Chapter 33
Luca
The chill of late fall rolled in. I was busier than ever, but after how Axel took care of me after Claudette died and the fun we’d had on Halloween, I was trying to make him more of a priority. The Nighthawks were doing well, and tickets became a hot commodity.
Axel had given me access to the family box, where the wives and girlfriends congregated, but I was more comfortable sitting in his seats.
I’d invited John to come with me, but he couldn’t get off work.
So I invited Caden. Axel often showed up to our study sessions with coffee and snacks.
He would hug me, then whisper in my ear that I was his, and my friend better remember that.
It always made me smile. Feeling wanted created all kinds of illusions in my head.
We made our way to our seats on the opposite side of the Nighthawks’ bench.
We had a clear view of the ice from where we were seated.
Some of the wives had their kids standing at the glass to see their fathers as they warmed up.
Jenna Karlsson had their boys down there, and every time Anders skated by, he’d stop and say something to them.
Both boys wore kid-sized jerseys with their surname on the back.
Caden noticed me watching and elbowed me. “That might be you one day.”
I blushed. My first reaction was to say no, that wasn’t for me. But after our discussion on Halloween, it could be. “Maybe. You never know.”
“If a man looked at me the way he looks at you, I would turn into a monkey and climb him like a tree.”
“Like what?”
His brow pulled together. “Let’s see.” He began counting them off. “First, like you’re the only thing he can focus on. Two, if he takes his eyes off you, you might disappear. And three, the best one in my opinion, the vibe he sends out that you are his.” He shivered dramatically. “Sexy as fuck.”
I tried to hide my smile. “He does not.” I knew he said it to me, but I had no idea he put it out there in a vibe.
“Trust me. He does.” He pointed to the ice. “Look at him. He’s all hot and bothered down there.”
My eyes went to Axel. The way his eyes fixed on me, then shot to Caden, made me smile.
Maybe Caden was right. I winked at him, which softened his glare.
He pointed to his eyes in that I’m watching you thing that made me warm all over.
Axel could have anyone he wanted, man or woman, but somehow, for whatever reason, he wanted me.
Until Williamson skated to a stop in front of him, taking his attention. Axel looked at him, then grinned. They fist bumped with their giant hockey gloves before skating off together. Unease set in as I watched them warm up together, and the smile I wore had faded a bit.
“Is he the ex you told me about?” Caden whispered.
“Yes,” I said, not taking my eyes off the ice. “That’s the one.”
We watched them warm up until Caden elbowed me. “That communication down there,” he pointed to the rink, “is work-related. They all look at each other like that. Like it’s the most fun they’ve ever had. It’s not personal between them.”
I swallowed, appreciating the reassurance. “How do you know?”
“Easy. It’s not the same smile. Not even close to the one he wears when he sees you. In my opinion, there is nothing to worry about.”
Relieved, I tried to let it go. “I need to introduce you to John. My roommate.”
“Is he hot?” Caden asked.
“Broadway understudy hot,” I replied. “He’s an actor. Search his name. You’ll see.”
While he went to work looking for John, my eyes went back to Axel. The team was heading into the locker room, and since Axel was the captain, he was the last one off the ice. When Karlsson walked in ahead of him, he turned and gave me a smoldering look before tapping his chest.
“Oh yeah. I’ll be very happy to meet him,” Caden said.
“I’ll make it happen.”
“I look forward to it.”
Taking a swallow of the overpriced beer Caden had bought, I let my eyes drift around the arena until I spotted him. There in the box directly across from our seats sat Davis Kennerly. I wonder if Axel knew his dad was here. Would he care?
“What are you looking at?” Caden asked.
“His dad is here,” I said, nodding toward the box across the way. “The luxury box behind the Nighthawks bench.”
Caden scanned the area. “Oh yeah. I see the resemblance. That’s a good thing, right?”
“I hope so.”
I split my attention between Davis and Axel.
His unmistakable pride every time Axel’s line went in had to be a good thing.
And when Axel scored a goal, I was so engrossed watching his father’s reaction that I had to see the goal during the replay.
Quickly taking out my phone, I flipped the camera to video and started recording him.
Fortunately, they replayed the goal a couple of times during the time out, giving me time to record him.
I wanted Axel to see his father during an unguarded moment.
See the elation on his face. And the unmitigated pride of a father cheering for his son.
So when the Nighthawks scored again, I recorded him again.
The cheering was different because it wasn’t Axel who scored.
Unfortunately, the Nighthawks lost. Caden left, and I went to meet Axel at our normal spot.
Leaning against the wall, I scrolled to the Nighthawks IG page for the replay of Axel scoring his goal so that I could save it to my phone.
Scrolling backward, I smiled at photo after photo until I came to one.
My gut churned as I studied Axel in an embrace with Heath.
They were celebrating his goal, but as the camera caught a moment, the way Axel looked at him fed my insecurity.
Doubts about our longevity crept into the back of my mind.
If I didn’t know they had a history, would the photo alarm me?
At some point, I would have to let this go.
“There you are.”
Looking up, I stuffed my phone into my pocket. Axel exited the locker room with Karlsson. And most importantly, without Heath. I was a jealous asshole. “Yeah, here I am.”
Axel looked at me warily. “Are you okay?”
Nodding, I pasted on a smile. “Yeah. I’m great. Nice goal.”
He shrugged. “You can’t win them all.”
“Hey, Luca,” Karlsson called, “Jenna wants to host Thanksgiving. She’s all into teambuilding and feels like the hockey mama. I’m telling you because the Brit here might try to get out of it.”
Team Thanksgiving. “Sounds good. Let me know what to bring.”
“I’m sure she’ll be texting everyone soon. I gotta go. Wanna say goodnight to the kiddos.”
When he was gone, Axel pushed me against the wall and took my mouth in a searing kiss. When he pulled back, he looked me in the eyes. “Did that fix whatever is going on behind your eyes?”
A little dazed, I grinned. “Yeah. And I have something to show you.”
Pulling out my phone, I opened the camera roll and pressed on the video. Axel took my phone. “Why did you record the crowd?”
“It’s not the crowd. It’s your dad when you scored that goal.”
He stared down at my phone, then replayed it again before handing it back to me. “Wait. You need to see the next one. It’s Kozlov’s goal.” I texted both videos to him. “Look at the difference.”
When his phone pinged, he pressed on the video and watched. His eyes narrowed as he studied them. “I see it.” I couldn’t determine how he was feeling, so I didn’t press him on it. He needed some time to sit with it, but I hoped he could see what I saw. A proud father watching his son.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked.
He leaned in to kiss my cheek, then draped his arm over my shoulder. “Yes.”
Thanksgiving morning, we started the day with breakfast with Edith. She was working the lunch and dinner shift at the Silver Stream, where I usually spent Thanksgiving. “I’d rather spend it there than at home alone,” she said.
After a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon, we helped out around her apartment, starting with taking her winter clothes from the basement storage.
It had become our thing on Thanksgiving Day to switch out her clothes for the winter.
She also kept important keepsakes, including their wedding rings, important papers, and some emergency cash locked away down there.
“If anyone breaks in, they’ll never find anything of value. ”
“Have you been burgled before?” Axel had a concerned look on his face. “We should install a security system for you.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Not sure the landlord will allow that.”
He rolled his eyes. “He hasn’t dealt with me.” I loved that he wanted to protect her.
“Luca, can you throw a load in the washer for me, dear. The long cycle with hot water for my uniforms, please. I’ll go get them after they’re done.”
I kissed her cheek. “Sure.”
“Let me do it,” Axel said, taking the basket from me. The laundry hamper was larger than the box she stored her summer and fall clothes in. “I want to check out the security.”
“Here’s the money and the detergent.” He took the soap but waved off the money. “I’ve got it.”
“There’s no reason to argue with him,” I told her. “We’ll be right back.”
We walked outside the building and down the steps that led to the basement.
After unlocking the door, we were met by the smell of fresh laundry that overpowered the dampness.
Four sets of washers and dryers sat on the far wall across from the designated storage area.
Axel went to the washer while I switched out the containers of lighter things for winter wear.
When I was finished, he was still standing by the washer, looking up at the ceiling. “What’s wrong?”
He pointed up. “The pipes are banging and whistling. Is that common?”
“These old buildings have boiler systems for heat and hot water. Crap builds up, making those noises. I’ll email the super about it.”
While I opened my email, Axel took out his phone and recorded the noises. “What are you doing?”
“I own property in this city. I need to know what to expect.”
The service was spotty, but I managed to get it to send. We each picked up a box and headed back upstairs. When we reached her door, Axel looked around. “Do you think the other tenants might need some help?”
Leaning in, I kissed his cheek. “Probably not today, since it’s a holiday. But we can come back and ask. Edith can put the word out.”
“I’d like to do that. Maybe some of the guys would like to help too.”
“I’m sure your PR team would like it.”
Axel shook his head. “Not for PR. Just to help.”
I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten so lucky, but if there was anything I was thankful for, it was him.
With a quick stop back in her apartment, we headed out. “Happy Thanksgiving,” I said, hugging her.
“Happy Thanksgiving, sweets and sweets.”
I grinned at Axel. “You’ve been nicknamed. That means you’re a keeper.”
We made a quick stop at his house to gather the brownies we’d made, and headed to the Karlsons’ for Thanksgiving chaos. Their house was larger than Axel’s, with more open space.
“Wow, this is impressive,” I said to Axel.
“Jenna likes to do this. Since we only have today off, most of the rookies and single guys couldn’t go home. She takes her mother hen thing seriously.”
A buffet was set up in the dining room and kitchen, while event tables and chairs were spaced all around the room. How they’d crammed an entire hockey team in there was mindboggling.
Walking into the massive kitchen, Jenna spotted me immediately. She’d added me to the text chain for wives and significant others and made a point to include me. “Hey, Luca! Desserts over here,” she said, pointing to the kitchen table. “Gotta keep the kids out.”
Football was played on the biggest TV I’d ever seen in the family room, where most of the team was congregated.
They were talking hockey and football, with Axel right in the middle since his brother was in the NFL.
It wasn’t long before I was swallowed up by the ladies asking a million questions about us.
I wanted to be in the room with Axel; the team had gathered around their captain, including Heath.
My gut churned until Jenna held out a beer.
“Here ya go, hon. You look like you could use this.” I loved her immediately.
I fielded questions about when I would be finished with classes. “Next month.”
How many exams do I have to take? “Two.”
And the most invasive was when I was going to move in with Axel. “Umm, I don’t know.”
Luckily, when it was time to eat, Axel made it back to me. “How are you doing over here?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me from behind.
I finished my beer. “Fine now that you’re here.”
Everyone waited while the moms all took care of preparing plates for the little guys.
I was fascinated by the way they went about it, selecting some things and not others.
Kids rejected most of the vegetables but agreed to others.
When I was a kid, I couldn’t remember ever having a choice.
I either ate what I was given or I didn’t eat.
And there were some nights when I went to bed hungry.
My fingers brushed over the elastic band, but left it in place.
With the kids settled at tables together, Jenna handed everyone a plate with instructions to clean the table.
As we circled it, Axel and I decided there was too much food for some of everything, so whatever he got, I didn’t.
When we were finished, we had two plates full of a little bit of everything.
We sat down at the table in the corner and dug in.
By the time dessert was served and the next football game started, I was ready for a nap.
Needing some time alone, we said our goodbyes and headed home. I smiled to myself.
“Did you have a good time today?” he asked, holding my hand as we walked home.
“Yeah, I did. It was great. You have a great big family now.”
He hummed. “So do you, love. So do you.”