Chapter 17 #2
“Sorry,” she says out loud, and I don’t miss the way her eyes flick to me. “I didn’t mean that to sound so rude. I’m sure he’s just as frustrated as we all are watching this.”
I drag my eyes back to the TV just as the puck is dropped after yet another icing from the Serpents.
It happens so quickly—an exhausted-looking Lawson wins the puck, and it’s picked up by Gavin, who zings it right over the goalie’s glove.
The girls jump off the couches, cheering loudly until Auden shushes them, reminding them of the sleeping baby just down the hall.
“Holy smokes!” the commentator shouts. “What a shot! What a goal! Another top shelf back breaker from the veteran defenseman, Gavin Whitlocke!”
Pride swells in my chest, and I want to look right at Auden and say, Ha! See? He can play just as well as anyone else out on that ice. In reality, I just grin to myself, watching as a still-serious-looking Gavin skates down the bench, hitting gloves with his very excited teammates.
Fox throws his arms in the air, hugging him, and if you look closely enough, you can see the defenseman say, We’ve still got work to do, boys. There’s no excitement from him, just determination, like he’s more than ready to prove wrong everyone who thinks he’s too slow for the game.
The sudden urge to have him here so I can kiss him slams into me, and along with it comes sadness because I know that won’t happen for another few days.
I try not to pout about it, focusing back on the game.
In the end, the Serpents win 7–4 after putting an empty net goal from Lawson up on the board, leaving Rory grinning proudly as she hugs her sister goodbye.
“Thanks for inviting me,” I say to Auden when it’s my turn to say good night.
“Thank you for coming. I’m really glad you came.
I…” She sighs, then pushes her hair over her shoulder.
“I think I might have misjudged you when we first met, and I’m sorry about that.
I thought you were everything Reed said you were, and that’s not fair.
I’ve talked about it with him a lot, about how he calls you ‘the evil stepsister’ all the time, and it’s not cool.
He knows that too, but he’s a little too…
well, him to say anything about it. So, I’m saying it to you.
Not for him, but for you, because you deserve to hear it.
I’m glad you’re here, Vanessa. We’re glad.
And I’m so happy I’m getting a chance to get to know you. ”
Her words shock me. The first time I met Auden was just a week after The Video.
I didn’t tell anyone about it at the time.
I held that card close to my chest. I only told people Neal and I were over, didn’t elaborate on anything else, and to be honest, I was a brat that Christmas.
I was mean and hateful, and I made it as uncomfortable as possible for Auden and my brother.
It was easier that way when seeing them happy and in love.
I had just had my heart torn out and didn’t want what I was missing out on to be rubbed in my face.
I realize now how misplaced that anger was. It wasn’t Auden and Reed I was mad at. It was Neal…and myself. How could I have let that happen? After everything I did to make the perfect life, how could I let it slip through my fingers so easily?
I was wrong about that, too. It wasn’t my fault Neal cheated. I know that now. I…I wasn’t too much.
You’re not too much, Nessa. You’re just enough for me.
“Well, since we’re apologizing, I’m sorry too. I was terrible that Christmas and deserved all your ire.”
“You were kind of scary. And a little badass, if I’m being honest.”
I laugh. “I’d say that’s not the real me, but I can be mean. Or a brat, so I’ve been told.”
Her brows rise at that, but she doesn’t say anything. I still get the sense she might know something is up. Not necessarily what , but I have a feeling she knows it has to do with Gavin.
Alana’s cries echo through the house, and Auden smiles.
“Duty calls.” She squeezes my arm. “Call me. I want to hang out again.”
“Sure thing,” I promise, and to my surprise, I really mean it.
“Are you still working?”
I smile at the deep voice on the other end of the line. Gavin came home from the short trip, and everything feels right in the world once again. I hate how much his absence affected me, and I try not to read too much into it.
“Sort of?” I say. “I’m off in thirty minutes. Why?”
“Because the guys are going to Top Shelf tonight.”
“What?!”
The Seattle Serpents haven’t been in again since that first time, and I’ve been grateful for it.
Not because it means I don’t have to act like I’m not interested in him whenever Gavin finds himself on the other side of the bar, but because it means I don’t have to be with him and my brother in the same room.
We haven’t all been together since… Shit, I think since Auden was in the hospital.
“Is that okay?” he asks, and I hear a horn honk in the background. He must be in his car, on his way to the bar.
“Uh, yeah. I mean, I can’t stop you.”
“Right.” He clears his throat. “Hutch will be there. The girls, too. Auden’s dad has insisted she take a night off, so he has Alana.”
I knew that, but I don’t tell him. It’s been a week since I went to her house for girls’ night, and since then, we’ve been texting regularly.
Sometimes it’s just funny memes about hockey or whatever ridiculous thing the Serpents’ social media team has posted now, and sometimes it’s pictures of Alana.
Occasionally, it’s personal updates, and the text I got earlier asking if I was working tonight was just that.
We’ve been slammed since people like to take the game in here, so I haven’t had a chance to answer her. I suppose it doesn’t matter now.
“It’s fine,” I tell Gavin. “Besides, it’s not like I can avoid my brother forever.”
Usually, I’d say something snarky, like even though I wish I could , but that’s not exactly true anymore.
After talking with Auden, I kind of want to hang out with Reed, get to know him properly.
Even when I was a young girl, I wanted a sibling.
We may have already been technical siblings for years, but we certainly haven’t acted like it. Perhaps it’s time to.
“All right. I’ll be there in ten, then.”
“Ten? Didn’t the game just end?”
“I showered fast. No way I’m waiting hours to kiss you.”
I smile. “Careful, Gavin. It sounds like you might have a crush on me or something.”
He mumbles something I can’t quite make out, but it sounds a lot like, Way more than a fucking crush.
I don’t comment on that as we hang up, and I go back to work.
Now that the game’s over, it’s a lot less crowded, though I assume that won’t last long when everyone catches wind of the team being here.
That won’t be my problem for much longer, though.
I’m wiping down the sticky countertops when I feel him. Not see— feel . I snap my gaze up to find him striding through the bar, heading right for me.
“Josh?” I call to my manager.
“Yeah?”
“Do you need me to do anything else?”
He looks up to see Gavin standing there, staring at me, eighteen inches of bar top keeping us apart.
“Nah. You’re free to go. I’m sure your brother isn’t far behind.”
I don’t bother undoing my apron—I just walk around the bar and grab Gavin’s hand, tugging him toward the darkened hallway.
Once we’ve slipped into the shadows, I’m on him.
I push up on my tiptoes and smash my mouth against his, loving the muffled growl that leaves him as he pulls me closer, his hands digging into my waist so hard it might bruise.
“Fuck,” he says against my lips, biting at me gently. “Missed you.”
I chuckle. “You just saw me a few hours ago.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Too long ago.”
I want to roll my eyes at his ridiculousness, but I can’t.
I’m too busy being assaulted by his touch, his mouth now on my throat on that spot he knows drives me wild.
Besides, he’s right. It does feel like too long.
We make out like high schoolers for I don’t even know how long, and it’s me who comes up for air first.
“Gavin…” I whine, wanting more but knowing I can’t have it. “We should stop.”
“We should.”
“It sounds like there’s a but at the end of that sentence.”
“Because there is.”
He kisses me again, and I melt into him. It’s always like that. I’m always sinking into his touch, no matter how small it is. That’s a problem. I know it is, but it’s one I’ll deal with later. Right now, I just want to enjoy it.
We eventually get our wits about us and manage to keep our hands off each other long enough to catch our breath properly.
“We really should head out there,” he says. “They’re probably wondering where I am. I did leave first, after all.”
I nod. “Good point. Want me to go first?”
“Please. I, uh, kind of have a situation going on right now.” He gestures toward his crotch, and I let my eyes fall right to his situation .
“Yeah, I guess that would be kind of noticeable, huh?” I chuckle, patting his chest. “All right, big boy. I’ll go first. See you out there.”
I make it two steps before he grabs my wrist, hauling me right back to him and kissing me until I’m weak in the knees and my head is all kinds of fuzzy. I have no doubt my lips are swollen when I finally make it out into the bar. Auden spots me first.
“Vanessa!” she yells, waving me over.
I grin as I approach her and my brother, who has his arm wrapped tightly around her waist.
“Hey,” I say to her, then look to Reed. “That was a nice goal tonight.”
He looks surprised by my words. “You watched?”
I wave my hand around. “Uh, I work at a sports bar that caters to the hockey crowd.”
“Right. Duh.”