Chapter 66
RAIN
Everyone was drunk by the time we got to Halbrechts.
I didn’t think we were going to make it. But my hotel wasn’t too far away, so we washed up after waking from a twenty-minute nap and headed out. The place was thirty minutes from closing by the time we got there, and walking into the back room, Skylar saw us first.
She rushed over, her scream cutting through a break in the song.
I expected her to throw herself at her brother, but instead she threw her arms around me.
“Ooomph,” I grunted, falling back a step.
Tyler steadied me, a hand to my back. He poked his sister. “Hey. Don’t injure my woman. I just got her back.”
I stood immobile, because what was this? We’d hugged in Mal’s suite when she came up with Eric, but it still took me by surprise. After a moment, my arms lifted and wrapped around her to return the hug. When she pulled away, her hands clasped my arms and she beamed.
“I kinda love that my brother is obviously in love with you, and you ghosted him. He’s not used to women running away. Feel free to keep him on his toes.”
Jesus. There was that word again. Love.
I gave both siblings an uneasy look, because was this just some word they threw around? Though, the way they grinned at each other, their love was so obvious. Maybe they could say it because they actually knew what it felt like?
“You’re coming to Thanksgiving tomorrow.” Sky squeezed me again before stepping back.
“Actually, about that—” I started to say, but then other people were there.
The next body that crushed me in a hug was…I wasn’t even sure, but they were big and beefy and smelled like alcohol and sweat. He stepped back and—it was Meester?
His grin was sloppy and he shook his head.
“You’re not allowed to go anywhere else.
You can’t work for any other team anymore.
K?” He crushed me back to him before Tyler cleared his throat pointedly.
Meester stepped away, shooting him a rueful glance.
“We still need you.” His gaze returned to me.
“And this man obviously needs you. Lost his shit when you left the locker room, and his play sucked ass. We’ll get them on Friday.
Don’t worry. I’m more than ready to be assertive.
I mean, I’m not playing, and I was terrible today, but I’ll be ready for Friday from the bench.
I’ll open the door like no other backup goalie ever has.
” His eyes grew misty. “You helped me with that.”
“Okay. That’s enough from you, buddy.” Sunny came next, and he extricated me from Meester.
Tyler gave him a look of thanks.
Sunny nodded to him and gave me a tender hug. “It’s good seeing you back, and everything Meester said, except the goalie-specific things. Ditto from me.” He jerked his head in Tyler’s direction. “We do kinda need you to keep this one grounded. He’s our ace player.”
“Aces,” Meester whispered next to us, a wasted smile on his face.
“Move. Move. Everyone, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!”
Sunny was shoved aside. They tried moving Meester, but he wasn’t having it. He barely batted an eyelash, so the person darted around the side, and Eric launched himself at me for the second time tonight.
“We already loved on you at your hot boss’s suite, but you have left us alone too long with all these hockey players.
” He scowled, but he started laughing and it gave way to a blinding smile.
“Thank you so much. That’s been the best holiday gift ever.
Also,” he whispered into my ear, “Please tell me Jesse Ray swings both ways. Is he a secret bi-baby? Can I get his number?”
Paul had accompanied him, and he now shook his head at Eric, though he also gave Jesse a heated once-over. Feeling the attention, Jesse frowned, giving Tyler a questioning look before offering me a small wave.
Tyler leaned in. “Some of my old teammates are here. I’m going to go say hi. You good?”
Eric was still hugging me, and now Meester was jabbing at his shoulder. “You gotta share. No keepsies, dude. Little dude. Little pretty dude?”
Eric stiffened. “Little pretty dude?”
Meester got him with a lopsided grin. “You know.” He patted him on the head. “You’re, like, compact size.”
“I am not compact size,” Eric growled, and he let me go to step up to Meester. “Take that back.”
Meester stared down at him, confused. “What’d I say?”
Someone tugged me to the side, where more players waited to hug me.
“Don’t do that again. Just. Don’t,” Bruge said.
When he released me, Jesse was next. “Do I want to know what the looks were for?”
I shook my head. “No. Probably not unless you’re open to men. If so, I think there are some willing to help you experiment.”
Paul flashed me a knowing grin and winked at Jesse. “You just name the place.”
I clocked the shiver that went through Jesse. “Uh…” He swallowed. “I—I’ve never, I mean—girls. I like girls. Women. I—what’s going on?”
Paul laughed, banking some of the heat in his gaze before nudging Jesse out of the way. “Move aside, hot stuff.”
Eric and Meester were still bickering on the other side of me.
Paul hugged me. “You look like you’ve had a night.”
He stepped back, and my fingers curled into his shoulders for a moment before letting him go.
Paul was much more reserved than Eric, I was finding out.
I was getting to know them, and it wasn’t uncomfortable.
I released a ball of nerves that had been in my stomach since we entered Halbrechts.
“I have, but it’s been a good night.” A really good night.
A few more of the players came over. Brick had already left, but I’d see him and the rest of them on Friday or for Thanksgiving. I needed to talk to Tyler about that, because we had a couple different invitations.
Or. Wait—was I just assuming I’d be going to Thanksgiving with Tyler? No, Skylar had asked me.
Old worries tugged at me, pulling me into uncertainty. Tyler was across the room, talking with Nolan Everwood and some other players from New York. As if feeling my attention, his gaze shifted, finding mine. His eyes darkened, and he tilted his head to the side, lifting his eyebrows in question.
Was I all right?
I couldn’t answer.
I closed my eyes, because I wanted to pull away. Right now. All these people were too much. They were saying such nice things to me, but suddenly I wasn’t comfortable. I’d grown up in the shadows, and now I was in the spotlight, and I was making assumptions about the future, and I—he loves me.
That was my own voice shutting everything off.
Tyler loved me. He’d told me.
He’d want to go have holiday dinner with me.
I thought about it… Yes. I was sure. And just like that, my uneasiness melted away. Tyler had started to come my way, but I shook my head and mouthed, “I’m fine.”
“You sure?” he mouthed back.
I nodded. “I love you.”
His eyes flared. He mouthed back, “I fucking love you too.”
I felt a stupid grin on my face.
It was new. All of this. Tyler loving me.
The team being worried about me. Skylar’s acceptance.
I’m sure there’d been others in the past who’d cared about me.
Maybe I hadn’t given them a chance. Maybe I’d pulled away to protect myself, assuming they’d be just like my family, just like the first few relationships and friendships that had left me too?
I didn’t know, but this day, right here, right now, this was when things would change.
I was staying.
“Not sure what all that was about, but it’s nice to see my brother like this.” Skylar had found her way back to my side.
“Like what?”
“Happy. Grounded.” She studied him, nursing her drink.
“I’ve only seen him like this one other time, the day Zoey was born.
That first morning in the hospital when he held her, he was content.
Calm. He’s always had this restless energy, like the world was eating at him and he wanted to take it on.
” She turned to look at me. “It’s a good look on him.
Let’s keep him that way? He’s so much easier to deal with. ”
“I’ll do what I can.” My lips twitched upwards.
Hers twitched too, and she gestured to her drink. “You want something?”
The first notes of “Bohemian Rhapsody” filled the room, and Meester took the lead. Eric did the screaming parts, along with some sort of running-man dance in the background. Meester’s eyes were closed, his head tipped back. He was entirely somewhere else.
“They’ve been like this all night.” Sky shook her head. “Those two took one look at each other, and I’m pretty sure they both saw their soul animal.”
“Soul animal?”
“You know, like how dogs will sniff each other to determine if they want to be friends, and then bam, they’ll start chasing each other around?
Those two did some sort of thing like that.
Eric’s not this way with anyone. Except you, but you had to dance with him first. After that, he decided he wanted to be besties. ”
Tyler brought over Nolan Everwood and introduced us, then he and his sister fell into an easy teasing routine. Nolan Everwood was intimidating. He was a smart and lethal player, but he was more intimidating because I knew he was Tyler’s best friend. And he seemed reserved about me, not overly warm.
Tyler shifted to stand behind me, and I leaned into him. His hand went to my hip before slipping under my shirt.
That’s okay, I thought to myself. I was used to reactions like Nolan’s. He just wasn’t sure about me. As long as he didn’t try to make Tyler change his mind, we’d be okay. Not that Tyler was the type to be influenced that way.
Still, a little tendril of fear slithered down my back. I pressed against Tyler, pulling his other arm around me.
Skylar and Nolan were chatting, and the song had changed. Paul was now on the microphone as the opening bars of “Baby, One More Time” began. Eric jumped back on stage, hip checking Paul, who only laughed, content to share the song with him.
Tyler nuzzled my ear. “You okay?”
My throat was suddenly full. I was a mess.
Happy, then scared, because what if all this went away?
The usual numbness started to creep in, but I stopped it.
I needed to stop expecting things to end a certain way.
I needed to begin thinking the opposite, letting in the positive and believing good would happen.
Tyler happened.
Tyler was good.
I held onto his arms in front of me with a cement grip. I would never let him go.
Mal. His dad who was my dad…
“I’m okay,” I told him.
His arms tightened around me, and I leaned against him.