with a small mix of fear at the idea of introducing my big brother to Seth.
Seth comes with me to pick him up. I’d wanted to introduce them without the rest of our family milling around.
As soon as I see Will coming through the door at Arrivals, I run towards him and launch myself into his arms. Of all the people back home, he’s the one I’ve missed the most. I can tell he’s missed me too, with how tightly he hugs me back, lifting me so my feet are off the ground.
“Hey, Bug,” he mumbles into my hair, using his favourite nickname from when we were kids.
It’s been a while since I’ve heard him call me that, and I can feel tears well up in my eyes while I cling to him. We eventually pull apart, and he sets me back down on the ground. Seth moves to my side, having stayed back to give us space.
“Hey man, I’m Seth,” he says, holding his hand out to my brother.
Will nods at him and shakes his outstretched hand. “Hey, I’m Will. Good to finally meet you.”
After everything, it feels weird having the two men in my life in the same room together, and I can see Will sizing Seth up. Will is pretty tall, but Seth still has a few inches on him, and is broader. I can see a few people around us checking both men out, a few of the locals doing a double take when they recognise Seth.
“We should get moving, otherwise you’re going to get swamped by fans,” I say to Seth, nodding towards a group of teenagers who are talking amongst themselves and pointing towards Seth.
He looks over, wincing when he notices it too. “Good idea.”
Will looks between Seth and the teenagers, a confused expression on his face. “What’s happening?”
I sigh. “Seth gets attention everywhere we go in this city.” We begin walking towards the exit before I pause and look at what my brother is wearing. “Um, you’re going to need way more clothes on than that.” I wave a hand up and down in front of him.
He looks down at his jeans and t-shirt. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
“Have you forgotten everything about Canada? It’s -7 degrees outside!”
Seth coughs to cover up a laugh before shrugging out of his jacket. “Here, have this until we get you back to your grandparents. I’m immune to the cold.”
Will looks at the jacket that Seth holds out, before looking at me with an incredulous look. “I feel like you’re exaggerating a tad.”
I point towards the glass doors. “By all means, after you.”
Will leads the way, stopping abruptly once we’ve exited the building and turning to Seth. “On second thought, I’ll take that jacket.”
“One day, brother, you will learn to listen to me.” I laugh while Seth hands the jacket over and puts his arm around me.
Will grumbles under his breath while he zips up the jacket, and the three of us head for the car park.
That evening, Seth, Adele, Lincoln and I take Will out for dinner, trying to keep him up until a reasonable hour before jet-lag claims him.
We end up at a local Vietnamese restaurant where the host seats us at a booth with high backs to give us the illusion of privacy. Which works well when trying to keep the identities of two oversized Mounties players under wraps.
“So, have you got any plans while you’re here?” Seth asks Will while we wait for our dinner.
“I thought we could give snowboarding a try. What do you think, Kyles?”
“Yeah, that could be fun. I haven’t had a chance to get out to any of the ski resorts yet. Adele hogs those tours.” I poke my tongue out at my cousin, who laughs while I turn to Seth. “Wanna come?”
He shakes his head. “I can’t. Our contracts with the Mounties prohibit us from partaking in any dangerous sports during the season.”
I screw up my face. “Well, that sucks.”
Lincoln laughs. “You should have seen Coach’s face when he found out we skydived in Europe. Best not mention to him it was your idea, Kylie.”
I’ve met their coach a few times now, and he intimidates the crap out of me, so I shake my head quickly. “Definitely not saying a word.”
“Excuse me.” A small red-headed girl, who looks around eight years old, appears at our table, staring at Lincoln. “Are you Lincoln O’Malley?”
Lincoln grins. “I sure am.”
Her eyes go wide and she does a cute little jump. “Oh! Can you please sign this?” She holds out a little notebook and pen.
“Sure.” Lincoln takes it from her. “What’s your name?”
“Evelyn,” she replies with a big smile.
Lincoln gets to signing, and once she gets her notebook back, she looks at it before clasping it to her chest. “Thank you so much. Sorry to interrupt your dinner.” She finally looks around at the rest of us, gasping when she sees Seth. “Oh my god, you’re Seth Davidson,” she blurts out.
Seth grins and gives her a little wave. It’s so interesting watching him interact with the younger fans, as opposed to the adults. He makes it look effortless with the kids, while the adults make him uncomfortable.
Evelyn holds out her notebook and pen. “Can you sign it too, please?”
Seth nods and signs the same page as Lincoln before handing the book back to her.
“You’re both my favourite players. I go to all the games that my parents can get tickets for.”
“Remember to come see us at the glass next time. Maybe we can get you a puck or something,” Lincoln says, and her eyes go even wider.
“Yes, sir.” She stares at them both for a few more moments. “Okay, I’ll go now. Thank you so much.” She bounces off towards her family, and her father smiles at the guys before talking to his overexcited offspring.
“That was so cute,” Adele says, placing her hand on her chest.
“Does that happen a lot?” Will asks.
The guys shrug at the same time. “Yeah. You get used to it after a while,” Lincoln replies. “Seth gets it more than me, though.”
“You’re the captain, right?” Will looks at Seth, who nods. Will’s gaze turns to me. “I still think it’s crazy that of all the people, you find the captain of the Mounties. Dad is still shaking his head about that.”
“Yeah, what’s up with your dad’s dislike of hockey, anyway?” Lincoln asks, while Seth slides his arm around my shoulders.
“I think he just got tired of how much it was talked about in their house growing up. It’s not like he actively has a hatred for it or anything, just has no interest, really. He’d much rather be surfing than skating,” Will replies, then looks over at Seth. “We’ll have to give you a surfing lesson when you come to Australia.”
Lincoln laughs, although Seth and I remain quiet. Neither of us has brought up my return to Australia in a few weeks, and I feel his arm tighten around me.
“I would pay to see that.” Lincoln seems oblivious to our reaction.
Adele rushes to change the subject and Will gives me a curious look before replying to her question about how his business is going.
Our food arrives, adding to the distraction, but I can feel the shift in Seth’s mood, matching my own. At some point, we’re going to have to talk about it, but I’m not ready for things to change yet.
Seth drops us home after dinner, and I stay in the passenger seat after Will and Adele head inside. “You sure you don’t want to stay?” I ask him.
“Yeah. You should hang out with your brother,” he replies, curling a lock of my hair around his finger.
“Okay. And you’re also scared of Grandpa.” I grin at him.
“He’s slightly terrifying.”
I laugh and shake my head. “The big NHL player is scared of an old man.”
“No, the NHL player is scared of the deceptively spry old man who has explicitly informed said NHL player that he knows how to hide a body.” That had been an entertaining conversation, which led to Grandma smacking Grandpa over the head with a newspaper.
“I’m sure he was only joking… I don’t know of anyone who’s gone missing yet.” I smirk, and he shakes his head, leaning over to kiss me.
“You’re hilarious. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”
“Yep. We’re bringing Will for his first game, so we’ll meet you at dinner afterwards.”
Once I finally say goodbye to Seth, I head inside to find Will and Adele sitting on the couch, waiting for me.
“So, I’ve decided I like him. You may keep dating him,” Will says as soon as he sees me.
“Oh, I didn’t realise I needed your permission, but thank you so much.” I flop down beside him, and he ruffles my hair.
“Of course you need my permission. It’s my right as the older brother.”
I roll my eyes but don’t bother replying. I know he is all for me making my own decisions and is just trying to rile me up.
We chat for a little longer, but Will is fading fast from jet-lag, and eventually passes out on the couch while Adele and I are talking about work.
“Well, I think that all went well,” Adele says, nodding towards Will, who has started snoring.
“Yeah, they seemed to get along okay.”
“When are you going to cave and admit that you’re in love with Seth and plan on staying here?” she asks.
I sigh. “We haven’t discussed it any further since that first night. I don’t know what I’m going to do. My life is in Australia.” Although I’ve been trying to avoid it, my thoughts have often drifted to how much my life would change if I stayed, while nothing would have to change for Seth.
“Let’s be honest here. You know you’re going to stay. You’ve got a job here. It’s not like you have to worry about getting a visa or anything, and you’re in love with the hot hockey player, who is clearly in love with you, too.” Adele gives me a pointed look.
“It’s too soon to be talking about love.”
She tsks. “There’s no time line on love, you nutter. We can all see it. The way you both look at each other, that’s not just going to go away if you decide not to stay. You admitted you missed him before you came here. It’s only going to be harder if you leave after spending so much time with him.”
I frown. “I’m not ready to talk about it.”
“Well, you’ve only got a few weeks, so as much as you’re not ready, you better have the conversation, or you’re going to end up regretting it for the rest of your life.”
I really hate it when my family meddles.
Especially when they are right.