Chapter Seven
Steven
The valet brought us Ashton’s giant truck. It didn’t blare country music. He was more into alternative rock, which was fine. I listened to just about anything.
“Marilyn did well,” I replied, then looked at my phone. Marilyn had sent me a bunch of messages. I answered simply.
Me
It went well. Taking her out tomorrow.
Ashton had a good time. It was evident in the way his face lit up when the two of them were talking about trees and shit. Which was actually pretty interesting. I could follow some of what they were talking about, having grown up in farm country.
“The whole thing with Kai’s ex and the trip is really shitty. I think we should try to make her time here as special as we can. If you’re interested, that is.” I hoped he was. What could we do that she’d really enjoy? I felt so bad for her.
It was clear she wasn’t really interested in country music or line dancing. But there was more to the city than that.
“Also, is tomorrow okay? I should’ve asked you first, but it did seem sort of implied in the whole bet. But it’s also my ass who lost it, so if you need to go do your thing that’s fine,” I blurted.
Ashton really liked to prepare for games. He spent a lot of time watching videos and getting into the right headspace. He was the planner, while I was usually going by the seat of my pants.
But he made me want to be more responsible. Hopefully I made him want to have more fun.
“It’s fine. Where did you want to take Kai?” he asked as he drove back to our place.
I thought for a moment. “Does Nashville have an arboretum? I know we have a zoo. I think Kai would like both of those.”
Ashton nodded. “Good idea.”
Getting on my phone, I looked up our options. Oh, we did have an arboretum. I went online and bought tickets for the three of us.
“If you want to do anything after that, we can always go out to eat or maybe hit a dive bar or two.” Not tourist places but places we liked.
“Or we can always have dinner and then a dive bar the next night. Only if you want to,” I added, unsure how much we really needed to do to satisfy the bet, but not wanting to ask.
Also, I really did want to make this trip special, all things considered.
“I don’t mind taking Kai to dinner one night. I think we have a meeting on Wednesday morning, but no practice. We can always go to the zoo if she likes animals.” Ashton’s fingers tapped to the music on the steering wheel as we sat at a red light.
“True. There’s a bar with plants she might like.
We really should get her a ticket to the game.
Maybe the aunties can come too. That’s something not everyone gets to do.
It’s really nice that Kai has such a good support system,” I replied.
I didn’t have one of those. My parents hadn’t even sent a text congratulating us for making it to finals.
Ashton’s family would come to our game in Portland, I was sure. That’s where the Puck Panthers were from. They’d sent us a fucking cake this morning from a local bakery that said Proud of you both.
Yeah, that made me tear up a little.
“Kai coming to the game sounds good. We can get them a shirt,” he agreed.
“Maybe we can get some of the guys to sign it?” I suggested, trying to think of ways to make everything extra nice.
“Perfect.”
Nashville couldn’t compare to Bali, not that I’ve ever been. But I really wanted to make this as nice of a trip as I could. I felt honored that Marilyn gave this task to us and I didn’t want to let anyone down.
We parked and went inside. Ashton and I lived in a condo in a really nice building that was centrally located to everything we needed. During the off-season we went back to Washington State and lived in his log cabin by the ocean. Because he was not a lumberjack.
I didn’t really talk to my family. You would think that getting drafted would please them, considering they’d made hockey my life. And me actually getting signed would make them happier.
But no. Because the Scented Scorpions were not a top-ranked team, I was a disappointment. It was a waste of all those years of taking me to hockey, all that sacrifice, all because I couldn’t play for a winning team.
While they’d come to a game during my rookie season, because the team arranged for our families to go, they hadn’t been to a single one since.
Not even when my team played in our hometown.
My parents had been here once to visit. Not to go to a game, but for dinner, because they were in town for something else. They looked around our place and made faces and commented about how they thought that we’d live somewhere nicer or at least hire someone to decorate.
It wasn’t like we were hosting dinner parties. Though we had some of the team over sometimes. Still, we wanted comfort, not something showy.
And after that, I knew there wasn’t even any point, so I just stopped talking to them. I’m not sure they even noticed. Even when they had talked to me, all they really did was go on and on about my siblings, how amazing and successful they were, and what a disappointment I was.
Part of me was sad that they didn’t even acknowledge the amazing post-season my team was having.
But they wouldn’t. If I did get a text, it would probably scold me for not playing well enough. And like when I was young, I would get a list of everything I did wrong and nothing about anything I did right.
So, I just stayed with Ashton during the off-season, who had the most supportive family ever. I didn’t mind helping out with their business.
We’d also fish, camp, hike, go out on the water, and have a good time. It was nice and relaxing. I never felt like I was disappointing or that I had to impress anyone.
I wrapped my arms around him, inhaling his woodsy scent. “Thank you for coming with me. I appreciate it, especially since this was really my bet, not yours.”
“It’s our bet. It’s you and me. Always.” Leaning in, he kissed me, beard brushing across my face.
I looked up into his brown eyes. “You did have fun, right? This was fun?”
“I think I forgot that going out could be fun.” His voice went soft as he trailed a hand down my cheek.
“Maybe over the off-season we should start doing more activities with people. Though the moment we say something like that, your mother will probably be setting us up, but she also knows us pretty well,” I said.
Ashton stiffened.
“Sorry if you’re not ready, it’s fine. I’m just talking,” I reassured, holding him close.
“I know. I’m not ready yet, but if you are, we could try a little,” he said haltingly.
My heart melted. Oh, Ash. My sweet, giant, Ashton.
“I’d like that a lot. I’ve been thinking a little bit about it. But I don’t want to push you,” I added. We didn’t have to move quickly. I just wanted to move a little.
“If all dates were like tonight, I wouldn’t mind so much. Dating’s just so fussy and stressful, but this was pleasant,” he confessed.
It also wasn’t a date–and probably part of Marilyn’s psychology. She knew us far too well.
“Shall we take that shower and go to bed?” I took his hand.
He nodded and led me into our room.
It was big and spacious, done in green and browns, with a dark green, plaid comforter, and matching furniture that looked like logs. The furniture had all been made by some of Ashton’s aunts who had a business.
Another thing my parents made fun of.
Ashton started undoing the buttons on my shirt, one by one, his eyes meeting mine.
My lips crashed into his as I fumbled for his own buttons, getting his shirt off as quickly as I could, and tossing it onto the bed. Then I unbuckled his belt as he did the same with mine.
Unbuttoning his pants, I let them fall to the ground. He stepped out of it and picked up the discarded clothes, placing them in the hamper, and putting the belts back in the closet.
“I’m standing here naked and you’re hanging up the belts,” I teased, even though that’s the way he was.
He eyed me in my boxers. “You’re not naked yet.”
I stripped them off and tossed them into the laundry basket and then shot him a smirk. “Better?”
“Yes.” Putting a hand in the center of my chest, he pushed me backwards into our large bathroom.
While snuggling in his arms in the giant bathtub sounded really good, he pulled me into our rain shower.
Ashton was very muscular with a little bit of hair on his chest, but my favorite was the little trail of hair from his belly button all the way down. It was the same color as his neatly trimmed beard.
My parents had opinions on his man bun and beard, too. Oddly enough, the flannel got a pass because of where he was from.
He turned on the shower and we went inside. For a moment, we just held each other under the warm spray. This felt nice. The past few days had been a lot.
The stress of that last game of the semis had gotten to me. Not so much about the bet, but because we won the first game of semis, then lost a game, and winning that third game meant actually going to the finals. That was something we had hardly dreamed about considering.
It was amazing we got that far. The one thing that I had dreamed about as a child was almost within my grasp.
I’m sure even if we won, my parents wouldn’t care.
But I wasn’t doing it for them. I was doing it for myself and our team.
At the same time, it was terrifying. The Puck Panthers would be tough to beat. We should probably be studying and practicing and mentally getting in the game. Still, our bodies were wrecked. Having a few days off before going back to practice felt luxurious but was necessary.
And honestly, it wasn’t all about winning. We were the underdogs. As long as we went out there and did our best, everyone would be happy.
I was already happy. I loved hockey. I loved Ashton. I loved that I even had the chance to be on a pro team.
Ashton and I had decent careers. But we weren’t stars. In all honesty, I never wanted to be one. I just wanted to play. We still made good money. Ashton sent a lot home, but I made sure we invested well for our future.