Chapter 38
Grant
The locker room is louder than normal, and the guys are all hyped up after our win. We dominated the third period, and I stopped twenty-eight of twenty-nine shots. It’s been a hell of a night, even by my own high standards.
I strip off my jersey and pads while everyone around me is in full celebration mode. There are a dozen conversations happening at once—rehashing every play, arguing about whose assist was better, and planning where everyone is going after they shower.
“So.” Theo’s voice cuts through the noise as he drops onto the bench beside me. “Parker’s got a girlfriend.”
The guys closest to us go quiet, but I don’t look up from unlacing my skates. “Yeah.”
“And you’ve been keeping her a secret this whole time?”
Sawyer walks over and slaps me on the back hard enough that I nearly tumble forward. “Yeah, Parker, what the hell? How the hell did you even pull that off? We see you every day.”
“I’m good at keeping things to myself.”
“No shit,” Reese snorts, shaking his head. “The stone-cold goalie actually has a soft spot. I never thought I’d see the day.”
I don’t consider my relationship with Heather to be a soft spot at all, but that’s not the hill I want to die on tonight.
“I knew something was up,” Noah says from across the room. He’s grinning from ear to ear like he really knew anything about the situation. “You’ve been different lately. Less robot, more human.”
I grimace because this is obviously going to be a whole ordeal until everyone has had a chance to get their digs in. “Keep in mind I can still make your life hell in practice.”
“See? Still a robot.” But Noah is still smiling. “Heather’s great, by the way. Margo talks about her all the time. She’s lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one.” It’s easy to admit because it’s true.
Declan leans against his locker, arms crossed. “Wait, so you’ve been living with her this whole time? That’s what Theo said.”
“She needed a place to stay. I had the space.”
“Uh-huh. And when exactly did ‘needing a place to stay’ turn into you kissing the glass in front of fifteen thousand people?”
This answer isn’t as easy to define, but he’s going to be disappointed if he thinks he’s embarrassing me. “A while ago.”
“And you didn’t tell us because…?” Sawyer prompts.
“Because it wasn’t anyone’s business but ours.” I pull off my skates and stand, grabbing my towel. “Still isn’t, really. But she wanted to stop hiding. So we’re not hiding anymore.”
Theo whistles low. “Man, you’ve got it bad.”
I can only smirk because again, he isn’t wrong.
I finish showering and pull on my post-game suit—charcoal gray with a crisp white shirt, no tie. The locker room has calmed down by the time I’ve finished showering, and most of the guys have already filtered out in groups, whether to head home to their families or out to celebrate.
“You coming out with us, Parker?” Theo calls as he heads for the door.
“Not tonight.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” He grins. “Have fun with your girlfriend.”
I flip him off, but he just laughs. I can tell they’re happy for me. All the jokes aside, they genuinely are.
All this attention on my personal life is going to take some getting used to. I’ve always been private, and my relationships—what few there were—stayed completely outside the public eye. I never brought anyone around the team or even talked about dating.
But it’s different with Heather.
This time, I don’t mind people knowing. Even with all the questions and curiosity and teasing. That shit doesn’t get on my nerves like it normally would. Not when it’s about me and Heather.
I grab my bag and head out to the family and friends lounge. There are kids running around, wives and girlfriends chatting, and the usual post-win chaos all around me, but my eyes go straight to Heather and April.
They’re standing near the far wall, and April breaks into a run the second she sees me.
“Grant! You were so good! Did you see us? We were right there watching you the whole time!”
I drop my bag and catch her as she barrels into me. “I saw you. Hard to miss the two of you.”
“You kissed the glass!” She looks back at her mom and wiggles her eyebrows, then turns to me again. “That was so cool. Everyone was talking about it.”
“Were they?”
“Uh-huh. The lady next to us said you must really like Mom.”
I glance up at Heather, who’s watching us with a soft expression. “She’s right. I do really like your mom.”
April laughs, then squirms out of my arms to run over to where some of the other players’ kids are gathered near the snack table.
Which leaves me alone with Heather. My girlfriend.
I close the distance between us in about three steps, and I don’t give a damn who might be watching.
“Hey, Hurricane.”
I cup her face with one hand and lean down, pressing my lips to hers. It’s brief but firm, claiming her in front of everyone here the same way I did on the ice.
Our first real public kiss.
There are a few whistles and cheers from the guys when I pull back, but I ignore them. My focus is exactly where it should be right now.
“Hey, yourself.” She touches my chest, right over my heart. “Good game.”
“Thanks. It’s always better when you and April are in the stands rooting for us.”
“Oh, really?”
“I mean it. The other guys notice it too.”
Her smile makes everything else fade away until it’s just the two of us in this moment.
“I’m really glad you came tonight.” I plant another kiss on her lips, just because I can.
“I am too. I think we made the right decision to stop hiding. I’m really happy, Grant.”
“Good.” I kiss her forehead, then her nose, then her lips again. “Because so am I.”
She leans into me, and I wrap my arm around her waist, keeping her close enough that my lips brush against her ear when I lean in. “You look fucking hot in my jersey.”
“Yeah?”
“But you’d look even better in nothing but my jersey.” I pause, letting my hand drift lower on her back. “On your hands and knees. That perfect ass in the air while I spank it until you’re begging me to fuck you.”
Her breath catches with a sharp little intake that tells me exactly what that mental image does to her. Heat floods her cheeks, turning them that pretty shade of pink I love.
“Grant,” she whispers, her voice shaky.
“What, Hurricane? You don’t like that idea?”
“You know I do.” She swats at my chest, but she’s smiling. “You can’t say things like that here.”
“Why not? No one can hear us.”
“April is literally ten feet away.”
“That’s why we’re whispering. Practicing for later.” I press a kiss just below her ear. “Do you think you can manage that? I know you like to get loud.”
She shivers against me. “Practice makes perfect. I’ve learned that from you.”
Across the room, I catch Theo gesturing at me to join them. “Last chance, Parker. You can bring your lady, you know.”
I shake my head.
He raises his eyebrows, but I look down at Heather, then over at April, who is deep in conversation with Sawyer’s son about something that’s no doubt of the utmost importance.
I’m exactly where I need to be.
Theo grins and gives me a thumbs up before heading out with the others.
“You didn’t have to skip celebrating with them,” Heather says quietly.
“I’d rather be with you.”
“But I don’t want you to feel like—”
“I mean it.” I cut her off because I already know what she’s going to say. “I appreciate where you were going with that, but this is what I want. You. April. Going home together.” I wrap my arms tighter around her. “That’s the only kind of celebrating I care about.”
Some of the tension leaves her body as she exhales against me. “That sounds great to me.”
“Then let’s go home and celebrate.”
We head out to the parking lot, and April skips ahead chattering about the game. Heather reaches over at one point and threads her fingers through mine, and that small, almost subconscious action just reaffirms what I was saying earlier. This is exactly what I want.
I watch them get into Heather’s car before heading to my truck. The drive home doesn’t take long, and we arrive at nearly the same time. As I open the door to my truck, April clambers out of Heather’s car, talking animatedly as she makes a very persuasive case for ice cream.
“Please? We won! We should celebrate!”
Heather glances at me, and I shrug. “Sounds good to me.”
“Yes!” April pumps her fist in the air.
Twenty minutes later, we’re all sitting around the kitchen island with bowls of ice cream. April has gone overboard with chocolate syrup and sprinkles, while Heather sticks to vanilla with strawberries. I went for mint chocolate chip.
A side benefit to having a kid in the house is gaining the excuse to buy things like chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and mint chocolate chip ice cream.
“This is the best night ever,” April announces, with chocolate smeared at the corner of her mouth.
“The best?” Heather teases. “Better than your birthday?”
“Well, maybe tied with my birthday.”
I reach over and wipe the chocolate off her face with my napkin. “That’s high praise.”
She grins at me, then goes back to her ice cream, swinging her legs under the stool.
Never in a million years did I think I’d have these kinds of easy, domestic moments in this house. I never even realized I was missing out on them, if I’m being completely honest. Not until Heather and April moved in, anyway.
But sitting here with them, laughing and joking and having the kind of easy conversation that probably happens in millions of kitchens every night, I can’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else.
This is home. They are home.
The sugar eventually starts to wear off, though, and April’s energy starts to crash. Her eyes look heavy, and she starts leaning precariously to one side on her stool.
“Bedtime, sweetheart,” Heather says gently.
“But I’m not tired,” she says without even trying to stifle the biggest yawn I’ve ever seen.
“Come on.” I scoop her up before she can argue. “I’ll carry you.”