Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
VANYA
I didn’t stay long after watching Micah get into the SUV and disappear down the street. It was clear he was hurting, but I had no idea why. He wasn’t going to talk to me, that much was obvious.
And he wasn’t really speaking to his brothers or his friends—at least, according to everyone I asked—so he was festering on his own. The worst part was that I knew the truth. I knew why he was hurting.
I knew who hurt him.
But if I was going to keep my promise to Micah, there was nothing I could do about it.
“Is King Dickhead gone?”
I turned to see Caleb leaning against the alcove wall, one arm folded over his chest, the other hand holding a glass of water. “He take an Uber,” I told him.
Caleb drained his glass in one go, then swiped his thumb over his mouth. “Cool. You want to fuck?”
My mouth dropped open. “Um…”
“As friends. I’m bored, you’re hot. You seem interested…”
If I hadn’t met Micah—if the two of us hadn’t done what we’d done—I might have considered it. I was more of a relationship person. At least, I wanted to be. But I wasn’t opposed to fucking for fun.
I liked having fun.
It was my favorite thing besides hockey, playing fetch with any animal that wasn’t a dog, playing fetch also with dogs, watching Micah laugh, and listening to murder podcasts.
But I wasn’t going to fuck Micah’s brother now that I’d tasted the man I wanted.
“Sorry. Ah…I don’t know how to be polite and refuse in English.”
Caleb snorted. “Just a no is fine.” He fell quiet for a second, then said, “It’s Micah, right?”
I blinked at him. “Is…Micah what?”
“The reason you don’t want to fuck me. You all but leapt over the fence to greet him today, and he got really weird when I told him you were flirting with me.”
My face went hot and tingly with panic. “You told him what?”
“I wasn’t lying,” Caleb said. He walked forward, felt out for the table, then set his glass down. “You were flirting.”
“I was being nice!”
“You said I look cute in my gear.”
“You do! Is not flirting. Oh god. He must think…I need…” I stopped and cleared my throat. My stepmother would have my balls if I was rude. “Thank you for nice time today. I must go fix big problem.”
Caleb caught my arm as I rushed past him. “Are you two a thing?”
My entire body sagged as I came to a halt. “No.” I wanted that to be a lie, but it wasn’t.
“Do you think you will be?”
“I don’t know.” That one was hardest to say because god, I liked Micah so much, and I wanted everyone to know he was mine. Even when he wasn’t.
“You know that’s probably not a pool you should swim in, right?” he said as he let me go. “I mean, I love my brother. I really do. But he, you know, gets around.”
I frowned. “I don’t know this saying. It means what?”
“He sleeps with everyone he meets. I mean, not literally,” Caleb said quickly. “But he doesn’t exactly have standards. And I think he’d tell you if there was something for you to worry about. I assume he’s careful and whatever. But he’s not the kind of guy you have for more than a night.”
Something about that didn’t sit right. The words felt heavy in my gut. Did this man—Micah’s own brother—not know him? Did he not realize all the jokes Micah made were to cover up the fact that he was in pain?
That he didn’t want anyone to see it?
“Micah and I have good friendship. I know him. You don’t need to warn me.” I took a step back from him, then turned and went to grab my shoes. “See you around, yes?”
“Whenever you want,” he called after me. “My door’s open.”
I waved goodbye before realizing I was too far for him to see it, but I couldn’t seem to form any words, so I stepped out of the house and let the door shut firmly behind me.
I would have to talk to Caleb eventually. But for now—at this moment—I needed to find Micah and let him know that it didn’t matter if we weren’t a thing.
He was it for me.
At least for now. Until he was sure I wasn’t it for him.
And when that happened, I’d probably still wait a little while longer.
It took me a while to figure out where Micah would go. It wasn’t home, of course, but since the Fury had a game the next night, there was a damn good chance he’d be at the arena.
I’d been there enough now, doing training with the blind team, that the security guard took one peek at my badge and waved me in. The back lot was relatively empty, which made sense as the PPHL didn’t have to share an arena here with the NHL.
But there were enough cars here to tell me I was probably not wrong.
I pulled up and parked next to a very bright yellow Mustang and jogged from the parking lot to the entryway. My badge scanned red twice, but right when I was about to panic, like maybe Micah had my access revoked, it beeped and turned green, letting me in.
My heart was going a thousand miles a minute. It was ridiculous to think he’d have the authority to do that, but I never really knew with him.
Combing fingers through my hair, I turned the corner and almost plowed right into a man with a dog. It took me only a second to recognize Ben, the Fury’s coach.
“Shit,” I cursed in Russian. “So sorry, Ben. I didn’t mean to almost kill you.”
He straightened himself and pulled his dog closer to him, offering me a smile. “It’s fine. Maximov, right?”
“Yes, sorry,” I said again. “Is me.”
His brow furrowed. “Did…we have an appointment tonight?”
“No, no. Am looking for Micah.”
Ben looked surprised, then maybe a little guilty. “Oh. He hasn’t been around since he left practice. He was having a rough day, so I sent his ass home early.”
I grimaced. It was never nice when your coach tossed you off the ice and told you to get your shit together. It didn’t happen to me often, but the humiliation followed me every time it did.
“You think he would go home?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Ben’s frown deepened. “He didn’t say. Are you worried?”
I hated that I was, but I didn’t want to tell him that. I didn’t need people looking at Micah any closer than they already were. He’d never forgive me if I disrupted what little peace he’d managed to scrape together.
“Actually, I just saw him,” came a voice to the left.
I turned and saw a man I didn’t know yet, but I recognized him from somewhere.
He was very tall, light brown hair swept to the side, and he walked the way men who grew up with money always walked.
A slight swagger, like they expected the seas to part for them.
But his face looked kind, and that put me more at ease.
“Journey,” Ben said, “you know Vanya, right?”
Journey stuck his hand out to me, and I shook it. “We’ve never met, but I know who you are. Impressive stats, my man.”
His handshake was firm but polite. “Thank you. I don’t know you.”
He burst into laughter like I was telling some big joke. “Right. Ah…you’ll probably be seeing a lot more of me soon.”
There was something in his tone that told me I needed to be very aware of this man. I just didn’t know why yet, and really, I didn’t want to get into it now. I had things to do—a big misunderstanding to fix.
“Is nice to meet you. You say you just saw Micah?”
Journey gave me a slow up-and-down look. “Yeah. You’re not gonna pick a fight with him, are you? Because he seemed like he was already dealing with something.”
“No. Never fight off ice unless someone needing punching. But I try to avoid. Talk it out over beer or vodka. Maybe some really good apple juice.”
Journey’s face brightened with his grin. He slid up next to Ben and squeezed his shoulders. “You didn’t tell me he was funny.”
My eyes widened. “What? I’m so funny guy!”
Journey snorted. “I see why everyone loves you, Maximov. And the last I saw Micah was in the training room. He didn’t seem like he was in the best mood though, so—”
“Is okay. I can fix.” I turned to run off, but Journey caught me by my elbow.
“Be careful there. Micah’s…”
“No.” I didn’t mean to sound furious, but in that moment, I was. And I could tell from the surprised look on Ben’s face that neither of them was expecting that from me.
“Sorry?” Journey asked, drawing his hand away.
“If you going to tell me that Micah will hurt me, that he make bad choices, that he’s going around sleeping with everyone, don’t bother.
All of you don’t know him. He is sensitive.
And delicate. And it’s not about sex. Everyone always making it about sex.
” I stopped before I could say something I’d regret.
And this time, when I turned and stormed off, neither of them tried to stop me.
It took me a few minutes to find the training room, and when I did, it was empty, and the lights were off. I stuck my head into the locker room, but the only ones left in there were the ghosts.
The ice was empty too, and I couldn’t think of anywhere else Micah might have gone, so I made my way back out to the parking lot doors and froze the moment I opened them.
He was there, standing at the curb with his cane in one hand and his phone in the other. He was swaying gently from side to side, head moving in a gentle rocking motion. I’d seen him do that before.
He was always calmer when he could move his body like that.
I sucked in a breath to call out for him when a very large SUV pulled up to the curb and rolled to a stop a couple of hundred feet away from him.
“Fucking Uber,” Micah snarled to himself. “Their bullshit app is always fucking glitching.”
He took a step forward just as the driver got out, and my heart began to hammer in my chest because I knew that face. I’d seen that face.
That was the face from the club. The face Micah was running from.
Without really thinking, I was moving. I closed the distance between me and Micah and grabbed his arm. “Wait!”
He jolted, then shoved at me. “What the fuck, Vanya. Don’t do that!”