Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
C ade
The last couple of weeks have been good. I have classes, homework, and my commitments to the team but I stop by Annie’s house every night, and we make out like a bunch of teenagers. Last night we dry humped each other to the point where we both orgasmed. We are hungry for sex but I’m not sure it is time to go there. Annie still mentions us being temporary, while I’ve been trying to show her how good we can be together in the long term. On the bright side, she hasn’t heard from or seen Ford. Although, she did mention her dad said he was given a fine of three hundred thousand dollars to pay. The courts have allowed him a four-month grace period to make the payment, which was supposed to be closer to half a million dollars before Ford’s father’s law firm got involved. The Caufields are in trouble. Annie is stressing because not only did they have the fine to pay, but they have to upgrade the farm to meet the environmental standards set forth by the state.
Now I am heading out of town with the team to St. Louis for the weekend since we have a game there Saturday night. As I’m heading on to the bus, I see a call from Dad, which is no surprise because he likes to call before a game.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Son.”
“How are you?” I feel the need to be cordial because for the first time in his life it seems like he is trying to make an honest effort with me.
“I’m not great. I’m lonely. I’ve really screwed things up.” He sure did.
“I guess it makes sense that you don’t realize a good thing until you lose it,” I reply as I get on the bus and take a seat by myself.
“You aren’t wrong, Cade. I’m seeing things different,” he says. Dad moved out of my parents’ beautiful home in Cherry Hills Village for a condo in downtown Denver’s Union Station neighborhood. It is a swanky neighborhood but a different vibe than Cherry Hills.
“How so?” I ask.
“You aren’t happy playing hockey. I can see it now,” he admits.
Are we doing this now?
“I’ve told you this before,” I state.
“And I wasn’t listening. I knew what it would take for you to be successful and make it to the NHL, but it wasn’t the only way. It was my way and it was wrong for you.”
My stats have been dropping ever since the night Coach rung me out.
“It’s too late. I’m the enforcer. That’s what everyone expects,” I say to him.
“I saw the Michigan West game, Cade,” he says.
“So what?” I ask on defense.
“You have what it takes to be a winger. Maybe I can call up Scott and plant the idea,” he says referring to my agent. Now that Annie is in my life, I can’t see myself being apart from her on the other side of the country.
“Maybe you can also mention to Scott I want to stay in the Upper Midwest.”
My dad’s sigh is audible and frustrated. “Is this about the girl?”
“Annie, yes, I don’t want to be too far from her.” She plans to be on her farm. I want to be close by. She doesn’t know that plan yet.
“So, things are serious?” he asks.
“No, but I want them to be,” I confide to him.
“That’s not how relationships work, Cade,” he says, as if he’s in a position to give relationship advice.
“I’m aware, but I think she feels the same way. She’s just scared.”
“And you want to be on opposite ends of the country from your mom and me?” he questions. That is what I wanted when I accepted the offer at Riverside U.
“Maybe it’s how I felt when I first started college, but it’s not how I feel anymore. You don’t need to stay in Denver. You aren’t in the NHL anymore. There’s nothing keeping you there,” I remind. “I told Mom the same thing. What does she need that big house for all by herself?”
“It’s something for me to think about,” he replies. I’m not asking my parents to want to be close to me but since they aren’t considering it on their own, I thought I should at least plant the idea.
“I’ll call Scott and be in touch. Sounds like it’s busy around you.”
“The bus just pulled out,” I tell him.
“Okay, have a good game tomorrow. I know it’s not what you want, but do your best with the position you play. If your stats drop any more there won’t be early offers, and you’ll fall down the list for the June draft.”
He isn’t wrong.
“Thanks for talking to Scott.” My father is respected in the hockey world. My agent knows who he is. He has pull also because he’s a commentator on the games.
“Sure thing. Night, Son.”
“Night, Dad.”
I end the call. Macklin sticks his head over the chair. “You good?”
“Were you listening to the whole conversation?” I ask.
“Kind of, but with all due respect, it didn’t take much for me to eavesdrop,” he says.
“Valid point,” I reply.
“You want to come sit beside me? I need some advice on something and, somehow, you’ve become the Don Juan of relationships in the house.” I laugh.
“Bro, I don’t know about that,” Macklin says.
“I have to tell you something that I’ve never told anyone,” I say to him.
I whisper in his ear to make sure no one can hear us. When I am done, Macklin looks at me wide-eyed. “That’s why you stayed with her for so long?”
I nod.
“Shit, Cade. I’m seeing you in a whole new light.”
“That isn’t the point, Mack. The thing is, I’ve developed feelings for Annie. I’ve never felt this way before. I need to come clean about this issue because Scarlett has confronted her and alluded to things. I don’t need Annie hearing about it from Scarlett. I need to tell her because I wasn’t completely up front as to why I needed her to be my fake girlfriend.”
“Bro, if you think you and Annie have a chance at something real, then you need to tell her. From what Ruby told me, her last two boyfriends were lying cheaters. If you aren’t upfront with her, you guys could crash and burn before you get a real chance,” Macklin warns.
“You’re right. I just hope Scarlett doesn’t get a hold of her before I do. She’s still been texting me, thinking she has a hold on me, but I can’t play this game with her anymore. We’re over and she needs to accept it.”
“Bro, that’s a tough situation. All this time we were coming down on you for putting up with her shit. Now I feel bad,” Macklin says.
“There’s no way you could’ve known,” I assure him.
I fall asleep for part of the bus ride and Macklin does too, but Annie is always on my mind.