Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
WELLS
Igive myself one last scrutinizing look in the mirror before heading out of my apartment. Today’s the big day, and I’m not going to let anything mess it up.
Kellan hadn’t been kidding when he told me that he was going to be busy this semester.
Between away games half-way across the country, getting adjusted to his new classes, and continuing to work four nights a week, it’s taken close to three weeks for us to both be free on a Sunday afternoon in late January.
Now, don’t get me wrong. We’ve still found time to…
connect, but I’m a man of my word. I want to woo him, damnit.
The whole thing has been crazy. Sometimes, we’ll meet up in the student union for lunch.
Or he’ll drop by the tutoring center with a smoothie, just because.
And true to my other word, I haven’t done anything to fuck it up yet like irrationally push him away.
It’s been a real miracle, as far as I’m concerned.
When I get down to the lobby, Kellan’s already waiting. He’s hamming it up with the day-shift desk guy. Even though I should be rolling my eyes, I smile instead. “Discussing your incredible game last night?” I ask, sliding up beside him.
He gives me a slightly embarrassed look, which I love.
I’m a little obsessed with all of Kellan’s looks, actually.
His determined, intense features when he’s on the ice.
The happy, goofy smile when he’s talking to his little brothers on the phone.
How he gets a little crease in the center of his brow when he’s thinking hard about something.
God, I’m such a goner for him and I know it.
“Your boy carried that game,” Hank says, whose name I learned a few weeks ago from… you guessed it–Kellan.
I drape my arm over Kellan’s shoulder, wanting to find any way to connect with him.
We’re definitely not out or anything to the general public, but I’m trying not to overthink things too much.
And, I can’t stand the idea of not touching him right now.
“Hell yeah he did. And now, we’re going to go out to celebrate.
” The game was broadcast live, and I almost broke my television a couple of times watching as Kellan dominated from Minnesota.
I hope I get the chance later to show him just now much I appreciated watching him in action.
“Where are we going?” he asks, giving me those puppy dog eyes that usually get him his way.
I don’t give in. The only consolation about it taking so long for this to happen is that I’ve had time to wrack my brain for the perfect idea. I hold up my car keys. “It’s a surprise.”
He cocks his head to the side. “Wow. Pulling out the big guns.”
Instead of answering, I guide him to the door near the elevators.
“Bye, Hank,” he calls behind him as we disappear from the lobby.
There’s a staircase that goes down to the parking garage where I have a spot.
Maybe it makes me an idiot to think that driving into Boston is a good idea, but I want us to be able to go where the day takes us.
And I’m more than a little excited to have Kellan alone in a car instead of trying to stop myself from making moony eyes at him on the train into the city.
When we reach the staircase, alone at last, I turn on my heels and kiss him. He leans into my touch immediately, like he can’t get enough of it, either. After long seconds, we break apart, and I become conscious of the fact that my hands have found their way under his shirt. “Sorry,” I say.
He loops his fingers lightly around my wrists, holding me in place. “I’m not asking you to apologize.”
“Then I’m not sorry.” I run my fingers against his skin, loving the warmth radiating off of him.
I sneak one last kiss before I pull away.
The staircase and parking garage aren’t heated, and I feel like I’m being pulled apart from the below freezing temperatures warring with how my body is responding to him.
“Let’s go loverboy,” he says with a loud laugh before grabbing my hand pulling me down the remaining steps, through the metal door.
I click my fob when we hit the garage and watch as my headlights flash about twenty feet away.
Kellan lets out a low whistle. When we reach the SUV, he runs his hands across the hood lovingly. “It shouldn’t surprise me that you have a Range Rover.”
I roll my eyes and open the passenger side door for him. I have no plans to admit it, but this is actually my first date. For a long time, it’s something that I told myself that I didn’t want or need. And now, I’m obsessed with the idea of getting it right.
After he slides into his seat, I run around to the other side and hop in. I start the SUV and rub my hands together. I crack a smile when I ask, “Do you want your seat warmer on, human furnace?”
“Uh… duh. I’m not going to miss out on the full, luxury SUV experience.
” He’s like a kid in a candy store, looking intently at all the bells and whistles of a car that I pushed to get, namely to see if my parents would actually do it.
But looking at the world through Kellan’s eyes makes everything feel new and different.
He’s given me such a different perspective on life, and it’s changed everything.
“Well, once you sign your deal, we’ll see how you decide to outfit your life.
” In the last few weeks, I’ve only grown more convinced that Kellan’s going to get picked up by a pro team.
It’s not a matter of if, but who is going to be lucky enough to get him.
I hope that it’s somewhere on the East Coast, but I haven’t voiced that out loud yet.
And I promised myself that I wouldn’t sabotage this, and cutting things off before they’ve even really begun because our futures will probably take us to different places would be doing exactly that.
“Have you heard anything else?” I force myself to ask.
I’m pulling out of the garage when he finally answers me. “The Seattle Sails have shown some interest, and Coach told me that their guy was at the games this weekend again. They have an AHL team in Cincinnati, too, so I guess if I start there and work my way up, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
I side eye him. “You don’t exactly scream ‘Ohio’ to me.”
He shrugs. “I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch, but Coach recommended that I get an agent.”
“Are you considering that?”
He blows out a breath. “Seems silly to give someone ten to fifteen percent when I’m either going to get picked up or not. I don’t assume there’s going to be some kind of insane bidding war, and I’m not exactly in a position to negotiate.”
We hit a little traffic, and I look over at him. “It may not be a bad option to explore. It doesn’t mean that you need to sign with an agent. Look at it as getting a little bit of free advice, if nothing else.”
His lips are tipped down into a frown. “I do feel a little out of my depth.” I want to say something that will make him feel less overwhelmed, but his phone rings. He looks down at his screen, confused. “This is the apartment landline. Mind if I grab it?”
“Of course.” I’ve been with him a few other times when he’s talked to his family, usually his brothers who like to say hi and tell him about their days. After the calls, he always seems to be a mix of drained from putting up a good front and relieved that his brothers are doing okay.
Since he told me about his step-dad, we haven’t delved into the subject again, but I know that it’s always hovering just below the surface for him. I reach across the center console and wrap my hand around his, giving it a squeeze.
“Hello?” he says at the same time I turn the radio down.
I can’t hear whoever’s talking on the other side, but suddenly, it’s like my hand is in a vice grip.
He doesn’t like whatever he’s hearing–that’s for damn sure.
A second later he says, “I’ll be there, buddy.
” His voice softens. “You did the right thing, okay?”
He puts the phone down in his lap, and there’s a silent rage that’s written across his face unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
“Kellan?” I ask, feeling like a bomb’s about to go off inside the car.
“I need to go to the apartment. Now.” We’re at a red light, and he moves to open the door.
I grab him by the arm. “Kellan, wait. I’ll take you wherever you need to go. It’s fine. Can you give me the address or direct me?”
I watch as he considers both options. If he left my car, he’d still have to get public transport to South Warwick, which would take close to an hour on a Sunday. It seems like he’s realized that I can get him there in thirty minutes if I speed, which I’m absolutely planning to do.
Finally, he relents, and I let out a deep breath when he says,“Fifth Avenue in South Warwick.”
I’d have followed him in my car if I had to–or abandoned it to keep up with him on foot–so I’m glad it’s not coming to that.
I turn on my blinker and take a quick right. Whatever’s going on, Kellan’s agitated enough that it’s causing me to move quickly. In the confines of the SUV, it’s like his emotions are expanding into me. “Are you okay?”
His lips are drawn into a tight line, and I think maybe he isn’t going to say anything. “I need to get my brothers.”
I don’t push. Whatever’s going on, it probably has something to do with Rick, which means that I’m definitely not letting Kellan handle it alone. I accelerate. “Let’s go.”
Twenty-seven minutes later, I’m parking on the street outside of a semi-rundown apartment building nestled near the edge of South Warwick. Kellan hasn’t said anything on the ride except to make disgruntled sounds at random intervals and clench and unclench his fists.