Chapter 37
FLIP
Quinn sneezes for the tenth time in a row.
“I think you might be allergic to cats,” Tally notes. She has a kitten perched on her shoulder, and she’s holding another one like a baby. Three other cats sit at her feet, staring up at her like she’s their queen.
Hemi organized a promo op with the local cat shelter Tally volunteers at.
It’s where Parsnip came from and it’s run by a woman named Kitty Hart—not a joke.
We’re here to pose with the wily furballs for a charity calendar.
It won’t be released until next year, but the plan is to help the shelter raise funds for their hard to home wing, so the long lead time should be fantastic.
Dallas tries to pick up a cat, but it swats his hand and hisses.
Tristan is cuddling two kittens, and my sister is looking at him like he’s dinner.
Kellan is holding a tabby cat who keeps trying to lick his jaw.
Connor looks ridiculously regal petting the three-legged sphynx cat perched on his lap.
There’s a good chance it’s going home with him based on the number of photos Dred has taken.
Shilpa is in charge of making sure Pavin, their toddler with an endless supply of curiosity and energy, doesn’t try to love the cats to death or use their tails as a leash while Ash juggles two gorgeous Bengal siblings.
We even convinced Roman and Hollis to come out, plus a few of our other teammates, so we’ll have a complete calendar.
“You should probably go first, Quinn,” Hemi suggests.
“Good call.”
He moves to the studio space, and Hemi passes him a beautiful orange and white striped cat who is absolutely in love with Quinn based on the way she’s trying to nuzzle him.
Tally pulls out her phone and snaps a bunch of pictures.
“Why are you taking pictures of Quinn?” I murmur.
She glances at me, eyebrow arched. “Don’t be jealous.”
“But seriously, why?”
“Because Arya has a crush on him and I’m a really good friend.” She pats my chest.
“It’s his freckles, isn’t it?”
“It’s definitely part of it.”
Quinn sneezes aggressively and the cat does a backflip out of his arms, tail poofed out.
“Okay! Quinn, you’re golden. Step outside and get some air. And maybe change out of that shirt,” Hemi orders.
He pulls it over his head, hands it to me, and rushes for the exit, still sneezing.
“Does anyone have an antihistamine?” Tally asks.
“I do!” Dallas digs his wallet out of his back pocket. “I’ll make sure Quinn isn’t going to blow up like a balloon!” Another cat swats at him from his perch as Dallas passes.
We spend the next hour enticing cats into our arms, laps, and onto our shoulders. Several kittens scale my legs in search of treats, which is apparently endlessly entertaining. There’s also a floppy-eared bunny named Bubbles who believes it’s a cat.
“I want you to pose,” I say to Tally once all the guys have had their time in the limelight.
“I’m not a hockey player, though.”
“I might want my own calendar.” I grab her hand and pull her toward the velvet chaise lounge.
“Hemi, tell him he can’t do this!” Tally calls out.
“He actually came up with this idea, so I’ll let him do whatever he wants.”
I settle Tally on the velvet lounge and pose her like a queen. The cats immediately rush over to her. “You’re like the pied piper of kitties, kitten.”
“Like I’m alone, look at you!” Two kittens are scaling my legs.
“You two need to pose together,” Dallas calls out.
Everyone else agrees.
I join her on the lounge and soon cats are climbing all over us.
I wrap my arm around her, smiling at her delight.
“Thank you for this,” she whispers.
“I love seeing you happy.” I tip her chin up and press my lips gently to hers.
Once the photoshoot is done, we change out of cat-fur-covered Terror shirts and head to Rix and Tristan’s for fajita night.
“I cannot believe how puffy your eyes still are,” Ash says as he assembles the ingredients for Rix’s famous seven-layer dip.
“I had no idea I was this allergic to cats.” Quinn blows his nose for the seven-hundredth time.
“Being in a room full of them is a lot different than just one,” Kellan adds.
“Apparently, yeah.” Quinn plucks another tissue from the box he’s holding, keeping a safe distance from the food.
“Do you need help with that, queen of the kittens?” I press my chest against Tally’s back and curl forward until my chin rests on her shoulder.
“I’ve got it, but you’re welcome to continue your human-cape impression for as long as you’d like,” she says.
I kiss the side of her neck. “You’re staying over tonight.”
“Was that supposed to be a question?” A dimple appears in her cheek, so I kiss that too.
I drop my voice and press my lips to her ear. “I have plans for dessert.” I stayed at her place last night, but yesterday was emotional for her. I want a night where she’s relaxed and everything isn’t steeped in stress and worry.
She tips her head up. “Me? I’m dessert.”
“All right, you two, save it for when you’re alone.” Dallas points the salad tongs at us.
Dred grins as she spoons sauces into bowls.
I give Tally some space and move to stand next to her. Later I’ll have her to myself and we can spend the night taking care of each other. We only have a few days before the next away series, and I want to make the most of our time.
We bring the food to the table, and everyone takes their seats.
Shilpa puts Pavin into his booster seat. He’s positioned between his parents and he bashes his knife and fork against the placemat. The kid is basically outfitted in the equivalent of a raincoat since eating is like a full-contact sport.
Dainty little Ariel is perched in her princess booster between her dad and Hammer. Her eyes are wide and she looks up at Roman like he hung the moon.
Tally hugs my arm and whispers, “They are so cute, aren’t they?”
“Ridiculously adorable,” I agree. We haven’t talked about kids, but she’s so good with Ariel and Pavin. I want a family, though. The picket fence, the babies, a house full of love. Will she stay for that? For me?
“Fajita nights are my favorite,” Kellan declares, pulling me out of my head and back into the moment.
“I second this,” Quinn agrees. “We used to do this in university with my housemates and our friends next door. Lovey always orchestrated it, and at least once a week we’d make a communal meal and hang out like this. Makes me miss those days.”
“Is Lovey coming to visit again?” Rix asks. “I wish I could have spent more time with her when she was here for the special needs hockey dinner.”
“I’m sure she’ll be out this way again soon.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I was going to invite her to the gala, but I wasn’t sure how that would work with the auction.”
“We’re shifting it to a night on the ice, so it isn’t limited to the single guys, since you’re dropping like flies,” Hemi says. “And I mean that in a good way.”
“It has the potential to be just as successful. Each winner will have their own player, dedicated to them. There will be time on the ice with the team, followed by a fancy dinner,” Hammer adds.
“It’s so smart!” Dred says.
“We thought it would be a good way to make use of the whole team. Far more opportunities to make community connections that way,” Hemi adds.
“I hope the grandmas still bid,” Dallas says. “Helga Flourish sends me cookies every year for my birthday.”
“Didn’t she win a date your second year with the Terror?” I ask.
“Yup. Clearly I made a fantastic impression.” Dallas bats his lashes while Hemi rolls her eyes.
Ariel shrieks and tosses a handful of pico de gallo at Roman.
Hammer laughs. “Oh, this is precious.”
“It’s the onions, isn’t it?” Roman asks his youngest daughter in mock seriousness.
“N’onions!” Ariel shouts.
Pavin joins in by bashing his silverware on his tray, sending food flying in all directions.
Both Kellan and Quinn get hit.
“He’s all yours. I came out of the womb civilized.” Shilpa wipes salsa and corn off her cheek.
“He’ll be a drummer or a hockey player,” Ash says proudly, while picking chunks of taco meat out of his hair.
Tally hops out of her chair and rushes to wet a couple of baby washcloths. She tosses one to Roman and dances over to Pavin, distracting him enough that she can pass the cloth to Shilpa, who cleans off his hands.
I meet Dred’s gaze across the table. Her smile is soft, but also knowing, with a hint of concern. I’m sure she sees the way I look at Tally.
We eat and try to avoid getting hit with flying food. After dinner, Tally takes a quick call from her brother.
“Everything okay with Tally?” Dred asks quietly while we load the dishwasher.
“Yeah. She’s good. It’s been intense.” I don’t have to explain.
She nods. “You seem pretty intense about her.”
I rub the back of my neck. “I’m invested.”
“You both are,” she agrees. “Have you thought about when you’re going to say something to her?”
“I need things to settle down first.”
“Are you using that as an excuse?”
“Yeah. But no.” I need to confide in Tally the way she confides in me. “She’s under a lot of pressure. School, me, her family. I don’t want to put more on her. Not right now.”
She squeezes my arm. “Okay. Just know I’m here if you need to talk anything through.”
I can’t keep this secret from her forever, but telling her also means that I’ll have to tell the other important people in my life, too. Like my sister, and Tristan, and my parents. And it will hurt all of us.
“Everything okay, darling?” Connor glances between us.
“Everything is magical, my sweet villain.” Dred tips her chin up and he bends to kiss her.
Tally returns, wearing a bright smile.
“Things okay with Ties?”
“Yeah. He was offered a scholarship for Tilton next year. Full ride, plus his accommodations. He’s relieved and excited.”
“I bet.” I hug her. “Didn’t you help him with the application?”
“I just read over his essay. He did all the heavy lifting.”
“Who wants dessert?” Rix calls out.
Dallas groans and pats his belly. “Me, but I need to make some room first.”
“We could play a game and burn a little energy,” Tally suggests.
“How about the floor is lava?” Quinn says this straight-faced, with one hand tucked into his pocket. His eyes are finally back to almost normal, and he’s stopped carrying around the box of tissues.
“I used to play that with my brothers all the time!” Hemi says.
“Would have been a full-contact sport with those two,” Dallas grumbles.
Hemi nods. “Once they broke the coffee table.”
“That tracks.” Tristan snorts.
“Everyone in?” I ask.
Kellan raises his hand. “I’ve never played this game.”
“Oh, you are in for a real treat.” Rix does a hip shimmy.
We toss pillows on the floor while we explain the rules. The first person to make it to the churro cheesecake on the other side of the room gets to take home the leftovers. If there are any. I have my doubts.
Kellan tries to make a beeline for it.
“The floor is lava!” Hemi yells.
Kellan and Quinn fight over the same pillow, shoving each other around. “We gotta hug it out or we’ll lose, man!” Quinn wraps his arms around Kellan.
“You’re standing on my feet!” Kellan gripes.
“The churro cheesecake, bro.”
“Right. Yeah.”
Rix finds her own pillow, and Tristan comes in behind her, lifting her off her feet so he doesn’t end up out.
Dallas does the flamingo on a doily, and Hemi hops into the occasional chair. Connor fireman-carries Dred so they both stay in.
I’m left with the tiniest throw pillow on earth, and Tally jumps on my back, nearly setting me off-balance.
The next round, Dallas hops onto the coffee table, causing it to groan angrily under his weight.
Tally finds one of Dallas’s crocheted doilies and adopts a dancer’s pose.
I get knocked out of the game because I’m too focused on staying close to Tally.
I don’t mind. She’ll share the cheesecake if she wins, and even if she doesn’t, the number of great photos I snap are worth losing the game.
Rix is next.
She comes to stand beside me while Tristan tries to fit his giant feet on a small pillow.
“You and Tally seem good,” she observes.
“We are,” I agree.
“Do you think she’s it for you?” she asks softly.
Tally pirouettes to the next cushion, closing in on the cheesecake. “She’s everything my life has been missing.”
“I’m proud of the way you take care of her.” She hugs my arm. “It was the right time for you.”
“It feels like it.”
It’s terrifying. It’s amazing.
But fear scratches the back of my mind.
What if she loses faith in me?
What if one day I’m not enough and she doesn’t want to keep me the way I do her?