Chapter 34 #2
Eminem was first over the boards as our tired forwards came back.
My skates had barely touched the ice before he was slamming a winger into the glass and relieving him of the puck.
He came around the back of the goal, scanning the players.
I slapped my blade on the ice and he passed without hesitating.
A defenseman tried to intercept it, but I bodied him out of the way. Two others were barreling down on me, but I spun away from one and took the other’s hip check without flinching… or losing the puck.
A stick smacked on the ice, and I turned to see Eminem wide open. I sent the puck to him. It had barely hit his tape before he shot it toward the goal.
And there was Davis, waiting at the edge of the crease.
He tapped it in under the goalie’s pads, and he was right—the fans brought down the house.
We all piled on Davis, hugging him and smacking him as hats fell all around us. When we skated to the bench for fist bumps, all the guys were roaring and effusive. The energy in this arena had already been off the charts, and now it was in the stratosphere.
In the end, the score was 6-1.
“Hey. Check it out.” Davis gestured at the scoreboard, and he sounded a little choked up. “It’s Early’s number.”
I looked at the score, then at the jersey hanging in the rafters.
Sixty-one.
Absolutely perfect.
Avery looked like death warmed over when I went to pick him up for our informal practice the next day.
“Come on in.” He stood aside. “I still need to finish my coffee and hunt down some sneakers.”
“No rush.” I stepped into the house, and as he shut the door behind me, I added, “If we beat the guys there, they can wait.”
He offered a tired laugh as he wrapped his arms around me. “Damn right they can.” We shared a long, lazy kiss that almost made me reconsider going to practice at all. I’d already skated with the team this morning. Couldn’t we just spend the afternoon doing… other cardio?
I wanted to help him be as close to game condition as possible when he came back, though; his conditioning loan to the minors was coming up fast, and the more he did now, the less ground he’d need to make up.
When Avery broke the kiss and gazed at me with heavy-lidded eyes, my resolve wavered again. Just a quickie before we left? That wouldn’t hurt anything, would it?
Except for as much as he looked like he wanted to drag me into bed, he also looked like he was close to collapsing under the weight of his fatigue. Forget sex or hockey—he probably just needed some sleep.
“You sure you’re up for this?” I ran my hands down his back. “There’s no shame in taking a day to recover after last night.”
“I’m good. Just need to wake up a bit.” He let me go but gestured for me to follow him, and he led me into his kitchen. As he picked up his coffee off the island, he muttered, “Fair warning, though—I might stop in the middle of practice and take a nap on the bench.”
“How would that be any different from usual?”
He choked on his coffee and flipped me the bird.
I snickered. “I’m just saying.”
“You’re a dick,” he sputtered.
“I am what I eat.”
Avery laughed again and rolled his eyes. “Oh my God. I am way too tired for this.”
“Mmhmm. I know.” I stepped behind him and slid my hands over his hips. Nuzzling his neck, I murmured, “That’s the best time to do it—when you’re too tired to form witty comebacks.”
“Jackass.” But he leaned against me and sighed as I wrapped my arms around him.
“You sure you’re okay to skate today?”
“I’m fine.” He put his coffee cup down and turned around in my arms. “It was a long night, and I’m tired as fuck, but I can skate.”
I smoothed his hair. “How late did you stay at the hospital?”
He exhaled. “’Til almost three.”
“No shit?”
He nodded. “Her mom took the older kids, and she didn’t want to be alone.”
“I don’t blame her.” I took his hand. “And I’m glad you stayed with her.”
“Me too. And it was, um… It was quite the experience.”
“Yeah?”
Another nod, this time with a tired smile. “I didn’t think she’d want me in the delivery room with her, but things happened hella fast and her mom wasn’t there yet, so…”
“Oh, so you were actually there when he was born?”
“Yeah.” He whistled, shaking his head. “That was, uh… That was intense.”
“I bet.”
He laughed. “It’s probably a good thing I haven’t been reactivated yet.” He held up his left hand and flexed his fingers gingerly. “I’d be day-to-day with an upper body injury.”
I snorted. “She had a hell of a grip, then?”
“Oh my God, yeah.” He lowered his hand. “I don’t blame her at all, and I won’t ever complain about it within earshot of her after what she went through—but holy shit, yeah, she’s got a strong grip.”
“I bet she does.” I slid my hands up his sides. “We really can skip today, you know. No one’s going to hold it against you if you need to rest.”
Avery was already shaking his head. “No. I didn’t skate yesterday, and I get twitchy if I go more than a day or two.”
I frowned. “But you’re—”
“I’m fine.” He lifted his chin and brushed his lips across mine. “I wouldn’t trust me to play a game right now—not one that counted—but I can hold my own during practice.”
“You sure you’re going to be able to play, though? With your hand out of commission?”
“Eh, it’s not that bad.” He flexed his fingers again, grimacing as he did. “I won’t be winning any stick-handling competitions, but I’ll manage.”
I smirked. “Oh yeah?”
He met my eyes, then rolled his. “Oh my God. I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
Chuckling, I patted his arm. “We’ll blame it on the lack of sleep.”
He grunted and shrugged.
“Look, in all seriousness,” I said, “last night had to be really intense for you. Not just the lack of sleep, but… everything. It’s okay to cut yourself some slack.”
Avery lowered his gaze, and his shoulders drooped just enough to give away some more of the fatigue he was trying to hide.
“I mean it,” I said. “One day of taking it easy won’t hurt your conditioning. We can make up for it, you know?”
“I know, but I’m good,” he whispered. “I’m tired as all hell, and I don’t think I could handle practicing with the team. But a light practice with you and some of the guys? I can handle that. I think I need it, you know? To shake off the… Whatever is going on in my head after last night.”
Something about that last part gave me pause.
Furrowing my brow, I asked, “What is going on in your head after last night?”
Avery dropped his gaze and rubbed the back of his neck. “It was just… It was a lot. Being in the room and all, but also… I mean, Leif should’ve been there.”
My heart dropped. “That must’ve been hard. For both of you.”
“It was. And I know he would’ve wanted everyone to be happy, but it’s hard not to be aware that he’s gone, you know? His kid was just born, and he’s…” Avery swallowed hard as he shook his head.
I touched his arm. “I’m glad you could be there for Rachel, though. That she had that support.”
“Me too. And I was thinking about it this morning—part of me is devastated that Leif couldn’t be there.
” He exhaled. “But circumstances being what they are, I’m really glad I had my shit together enough that I was there.
I don’t know if I ever could’ve forgiven myself if I realized later that she needed me and I was too fucked up to be there. ”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just gathered him in my arms, and he sighed as he leaned into my embrace.
“I think that’s what’s been hitting me the hardest,” he said, holding me to him. “Realizing how close I came to not being the support my best friend’s widow needed.”
I stroked his hair and kissed his forehead. “But you were there. You picked yourself up and got yourself together. Don’t tie yourself in knots over what could’ve been.”
“That’s easier said than done, isn’t it?”
“Aren’t most things?”
The response was a laugh that was dry as dust. “Isn’t that the truth.”
I pressed another kiss to his forehead. “I’m glad you were there, too. For her, and for yourself.”
He loosened his embrace and looked up at me.
“I wouldn’t have been there if it hadn’t been for you.
” He must’ve seen the protest coming, because he put up his hand.
“Yeah, I might’ve gotten it together eventually.
But there’s no way I would’ve had my head together by last night.
Not enough to be what she needed. So… thank you again for that. ”
“Of course.” I carded my fingers through his hair. “I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.”
He gave me a tired smile, then raised his chin.
I met his lips, expecting a brief kiss, but neither of us pulled back.
What started out lazy and languid turned hotter.
Deeper. As my tongue slid over his, Avery’s hands started roaming my body over my clothes, and I moaned.
We were both wearing workout pants, so there was almost nothing between us as our dicks hardened, and I couldn’t resist rutting against him.
Avery’s fingers twitched on my shoulders, a soft whimper escaping as he pushed right back against my hips.
Jesus. He was tired and we had someplace else to be, but… I just couldn’t…
God, I wanted him so bad.
Abruptly, Avery broke the kiss and twisted around. “Fuck it.” He snatched his phone up off the counter. “We’re bailing on practice.”
Anticipation crackled up the length of my spine. “Are we?”
“Uh-huh.” He typed out a message, sent it, and tossed his phone on the island behind him. Then his arms were around my neck again, and that kiss said he fucking meant it. Forget putting on our hockey gear—we needed to take off all these clothes.
My phone vibrated in my back pocket. His vibrated on the counter.
Group chat, probably.
Avery tugged my phone from my pocket and let it clatter onto the granite beside his. “Bedroom?”
“Bedroom.”