Chapter Thirteen
The energy in the locker room is electric, pulsing with the high of victory. The Sabertooths have emerged triumphant once again, and the sense of elation is palpable among the team. As we gather around Coach, there’s a buzz of excitement in the air, a shared sense of accomplishment that binds us together as a unit.
“Great game, boys!” Coach booms, his voice echoing off the walls of the locker room. “That was a hard-fought win, and each and every one of you played your hearts out on the ice tonight.”
The room erupts into cheers and applause; the sound reverberating off the walls as we celebrate our victory. High-fives and fist bumps are exchanged all around, smiles stretching from ear to ear as we relish in the sweet taste of success.
To some, it means more to win a home game, but that’s not how I see it. Winning on our turf is just how it should be. Beating another team in their home, that’s the sweetest victory of them all. Still, none of that matters as I celebrate with my teammates.
Coach’s eyes scan the room, his expression one of pride and satisfaction. “But let’s not get complacent, boys,” he continues, his tone serious now. “We’ve got a tough road ahead of us, and we need to stay focused if we want to come out on top.” I roll my eyes while smiling wider. Of course, the old bastard would use a win to remind us we’re not unbeatable. That’s just how he rolls.
My teammates all nod in agreement, a shared determination to keep pushing forward and striving for the ultimate reward. Despite the exhaustion that lingers in our bones, there’s a fire burning within each of us, driving us to keep pushing, keep fighting, keep winning. This team, this brotherhood, is something special, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
“Right, I’m going home to fuck my wife,” Henry, our right defender, says.
“Hell yeah,” Peter chimes in.
The two of them are always vocal about how much they crave sex after a win—hell, we all do. In the past, I usually found a puck bunny or two to celebrate with, but tonight I won’t be doing that. My thoughts stray to Lucia, and the image of her sitting among the other girlfriends and wives during the game flashes through my mind. I wasn’t prepared for just how hot she’d look wearing my team’s color and my number. Really. Fucking. Sexy.
Distracted by my thoughts, I almost run into the group of women waiting for their men. “Sawyer,” Amy greets me. “You played great tonight. Well, not as amazing as Peter, obviously.”
“Obviously,” I chuckle in agreement.
“I wanted to say I got to sit with Lucia. She’s so sweet. You’re going to bring her around more often now, right?”
Speaking of the woman in question, I look up and my eyes lock on the stunning redhead the world believes to be my girlfriend—fuck, fiancée. Her green eyes have a hazy quality to them. She wobbles slightly while biting down on her bottom lip. I wonder if she’s been drinking, or if she, like me, is high on the atmosphere.
I don’t even excuse myself, I just leave Amy right there and push my way over to Lucia. The closer I get, the more I feel the pull. We’re still looking right at each other, and the moment I reach her, she throws her arms around my neck while I pull her into me.
“Sawyer,” she breathes.
Slamming my lips down on hers, I steal her words. I slide my tongue into her mouth, kissing her hard. Hmm, I don’t taste alcohol, so she’s definitely not drunk. She moans into my mouth and fists the lapels of my suit jacket. It’s the first time I’ve kissed her for real, and fuck me, Lucia is an epic kisser. Seriously, if I’d known she was this good, I’d have done it a long time ago.
We’re interrupted by Mickey, Soren, and other teammates as they burst from the locker room. “Hey we’re going to celebrate, right?” Soren asks.
“Lead the way,” another guy says. “The usual place?”
I tear myself away from Lucia. “Let’s go,” I say, wrapping my arm around her so she has no choice but to follow.
We end up going to Magnitude, the club we always go to after a home game. Amidst the pulsating lights and throbbing music of the club, the celebration for our victory reaches a fever pitch as more teammates join us, their raucous laughter filling the air as we settle into the VIP section.
Soren raises his glass. “When’s the big day, Sawyer?”
Mickey chimes in, his grin wide. “Yeah, spill the beans, man. Don’t leave us hanging.”
I chuckle, feeling the effects of the alcohol warming my veins. “Who says there’s a big day? Maybe we already tied the knot.”
Lucia’s eyes twinkle mischievously as she leans in, playing along. “Oh, you didn’t hear? We had a secret ceremony last week. Just the two of us and a bottle of tequila.”
Everyone howls with laughter. “Seriously?” our backup goalie asks, shoving the woman in his lap away. “Are you two already married?”
“No,” Lucia answers, winking.
As the adrenaline of the game still courses through my veins, I find myself unable to shake the comments from Mickey and Soren echoing in my mind. The weight of their words are on a loop in my mind, mingling with the euphoria of victory and the alcohol in my system.
It’s more than that. Everyone sees me as an irresponsible forever-bachelor. I’m known as the bunny chaser, Mr. Fuck-Em-And-Leave-Em, the Sabertooths’ Casanova, and whatever else the press have called me. Though it’s never bothered me in the past, now that I’ve distanced myself from it and taken a good look at my life, it does. It makes me seem unreliable; the sponsors are right about that, and it fucking stings if I’m being honest.
It strikes me that marrying Lucia might be the very thing I need to do. It’ll prove to both myself and the world that I’m not that fucking bad. I’m not my mom; unreliable and uncaring. And since it isn’t love, but purely convenience, it seems like a brilliant idea to my alcohol fueled brain. It would also give me some serious brownie points when this charade is over.
Overcome by the sudden impulse, I don’t pause to consider the implications before turning to Lucia. The words tumble from my lips in a rush of reckless abandon. “Let’s do it” I say, low enough that only she can hear me. “Get married and to hell with the rest.”
She pulls back, shock written all over her features. “What?”
Smirking, I move a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. “Don’t pretend this isn’t what you want, bunny. You wore the ring on purpose. Besides, when you break my heart in a year’s time, it’ll look even better for me.”
Her eyes widen like saucers. “I-I…” Shaking her head, she clears her throat and gives me a defiant look. “Sure. Why the hell not.” Despite her attempt at sounding nonchalant, she seems eager.
“Tonight?” I ask, mostly to test her.
Shrugging, she replies, “Sure. I know someone that can do it.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Soren shouts, pointing between me and Lucia.
Ignoring him, I watch as Lucia pulls her phone out of her purse and frantically taps away on it. When a triumphant smile spreads across her face, I take a second to think it through. But no, I’m not fucking backing out. This is perfect.
“One hour,” Lucia says, giving me a pointed look.
“Fine by me,” I reply.
I spend the next hour with a bottle of bourbon practically glued to my mouth, and when it’s time to leave, everything is spinning. I’m in the perfect state to enter a sham marriage; drunk off my ass, and horny from having Lucia in my lap.
Just as I’m about to ask if she’s noticed it’s been an hour, a well-dressed bodyguard kinda looking guy comes into the VIP section. “Who the hell is that?” I ask Lucia.
“One of my cousin’s, umm… guards,” she replies, getting out of my lap.
“Your cousin?”
“My cousin Remus is the one who can marry us.”
My brows shoot up high on my forehead, but I quickly school my features and turn to Soren and Mickey. “I need your help,” I say, pitching my voice low enough that the rest can’t hear what I’m saying. “I’m going to do it, and I need you to be my witnesses.”
“You’re going to do what?” Soren asks, frowning.
“Well shit,” Mickey breathes, looking between me and Lucia with a grim expression. “You know we were just joking around, right? You don’t have to marry anyone—”
I cut him off. “I know I don’t have to. But this… this works out in my favor.”
They shrug, not objecting further as we follow Lucia and the bodyguard into a quiet room. The guard or whatever closes the door behind us, leaving us alone with a dark-haired guy who looks nothing like my soon-to-be wife.
Walking over to him, Lucia bows and does something weird with her hand. “Remus,” she says. “Thank you for doing this. It’s… umm, Sawyer wanted it over with quickly.”
“Sawyer,” Remus says, holding his hand out. “Lucia’s told me this is urgent.”
I look between the two of them, then, finally, I take Remus’ hand. “It is,” I confirm.
Just as I’m about to introduce my friends, Remus looks at them. “Soren, Mickey, it’s good to meet you. I watched the game tonight and I have to say I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, thanks man,” Mickey says, looking straight at me.
Turning to me and Lucia, Remus asks, “Those are your witnesses?”
“Yep,” I confirm sharply.
“Umm not to be a dick or anything,” Soren says, “But don’t we need a prenup or something?”
Well, that’s definitely something I should have thought about. It’s not that I think Lucia’s a golddigger, and the contract with Tom already makes sure I’m going to be the one to profit once we end our bullshit relationship. That’s in terms of reputation, not goods. And I won’t risk Lucia getting her hands on anything I’ve worked hard for. I’m not all that materialistic, but this is a matter of principle.
“Already got that covered,” Remus says smoothly.
Hmm, maybe drinking so much wasn’t a good idea because that should sound sketchy as fuck. Yet, I nod and accept the papers he hands me. Flipping through the pages, I find what I’m looking for. Each of our assets is clearly delineated, ensuring there’s no confusion about ownership. My estates, my money—all listed under my name. Lucia’s belongings likewise belong solely to her. There’s no room for ambiguity or dispute.
“Can I take a look?” Soren asks, and when I wave him over, he reads over my shoulder.
He wordlessly points out a paragraph that reads; Upon entering holy matrimony, any previous marriages are nullified.
“What the hell?” I mumble, looking over at Lucia who’s wringing her hands together while talking with Remus.
Deciding it doesn’t matter right now, I put pen to paper and sign everywhere needed. Then I hand the papers to Lucia, who smiles robotically. While she reads through it, I glance up at Remus, who meets my gaze with a reassuring nod.
“As smooth as silk,” Remus remarks, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Yeah, it looks good,” I reply curtly.
Remus nods once more before turning his attention to Lucia. “Shall we proceed, then?”
After signing the last paper, Lucia nods, her eyes shining with determination. “Let’s do it.”
With a solemn nod, Remus begins the ceremony. “You’re both agreeing you want to get married?”
“Yes,” we reply at the same time.
“Very well.”
Remus begins to talk about marriage, holy matrimony and yada, yada. Honestly, I space out. This isn’t romantic, it’s convenient and nothing else. So I don’t care. “Sorry, can we just skip to ‘I do’?” I ask, interrupting Remus.
His eyes flash with annoyance, softening as he looks at his cousin. “Do you agree?”
“Yes,” she says stiffly. “Just get to the binding part so we can be done.”
“Sawyer Perry, do you take Lucia Carter as your—”
“I do,” I reply, interrupting him again.
“I do, too,” Lucia says exasperated.
Remus scoffs. “Whatever. By the power vested in me by the Vatican, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss or not kiss. I couldn’t care less.”
Despite myself, I chuckle. Remus isn’t that bad. Or maybe he is, since he just married his cousin to someone who doesn’t care about her at all.
After signing the marriage certificate Remus lays out in front of us, it’s done. I’m now a married fucking man. The hollowness and despair I always thought would accompany me if I crumbled and tied myself to a woman is nowhere to be felt. I feel the same. I’m still me, Sawyer Perry. Some papers and meaningless promises aren’t going to change a damn thing.
I know I’ve made a rash decision tonight, I feel good about it though. Tom might be the one who forced me into this lie of a relationship, but I’m the one who made it on my terms. And now I’ll never again be the lifelong bachelor, in a year I’ll be divorced. The thing nagging at me now is that while I know why I’ve said yes, I don’t know Lucia’s reasoning. Then again, I have plenty of time to find out.
“Are you taking Sawyer’s last name?” Mickey asks, interrupting my thoughts.
Lucia looks at Remus who just shrugs. “No,” she says. “I like Carter.”
“Should we send out a press release or something?” Soren already has his phone in hand as he asks.
Shaking her head, Lucia rushes to explain. “I think it’s better we keep it under wraps. If we leak the information it’s going to look like we… umm… planted it and the press will dig. But if it just comes out organically, it’ll look like we tried to keep it secret.”
I’m actually okay with that. Mostly because I don’t feel like explaining to Tom why I married Lucia just after announcing we’re moving in together. But before I can agree, Mickey says, “Agreed. Just go on as you guys have, and when the time is right, you can announce it. I think the fact you had a small, intimate wedding will play in your favor.”
The smile Lucia gives him grates on me for all the wrong reasons. It might be a fake marriage, but that doesn’t mean I want her to look at my friend like he hung the fucking moon. “We’re leaving,” I grind out, pulling Lucia to my side.
“Just one second,” Remus says, and I stop. He hands Lucia a small box. “I didn’t know if you’d have a wedding band, so I brought you this.”
She eyes the box like it’s toxic. “It better not be—”
Throwing his head back, Remus lets out a booming laugh. “It’s not. Christ, cousin, what do you take me for?” When Lucia glares at him, he chuckles. “Don’t answer that. Just believe it’s not what you think it is.”
Taking the box, Lucia opens it with shaking fingers. Inside it is a small gold band. As she holds it up, the letters S.P.Q.R. glint in the light from where they’re engraved into the jewelry. “Thank you,” she says, bowing and doing that weird thing with her hand again.
“Senatus Populusque Romanus,” Remus says, and Lucia replies, saying the same words.
Like last time she said them, her accent changes completely, making it sound foreign. Remus pronounced the words the same way, coated heavily with the exact same accent. Hmm.
“Right, I’m gonna go find my fuck for the night,” Mickey says, classy as always. “This has been… not a pleasure.”
Soren laughs as he follows him, leaving me alone with Lucia and her cousin. “I’m off as well. You two should go… consummate the marriage,” Remus says, grinning.
I roll my eyes, but shake his hand and thank him for coming here. I still can’t believe I’m married, or that it’s a secret. If I’d known how exciting it would feel, I might have made a habit out of it just to feel the thrill coursing through my veins right now.
“We should leave,” Lucia says, looking down at the wedding band with lust in her eyes.
My dick wakes up, loving her sultry tone. “We should,” I agree. “I’ve never had a wife before so this should be interesting.”