Chapter 28
TWENTY EIGHT
Grey
“Holy fucking shit. Holy fucking shit.” Oli paces around the room, and I swear I’m going to have whiplash. “This is happening. Holy shit, this is happening.” He sits down, then springs back up, pacing again.
“Oli!” I snatch his hand as he paces past me. “Take a breath.”
He shakes his head. “No time.”
“Oli.” Ryker laughs, but I don’t find any of this funny. Oli is an alarming shade of purple. “I haven’t seen him this worked up since Andre came into the locker room when he was traded.” He chuckles. “The irony.”
“Shut up!” Oli snaps, sitting down on the round ottoman in the center of the dressing room. He looks very handsome in his white tux and magenta tie. He puts his head in his hands, scratching his fingers through his hair.
I sit beside him as Atlas fixes Ryker’s tie, eyes wide and shaking his head. I sling my arm around him, squeezing his bicep. “Hey.” His head lifts from his hands. “Take a breath. It’s going to be fine.”
“It’s not going to be fine. Andre is going to say no.
Why the fuck would he say yes? Look at him, Grey.
Look at me!” He shakes his head. “He’s out of my league.
He’ll realize it too. You watch. He’s fucking gorgeous, and funny, and so damn perfect I can’t stand it.
Who the fuck am I?” His hands are shaking.
I’m not sure what he’s really going on about.
My friend isn’t hard on the eyes in the slightest, and yeah, he can be an asshole, but it comes from a place of love.
If I’m not wrong, I think it’s even something Andre loves about him.
Andre loves Oli’s fire. “Andre’s been in love you since he was eighteen, okay?
There’s no way this day won’t end with you both together dancing.
Okay? Relax.” I slap his chest. “Take a breath.”
“Listen to Grey,” Ryker says. “You were fucking terrible to him for about a decade and he still loves you.”
“Not fucking helping!” I hiss.
“He’s right, though.” Atlas says. “He’s obsessed with you.”
Oli starts to breathe easier. I kiss his temple. “He loves you. He’s probably in his room pacing thinking the same exact thing. You two are perfect for each other. Everything’s going to be amazing.”
Finally, he starts to calm. “I wish she was here,” he says softly, and I know who he’s talking about. Oli’s mother died nearly a decade ago. I know he misses her every single day.
“She’s watching you make a fool of yourself right now.” Oli reaches out to punch Ryker. With a laugh he slaps him away. “We got this, alright? Today is your day. Relax. It’s going to be amazing.”
He nods. “Thank you.”
With Oli’s heart rate down to a normal beats per minute, I check my tie in the mirror and see Atlas looking at me. “You look very handsome.” I smile at him. There’s still this tension I’m determined to grill him about, but not right now. This is Oli’s time.
A tiny smile slips onto his own face as he walks over to me. “Do you think we can talk really quick?” I feel Oli’s eyes on me and he nods. Maybe he’ll finally tell me what the fuck is even happening.
“Yeah, sure.” I look at my friend. “We’ll be right back.”
“We’re heading out in like ten minutes,” Oli growls. “Make it quick.”
“Impatient.” Ryker shakes his head. “It’s pathetic.”
“Yeah well, my pathetic ass would have married him the day I proposed. I’m not waiting any longer than I have to.”
“Relax, we’ll be right outside.” I follow Atlas out of the room and into the hall. I want to settle this. I’m not sure if he’s mad that I’ve given up and want to retire, but he needs to get over it.
Atlas paces for a minute and I give him time to get himself together. He’s trimmed his black beard, and his eyes are much clearer than the other night. “What’s going on with you?” I squeeze his shoulder, shocked when he grabs me to him for a hug. “Talk to me.”
“I’m sorry,” he says. I hesitate before hugging him back, then pull away to look at him.
“What’s wrong? You’re not acting like yourself.”
“Grey, I um, I need to tell you something. I um—ah, fuck this is . . . I can’t breathe.”
I grab him to me, squeezing him tight, and his arms circle around my waist, squeezing me back. When something bothers Atlas, he lets it consume him. “You can tell me anything. You know that.”
He pulls out of my arms, nodding. My heart breaks at the sadness in his eyes. “Fuck, this is hard.” I let him gather whatever courage he needs. “This is like—this is—”
“Hey.” I look up hearing Felix’s voice as he walks down the hall. “Oh, sorry. Um. Andre sent me to make sure Oli hasn’t run off yet.”
I laugh. “No, you can tell him he’s hyperventilating in his own room, afraid Andre’s going to say no.”
“Oh no, Andre literally wants us all to hurry because he can’t wait.” Felix looks between us. “Everything okay?”
“Uh, yeah?” I see it, though. Atlas is shutting down on me. “Tell Andre we’re going to walk down to the venue on the beach, alright. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Felix looks between us, nodding. “Okay.” He smiles shyly, walking away.
I wait for him to walk back down to Andre’s room. “Now what’s going on?”
Atlas shakes his head. “Forget it. Let’s just go get Oli.”
“Atlas.” I grab his sleeve as he walks past me. “Talk to me.”
The sad smile hurts. I want to help him. I want him to talk to me. “I’ll talk to you after. Let’s get our friend married, okay?”
“Is my tie straight?”
“Straighter than either of us have ever been.” I beam at Oli.
“Dick.” He smirks.
Atlas is standing next to me, and I want to ask him what he wanted to talk about. Now is not the time, I know, but it’s killing me not to know. He hasn’t said another word to me. I look out onto the beach. Chairs are on either side of the isle.
There are no official sides, and a lot of our teammates are here. Our coach is here with his wife, and I spot Jessica sitting in the front row. On the other side in the front are two empty chairs with photos of Oli’s mom and a Latina woman I’m assuming is Andre’s mother.
Music plays, and I smile wide seeing Lianna skip down the isle with her basket of flowers in a buttery yellow dress and a puffed-out skirt that would make Belle jealous. Her hair is curled and tied half up, half down.
Next comes Landon who’s holding the rings for them both. We’d made the decision to give them to Landon and not Ryker, because Ryker would lose them almost instantly.
Finally, everything is quiet, and we see Andre coming down the beach with his friend Vanessa on his arm. She looks stunning in a magenta dress. “Holy shit,” I say. Oli smiles widely.
“Holy damn, fuck me sideways.”
“A little desperate,” I whisper.
“Shut the fuck up,” he chokes out, his eyes glued to Andre.
Andre walks down the beach with Vanessa, but his eyes are focused on one man only.
It’s that right there. That look. That’s how I feel when I look at Felix. The other night . . . I’ve never felt anything like it. I’ve been in love before, but this is ten times stronger than anything I’ve felt.
Andre gives Vanessa a kiss before she walks up to Oli, grabbing him in a hug. “I told you so,” she whispers with a devilish smirk before making her way to her place beside Andre.
“Damn,” I hear Andre say as he walks up onto the platform. “I have amazing taste. You look so fucking handsome.”
“I want to kiss you so fucking bad.”
“Gotta marry me first, baby.” Andre winks.
The offciant begins his speech, talking to all of us, but I can’t help sneaking looks at Felix.
His eyes keep sliding my way. He looks very handsome in his suit.
His brown eyes are filled with so much light, and I know he hasn’t told me he loves me, but I don’t even care.
I know there are things he needs to work through and places he needs to get to. I will be here for him. Always.
He looks my way with a wide smile. “I love you,” I mouth to him and watch the subtle way his lips turn up before focusing back on Oli and Andre. Right, Oli and Andre.
“We’ve had our ups and downs . . .”
“Understatement,” Atlas says under his breath. Oli’s neck snaps to us, and his eyes narrow on Atlas, murder burning bright in them. “Sorry. You’re right. Tale as old as time. Continue.”
“But . . .” He glares back at us. “It led us here, and I know that because of what we’ve been through, it’s made us stronger.
I know that no matter what, we can get through anything because we’re fighters.
I know I will fight for you and support you and just be there loving you through all the other ups and downs life will throw at us.
You’re my fucking world. My entire world. ” His words choke.
My eyes slip back to Felix, surprised when he’s looking right at me.
My entire world.
I’ve never thought much about marriage, it really doesn’t make a difference to me, but I know that no matter what, I’d fight for him too. He’s not going through anything alone. I’ll be there every step of the way until he tells me he doesn’t want me to be.
I vaguely hear the officiant say something and I focus back on my friends. Oli slips Andre’s ring on. As soon as it’s on his finger, Andre latches himself to Oli’s lips while we all cheer.
He loops his arm through Oli’s and they walk back through the rain of flowers, up the white carpet. I try to focus on my friends, but I only see one person.
“You look incredibly handsome.” Felix smiles at me, smoothing his fingers over the lapels of my tux. “I can’t believe you’re real.”
“Real and incredibly obsessed with you.” I kiss the side of his head as we sway to the music.
I look over at my friends. I’m pretty sure Oli and Andre haven’t been more than a couple of inches from each other since we got to the reception.
We all went back to our rooms to change into comfier clothes, and I’m wearing a light dress shirt and jeans now with a brace underneath.
I hated wearing suits on game days, and I just hope that as a coach I can dress a bit more casually.
Give me a wind breaker and jeans any day.
My palm soothes over his back muscles, loving the way his warmth seeps into my fingers. “Grey.” I look down at him. “I want to move to New York.”
I smile. “Really?” He nods. “I do too.”
“Your friends and family, though.”
I think about this. “I know, and I am struggling with that. The thing is, they all have their own lives, and I really want to start living mine. Landon and Alyssa will get married soon and maybe have more kids together. Oli, Atlas, and Andre will be on the road. I can still visit them and go to games when they play in New York. This is a new phase, and change is scary, but this . . . I don’t know.
This could be the start of our lives together. ”
“I’m sorry I haven’t said—”
“Hey.” I cup his face. “No. Don’t apologize. I don’t want to hear it unless you’re absolutely sure. I understand why you might be hesitant, and that’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. You have all the time you need.”
Felix thinks. “It’s not that I don’t feel these things. I do. I just, I—”
I kiss him quiet. “Take all the time you need, and if you want me to stop saying it, I will.”
“No.” He holds me tight. “I want to hear it.”
“Good, because I really want to keep saying it.” I hug him closer, but my eyes lift up, catching Atlas’s eyes on me from where he’s sitting at the bar.
He’s swaying a little bit. “Hey, do you mind . . . I’m going to go talk to Atlas real quick, alright?
” I know he wants to talk to me, and before he gets absolutely blackout drunk I want to hear what he has to say. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
Something flashes in Felix’s eyes. “Okay. Yeah. I’ll be here.”
I kiss him then go off to find my drunk best friend.
I’m going to make him talk to me.