10. Avery
Chapter Ten
AVERY
My life was upended, my routines dismantled, and my heart no longer served solely to pump blood. When pressed hard by myself, I couldn’t remember where the hours had gone every day before Gray crash-landed into my life.
The new obligations were a joy. Aside from the old routines that involved sitting in lectures while daydreaming about Gray, attending drills and practice in the evenings while wishing I was with Gray, and actually catching up with him to share a couple of hours while conditioning, we found other ways to be together.
Those gym hours were incredible. Gray had devised that plan for both of us, fine-tuning our schedules so we could work out together. He also found a well-equipped gym between my campus and his. And on two of the six gym days, we had time to share after workouts.
I stepped up, too. The new and exciting concept of being in a relationship with someone as joyful and attractive as Gray gave me a push.
My ideas were far more modest than the extravagant getaways or rooftop dinners.
What I brought to the table was a sort of honest intimacy we could share when walking through parks, sitting on the bank of the lake, or trying new pubs every so often.
We went to places where nobody knew us because Gray was mine and mine alone.
I didn’t want to share this time with anyone.
Though I knew my friends would love him, I didn’t want to hurry.
The time we carved out for one another was too precious to share, even with those who were the closest to me.
Just now, I didn’t want my friends to meddle or his to occupy his attention away from me.
As the first few weeks passed since the fateful question he had asked, something of a second life emerged. It was a happy one. It was a life I could almost surrender to and drift into for good. It was a world in which I wanted to take more and more space around me.
To his credit, Gray wasn’t a playboy who only lived for the chase.
I had been wrong to think that. He didn’t stop flirting with me just because he had already won me over.
If anything, he flirted harder. A random red rose for me to carry around for the rest of the night was not something I had ever thought I could enjoy, yet when I got it, it was like a mark of belonging to this wonderful person.
I carried it to a rustic basement bar where bikers and classic rock’n’rollers formed the majority of the crowd, and I carried it with pride.
One evening, as we caught up with each other’s day, Gray rubbed his eyes and slouched, his gaze locking onto the second round of drinks we had ordered.
“Are you tired?” I asked. “We don’t have to sit here. We can go.” I walked my hand over the wooden table and covered his hand with it.
He turned it around and squeezed my hand. “Go? No way.”
“You look like you’re going to fall asleep,” I pointed out.
He forced a smile to his face. “I’m not tired. It’s not…” He sighed. “Are your friends giving you shit that you’re suddenly always busy?”
I raised my eyebrows a little and thought about it. Sawyer had been giving me knowing smirks, Beckett had started calling me an Arctic Breaker, and Caden had been jumping in to tell me to ignore our captain’s teasing. “Not really.” I cocked my head. “I’m assuming yours are.”
Gray rolled his eyes. “Spencer is. It’s bullshit. I’m neither his babysitter nor his husband, but he’s been weird and sulky for weeks now.”
It was an absurd feeling that took hold of me. Intruder. I felt small and annoying like a pest. I knew how ridiculous it was, but a stupid little thing like that turned me into a bed bug before I could take control of my emotions. “Oh.” I pulled back and tried to parse through my feelings.
“Like today,” Gray said. “I went into the kitchen to grab my protein shake from the fridge. Spencer was sitting there, his empty, dirty plate still on the table, and his eyes glued to his screen. All he ever does is watch TikTok and spam my inbox these days. I didn’t say anything to provoke him, but he had this…
I dunno, almost venomous tone when he asked if I was seeing my boyfriend.
Like it was sarcastic, you know? And I said I was.
And the fucker just snorted. It’s annoying because we’ve been best friends since forever, but instead of being happy for me like friends should, he’s mad that I’m not… I dunno…his.”
My throat tightened and I took a couple of sips of my fruity ale. “Maybe he feels like you abandoned him.”
“That’s total crap,” Gray said. “He pulled away. Besides, are we even friends if he can’t make space for me to be happy independently from him?
And then he had the balls to say…” A pained expression crossed his face for a moment, then he smoothed it all away.
“You know what? I shouldn’t bring this shit here.
He made his choices. It’s just ruining a nice evening if we talk about it.
” He squeezed my hand harder. “You make me happy, Avery. And I repay that by complaining.”
“You can tell me when something’s bothering you, Gray,” I said. Dating wasn’t something I had a lot of experience doing, but this seemed like a no-brainer. “It’s not ruining anything. We can’t always be in a good mood.”
“Of course we can,” Gray said, grinning.
I wasn’t sure how he did it. How was he so abruptly and easily happy?
He had to be hurting under that smile. But when I didn’t bite that bait, his smile faded.
“I know what you’re thinking and don’t you even dare.
You’re not gonna step back so my so-called friend can hang out with me more. ”
It had crossed my mind. It was almost unnerving that he could read me so well. Except, it was actually sweet. Even my best friend had trouble picking up on my cues. Not Gray, though. He knew my thoughts just as they unfurled in my mind. “He’s single, huh?”
“Yep. He has this super cynical view of dating. I gotta be honest, so did I. Before you. I think that’s what kept us orbiting each other. Our friendship boiled down to going out and being wingmen.” He exhaled and thought about it while drinking his bright wheat ale.
“All my close friends are in relationships,” I said.
Sebastian had a long-distance thing going on.
Tyler was dating some girl, too. Sawyer was practically married.
Beckett and Caden were proving to everyone that no amount of their old rivalry could stand in the way of what they felt for each other.
“They’re too busy with their lives. School, hockey, partners, friends. It’s just the way things go.”
“Figures,” Gray said. He shrugged. “It’s up to Spencer to figure it out. I can’t do that for him.”
He chose me. And that night, he slept in my room, in my bed, in my arms. He left early, before the commotion of hungry athletes preparing their breakfasts began, and left kisses all over my face as a promise to see me again soon.
As November passed, I began wondering what my life would have been like without him.
Gray touched everything in my world. He left his scent in my room, his supplies in my bathroom, his letters filled my drawer, the longest chat on my phone was with him, and there was never a time when we didn’t have something planned for later.
The first week of December brought us to the inevitable.
The Titans played against the Breakers and Coach Murray put me on the frontline.
An odd excitement filled me for days before our clash.
We hadn’t faced each other on the ice since starting this thing.
To see him as a respected leader of a team that wanted to beat us was both thrilling and scary.
Two things warred in me equally: I wanted the Breakers to lose and stew in misery, but I also wanted my boyfriend to reap all the rewards.
It wasn’t going to affect my willingness to fight, though.
No matter what I felt for the man, the captain was my enemy. And he felt the same.
The night before the game, he had booked us a hotel room, and we had a match of our own. We both won. And after, we had agreed to show no mercy to one another.
“I adore you, Avery,” he said happily. “But I’m going to kick your ass tomorrow.”
“Your vivid imagination is my favorite thing about you,” I replied.
When the first period began, I wondered if I was pushed to the ice by my team and the coach to test my loyalty.
It probably wasn’t the case, but I didn’t want to give them any reason to doubt me.
Even so, I took a moment to appreciate my boyfriend’s incredible physique when he skated across the ice to clash with Beckett.
The battle was as fierce as any I had played before.
With grit and sweat, we struggled against our foes, and I shielded my heart against the joyful laughter I would recognize in my sleep.
For every point they scored, we fought to score one of ours.
We remained deadlocked for the first two periods and my darling boyfriend seemed to be having the time of his life.
Some small part of me wanted to pause and simply watch him.
He was undoubtedly skilled, his body conditioned for this specific purpose, and his focus sharp.
The few times we neared one another, I spotted his smile, but he evaded me more than he had before.
It was only close to the end of the third period that he had no choice.
The battle was at its peak; my guys were sweating and almost bloody while chasing the victory.
I was bruised, although I had noticed Gray checking over his shoulder when Spencer rammed into me.
The look on his face flickered between worry and relief when I skated away almost unscathed.