Chapter Two #2
Holy shit!
He closed the camera and opened his text messages.
‘Hi, bestie!’ Nix watched with a smile as Mules glanced away from the book in his hands to the table beside him. Nix bounced in place as he waited. Yes! Evan was reaching for it!
‘Shouldn’t you be resting before the game?’ Mules sent back.
Nix cackled. This was the best day ever! He quickly answered. ‘I just got off the phone with my brother. Then I learned something that is the most amazing thing ever!’
‘I’m almost afraid to ask.’ Mules sent.
‘Don’t be scared!’ Nix replied. ‘I’d protect you from anything. That’s what best friends do!’ He was amazing like that.
Through the window Mules shook his head. But was he smiling? Nix thought Mules was totally smiling. ‘What did you learn? Does it have to do with pumpkins?’
Well, no not technically but if Nix hadn’t come to check on his babies he would have missed seeing his neighbor through the open blinds. ‘Do you want to learn about pumpkins? I could teach you! I know everything!’
‘Everything? That seems quite impossible.’
Okay, that might have been a stretch. ‘Almost everything. I know more about pumpkins than Aries knows about apples or Gem knows about grapes.’
‘Good for you,’ Mules told him.
‘My mom is the best at growing everything. She taught me. I’ll teach you.’
‘I appreciate the offer. Is that what you learned?’
Learned? Oh! ‘No! What I learned is even better!’
‘Should I guess?’ Mules sent after he sipped from what appeared to be a delicate cup.
‘I found out that I have the best neighbor! It’s going to be so fun!’
Across the street Mules frowned at his phone. ‘It’s good to be making friends. I bet you miss your brothers.’
Nix didn’t want to think about his brothers. Not when he was so happy. ‘New bestie! We can have movie night. Or play my game console. And walk around the neighborhood. We can even eat all our meals together! I’m making so many plans!’
‘That’s nice.’
Mules didn’t know how nice. He was still frowning as he looked at his phone. ‘So what is your favorite movie?’
‘Mine?’
Nix grinned as he typed the next words. He was just so happy. ‘Of course, bestie! This is fate! What movie should we watch first?’
Mules stiffened then very slowly he turned his head toward the window.
Nix bounced and waved. ’Hi, bestie!’ he texted.
The look of disbelief on Mules’ face was delightful. He rose then quickly stalked to the window.
Now that Nix had his attention, because let’s face it he always wanted Mules’ attention, Nix tried to see as much as he could of Mules’ apartment.
Behind, in what had to be Mules’ living room, were bookcases on every wall. And a lot of books. More books than Nix had even seen in some libraries. He bet Mules had read them all too.
‘You have to be kidding me.’
Nix shook his head, knowing that Mules could see him clearly.
‘Can I come over?’ Nix asked.
‘No.’
‘Later? After the game?’
‘No. I don’t have people over.’
‘You should have your bestie over!’ Nix pointed out.
‘I’m not sure I agreed to be best friends,’ Mules replied.
Nix narrowed his eyes. Why was Mules teasing him? That was a smirk on his face.
‘Bestie! Don’t be that way!’
‘I need to rest before the game.’
Fine. Nix nodded and waved.
Mules closed the blinds, cutting off Nix’s access to him. Nix would continue to work on his new bestie. It was fate that they were so close together. This was totally like a rom-com or some shit. Nix had total main character vibes!
* * * * *
Evan
Parking by the curb, Evan left his SUV running as he opened the driver’s door. The PAHL required them to show up dressed to impress. His light gray suit was starched, and he knew that he was looking good.
Nix had looked good earlier too. Standing on his balcony, so happy, waving to Mules like they really were the best of friends, dressed in a loose pair of shorts and nothing else.
Evan had a very comfortable life. Since returning to hockey, he’d bought a condo not far from the arena, he went to his mountain estate during breaks, and he had his books. His hoard.
One little fruit bat shifter was changing everything that Evan had thought about himself.
Making him think back to the days when Evan had dreamed about having a partner to care for and dote on.
When he used to spend his time away from hockey playing with men who wanted what he had to offer.
Being a bigshot for the NHL had opened doors to Evan being part of the most exclusive BDSM club in the country.
He’d given up the club at the same time that he’d been dismissed from the NHL. Even though the club had been run by a paranormal, Evan hadn’t felt like he fit in anywhere. He didn’t trust the men that he’d played with previously.
As he’d hidden in his mountain estate, Evan had pushed down every Daddy tendency and instinct of his entire being.
For the past six years in the PAHL, Evan had thought that he was fine. Content. Now need rolled through him and it was getting harder to ignore. Evan was dreaming about Phoenix—Nix, his little shifter. Evan wanted the rookie like he’d never wanted anyone else.
He pulled open the door to his local coffee shop and stopped.
Had thinking about him brought Nix to him?
From the counter, Nix turned, and spotting Evan he just fucking beamed. “Bestie!”
Amanda, the barista at the counter, barked out a laugh. “Bestie?”
Nix ran over and grabbed Evan’s hand before dragging Evan to the counter. “Amanda! This is my new best friend, Mules. Do you know him? He’s awesome.”
Amanda’s gaze caught his and she grinned. “We all know Evan here. He comes in all the time.”
Nix gasped dramatically while throwing his upper body onto the counter covering most of the small surface. “He knew about this amazing place, and he didn’t tell me?”
Evan cleared his throat. “In my defense I didn’t know you lived in my neighborhood.”
“Isn’t it great?” Nix straightened again. “And now we’re best coffee buddies.”
“I love you,” Amanda said to Nix. “Do you want a job?”
Evan growled. “He had a job! He plays hockey. With me.” What the fuck! He was standing right there and this chick was hitting on Nix? No, wait, Evan didn’t have a claim to Nix. He needed to calm the fuck down. Easier said than done with Nix beaming beside him.
“You're a hockey player?” she asked while eyeing him. “Aren’t you rather…small?”
Instead of getting offended like Evan wanted to do, Nix just waved his hand. “I’m tiny but I’m mighty! Ha! That rhymes. I need to use that line more often.”
“Like Mighty Mouse?” Amanda asked with evident confusion.
“Uh…” Nix cocked his head. “I don’t know who that is.”
Evan groaned, dropping his head back. How young was this kid?
“Are you joking? It was an awesome cartoon that played in the early 2000s,” Amanda explained.
“Oh! We didn’t watch much television as kids. Our mom liked us to play outside and get fresh air. Also maybe to save the furniture from being broken. We might have had excess energy even when we were little kids. Then we found hockey and that’s all she wrote. We were hooked,” Nix said.
“We?” Amanda questioned.
What was with all this talk? Mules needed to get to the arena. Hell, Nix needed to get there too.
“I’m a triplet!” Nix announced with a flourish.
“There are three of you?” Amanda sounded excited. “Are they as adorable as you? Do they want a job?”
“We all play hockey,” Nix told her. “And I’m the most adorable!”
“I bet!” Amanda grinned at him.
“We really need to get our coffees and get to the arena,” Mules stated firmly. He didn’t make any comment on Nix’s adorableness, because the kid wasn’t wrong. He was rather cute. And very sweet.
“Oh!” Nix backed off, glancing at his phone. “My car is running late.”
“You ordered a car?” Mules questioned.
“A ride share,” Nix said. “I don’t drive.”
Fuck his life. Evan couldn’t just leave Nix behind. “Cancel the car. You can ride with me.” He turned to Amanda, who was already passing a cup across the counter to him.
“Your usual,” she said with a wink.
He dug out a ten and passed it over. “Appreciate it.” Evan grabbed Nix’s arm. “Let’s go.”
“Sure, bestie!” Nix trotted behind him. “Bye, Mandy! See you next time.”
“Good luck at your game,” she called back.
Evan pushed down the irritation he felt. She never wished him good luck. Leave it to Nix to already become someone that the neighborhood locals knew. Pushing the key fob, he unlocked the door before walking around to the driver’s side.
“Should you have left your car running?” Nix asked, settling in the passenger seat.
“I had the fob with me. No one could have taken it anywhere,” Evan assured him.
“Fancy.” Nix whistled.
Evan placed his cup in the holder then pulled on his seatbelt. Nix was already buckled in. He checked his mirrors before gliding the SUV into traffic safely. The arena was only six miles from the shop.
“Do you always stop there for coffee?’ Nix asked. “I was talking to Amanda about how they should make pumpkin an all the time flavor and not just seasonal but she seems to think people only want it in fall. She said it won’t be here once the Christmas flavors come out. That makes me so sad.”
“But you can get it now?” Evan asked. Not that he was curious or anything about why Nix was always bringing up pumpkins.
“I can! And I usually buy several bags of the pumpkin flavored coffee beans to freeze to get me through the year.”
“The year? You need that much?” Evan didn’t think anyone needed to freeze coffee beans when they could just buy it fresh.
“I don’t drink a ton of coffee,” Nix said. “It makes me wired.”
“Wired? Which is different than…”
Nix laughed. “That’s fair. But I don’t like to feel jittery. A treat is okay now and then. That’s why the bags get me through the year.”
“Good to know.” He was really struggling with all this conversation. Evan wasn’t used to it. He knew what he needed to about his teammates, the ones he’d been around when he’d played for the NHL, and that was enough for him.
“What’s your favorite food?” Nix asked. “Like your all-time, couldn’t live without it, food?
“I’m supposed to pick just one thing?”
“Yep! If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Nix questioned.
“I have no idea. I’ve never thought about it,” Mules replied honestly.
“Really? So, dragons don’t have a favorite like…what would dragons eat?”
How was this happening? He was close to the arena. They were almost there. Evan could make it.
“Goats, chickens, or…can dragons be vegetarians?”
“I’m sure they can be,” Evan replied. “It’s more of a matter of taste.”
“Well then, what tastes good to you?”
He would. Nix would probably be delicious. Evan’s mouth watered just thinking about tasting the little shifter. Not to eat but Evan would devour Nix if he gave in to the needs inside him.
They finally arrived at the arena and Evan pulled to the gate for employee parking.
Roger waved him through as the gate opened.
“Thanks for the ride! I don’t think that I thanked you and that is super rude. My mom would be so mad at me,” Nix said.
“You are welcome,” Evan replied. “And I promise not to tell her. I wouldn’t want her mad at you.”
“She seems all sweet and nice but if you cross her or one of her kids, she can turn into a real bear,” Nix said. “Not a real bear. She’s a fruit bat shifter like us.”
“What about your father?” Mules realized that while the triplets had been the talk to the league as they were drafted one, two, and three that no one mentioned their family.
“My stepfather,” Nix told him. “He’s human and absolutely wonderful.”
“That’s good.” Mules drove past the gate to the garage.
As he pulled into the spot that was reserved for him, Evan could see Nix looking at all the cars around them.
“Nice, aren’t they?” Evan inquired. “Maybe if you get your license then you can buy yourself one.”
“I have a license.” Nix unbuckled his seatbelt as he peered through the windshield. “I just don’t like to drive. I never really had too. Gem or my mom took me everywhere I needed to go.”
Evan shut off the engine.
“And never get in a vehicle with Aries. He is a terrible driver,” Nix informed him.
“I don’t think I’ll find myself relying on Aries for a ride,” Evan assured him.
“You never know,” Nix told him. “Just make sure you don’t. Aries will offer but I’m telling you that it’s not safe.”
“Okay, I promise.”
“Great!” Nix clapped his hands then reached for the door latch. “Now let’s go win this game!”
Evan waited until he was alone in the SUV before blowing out a long deep breath. He was already tired. How was Nix not constantly exhausting himself? The boy needed a damn keeper.
Seeing that Nix was leaning very close to Marlin’s brand-new silver Porsche 911, Mules hurried to exit the SUV. “Nix!”
Nix turned. “It’s so pretty.”
“That belongs to Marlin. Don’t touch it.”
Nix drew away, placing his hands behind his back. “I didn’t touch.”
“I know.” He crossed over to Nix and took his arm. “Let’s go.”
“Okay!” Nix started to bounce. “You’ve played Seattle a bunch of times, huh?”
“I wouldn’t say a bunch.” He wasn’t that old.
“But can you tell me anything new about them? Something that I can use? I want to play my best.”
“You should always play your best,” Evan reminded him. Not that he thought Nix needed the reminder. The rookie went out in practice and in games putting his all into everyone of his shifts on the ice.
“I do! But we’re playing Luka Kotov!”
“How do you know Luka?” Evan asked. He tried to keep any jealousy out of his tone so the boy wouldn’t hear.
Feeling the jealousy, Evan didn’t know what to do about.
Great, first the barista and now a hockey player, Evan had to be losing his damn mind.
He should not already be feeling so protective over Nix.
“I had a crush on Luka Kotov growing up,” Nix told him with a laugh.
“A crush, “ Evan repeated slowly. Was he going to have to take out one of his only friends?
“I followed Luka’s career my whole life,” Nix shared. “Even had his poster above my bed. He’s who first made me realize that I was gay.”
Fucking Luka! Evan stomped up to the employee entrance.
Luka was attractive with his straight black hair and piercing blue eyes.
Evan could see the appeal but Nix didn’t need to be looking at him.
It was all Evan could do not to track down his old friend and make sure that Luka knew that Nix was off-limits.
That Nix needed to concentrate on his first season in the league.
Instead, he half listened to Nix as he practically sang Luka’s praises.