Chapter 11 #2
“To the win,” I said in unison with Lucas and Nolan. After tapping our glasses, I downed the shot, the liquor leaving a burn and then notes of agave and pepper. I hissed and then drank some beer.
“Hey, did you notice the women down there?” Nolan tilted his head toward the end of the bar. Leaning into me, he said, “They keep looking over here and smiling. How about we check them out?”
Shit. “I-I don’t know.” I focused on my beer. Could I use the girl they thought I called as an excuse? But then they’d think it was serious.
“Oh, here they come.” Nolan puffed out his chest.
The two women wandered toward us and then stopped behind us. “Are you with the Coyotes?” The blonde’s attention drew to me. “We heard your friend down there mention your win tonight. We watched the game.”
“You did?” I widened my eyes. Were they Sharks’ fans? Maybe Mason should have kept his mouth shut. I glanced his way.
Mason carried on with Jett and Ace, laughing about the number of shots on net he’d taken against the Sharks. We could no longer hide who we were.
“Yeah, we’re defenders with the Coyotes.” Nolan gave the brunette and coy grin. “You’re hockey fans, I take it?”
“We are. We’re actually from Arizona, but live here now. We wanted to buy tickets for the game, but it was so expensive.” The brunette said, fluttering her lashes at me. “What are your names?”
Pointing his thumb at his chest, Nolan said, “I’m Nolan Laine.” He tapped my chest. “And this is Evan Crosby.”
“Oh, you scored the goal at the end of the game.” The brunette stepped closer to me. “That was an amazing shot.”
Damn, how much hockey did these two watch? “Thanks. I was in the right place at the right time.” I sipped my beer. The brunette appeared interested in me, while Nolan had attracted the blonde.
Lucas swayed his head forward, lifting a brow at me.
Oh boy…My gut tightened. I had to get rid of her. It felt wrong to hook up with a woman and then go home to Ronan. But what if Nolan wanted to? How could I get out of this? Hell, he could go by himself. But that might seem odd.
The brunette planted her hand on the back of my stool and finished her drink, a margarita by the looks of it. “Buy me a drink?” Her blue-eyed gaze locked on mine. “My name is Skylar.”
With a nod, I said, “I…yeah, sure, Skylar.” I didn’t want to look like a dick. Glancing at Nolan, I waved the bartender over to us.
“Order Katie a fresh drink, too, eh?” Nolan said while smiling like an idiot at the blonde.
Oh, he was a goner. “Okay.” I ordered their drinks and inhaled deeply. I had to pretend I was interested. “So, what do you do, Skylar?”
“I work in HR for Google.” She dipped her gaze and then bit her lower lip. “I work with Katie. We both attended ASU, and when we met at work, we hit it off. We’re roommates now.”
“I see.” That meant they’d want us to go back to their place since Nolan and I were sharing a hotel room. I drank my beer. Hell, I’d prefer to hang out with my teammates right now.
The bartender dropped off their drinks.
She sipped her fresh margarita. “Where are you from?”
“Rochester, New York.” I pressed my lips together. I knew this drill. We get to know each other, then we’d talk about what would happen next and where to meet. Nolan would expect me to go with him to their place. My gut churned. Fuck, I couldn’t though.
Lucas hopped off his barstool, flashed a look at me and headed toward a hallway, presumably where the restroom was.
I should follow him. Maybe he’d help me get out of this somehow. He knew Nolan better than I. “Hey, I need to, uh, use the John.” I slid off my bar stool. “Be right back.” With a sideways glance at Nolan, I strode toward the hallway while Skylar hopped onto my stool.
After entering the restroom, I said, “Hey, Lucas.”
“Yeah?” He was tucking himself away. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a couple of puckbunnies for the night.” With a smirk, he washed his hands.
Scratching the side of my head, I said, “Yeah, about that—”
“You’re sharing a room with Nolan, right? I guess you can’t bring them back to the hotel.” He lifted his brows. “You’ll need to go to their place.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere.” I winced. Now I’d have to say why.
“What?” He gaped for a beat. “Is it serious with the stairwell girl?”
“Who?” I wrinkled my brows. Oh, shit, he was referring to my phone call with Ronan. Shaking my head, I said, “N-no, of course not.” Maybe I should have said yes?
He narrowed his eyes. “Then why wouldn’t you hook up with her?” He stepped closer and smirked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you turn down a hookup.”
“No, it happens.” Fuck, where could I go with this? Nolan. “What do you think Nolan would say if I turn my girl down? Do you think he’ll be mad if I don’t go with him?” I planted my hands on my hips. Turning her down would be awkward as hell, especially with Nolan drooling all over her friend.
He stared at me as if I had two heads. “Are you serious? What’s wrong with you?” He pushed his forearm against my forehead. “Are you sick?”
With a scoff, I shoved his arm away. “No, I’m…I don’t want to hook up with someone tonight. It's simple.” I wouldn’t even believe myself.
He eyed me, stepping slowly around me. “What’s going on, Evan? I know you’re attracted to that girl. Hell, I even think she’s pretty and I barely notice anyone but Ezra these days.”
“It’s not about that. It’s…” I had to lie about having a fake girlfriend. Shit. “Okay, I don’t feel right because of, of…” What name could I use? “Rosalie.” I gauged his reaction.
“Rosalie? That’s the girl you started seeing?” He tilted his head. “Damn, I guess it is serious.”
“No, it’s not serious. It just doesn’t feel right to be hooking up with someone else.” Rubbing my forehead, I stared at the floor. Except my feelings for Ronan were getting serious, or I wouldn’t be in this dilemma. As I cut my gaze to Lucas, I said, “Listen, I need you to help me get out of this.”
“How?” The corner of his lip twitched. “Do you want me to talk to Nolan?”
“I don’t know.” Hell, I needed a plan and quick. I scanned the restroom, thinking. Green and white tiles also decorated these walls, and they’d even painted the stalls green.
Lucas planted his hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you tell them you’re not feeling well and need to return to the hotel?” His brows swept up. “Hell, we’ve been in this bathroom for what, ten minutes? They’ll wonder if something happened to you, anyway.”
“Yeah.” I slumped my shoulders. Shit, I’d really wanted to party with the team tonight though.
Why the hell did this have to happen? “Will you back me up then?” I had no choice.
Maybe I could grab a few beers in the hotel lobby.
Maybe I’d phone Ronan from there and talk to him some more.
I had to cut him off earlier. My heart lifted.
“I’ll back you up.” He dropped his arm to his side. “What’s our story? Shitting or puking?” He snickered.
“I don’t think we have to be graphic about it. Let’s just say I’m not feeling well.” Huffing a laugh, I opened the door of the restroom. “Come on, let’s go.”
Holding my stomach and bending over slightly, I ambled to the bar with Lucas close behind me, his hand on my back. I had to employ every tactic to be believable. I wasn’t a great actor.
“Hey, I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling well.” I peeked at Skylar and then at Nolan.
Nolan’s brows dropped. “What? Why?”
“He should probably return to the hotel. It was awful in there.” With a shit-eating grin, Lucas said, “I wouldn’t use the bathroom for a while if I were you.” He waved his hand in front of his nose.
The fucker. I fought to keep a straight face. “Yeah, I think I’ll catch an Uber home.” I glanced at my half-drunk beer. Damn it, I’d have to leave it. “Anyhow, can you pick up my tab, and I’ll pay you back tomorrow?” I needed to leave before Lucas said something even more embarrassing.
“Sure, man.” Nolan patted my back. “I hope it’s not serious. We’ll need you next week.”
“I’m sure something just didn’t sit right at the team dinner.” Hell, would word of this get to Coach? Then the catering company might get into trouble for serving rotten food. Oh hell. I patted Skylar on the shoulder. “Sorry, it was nice meeting you.”
She leaned back, wrinkling her nose. “Yeah, I hope it’s not contagious.”
I huffed a soft laugh. She surely didn’t want to hook up with me now. “Anyhow, see you later.” I passed each of the guys on my way out, saying my goodbyes and explaining my fake situation.
Back at the dark lobby bar, I sat in a lounge chair in a corner with a fresh beer and holding my phone to my face. I had to go back to my hotel room before everyone returned, or they’d discover my illness was fake. But now I wanted to hear Ronan’s voice. I called his number.
The phone rang briefly and transferred to voicemail.
My heart fell. Shit, he was probably working on songs with Drew. “Hey, it’s Evan. I’m, uh, back from the celly and wanted to see if we could continue our earlier conversation. But I guess you’re probably working on songs. Anyway, have a good night, and I’ll see you when I return.”
I ended the call and opened my Instagram app. Would I sit here and doom scroll his Instagram account like a lovesick puppy? Yes, I would. I fucking missed him. I’d turned down a hookup and a celly with my teammates for him.
Sipping my beer, I set my phone on my thigh. I had it bad for him. If I spent the week with him, sleeping in his bed, there was no return. I knew better, but I couldn’t help myself.
I glanced at my phone. I’d give him an hour to call me back and then go to bed. Tiles of images popped up—Ronan onstage, belting out songs to massive crowds, always in black and sometimes in leather. God, the guy was attractive.
Further scrolling revealed additional pictures showing him smiling at the camera, sometimes embracing a woman, other times a man. Had those been hookups, or just selfies with fans? Heat tingled in my chest. Hell, I didn’t want to know if they were hookups.
With a scoff, I closed the app and sipped my beer. Had his mother’s death been in the news? I’d wanted to investigate it, but hadn’t had time, and it might tell me more about the event. After running a Google search for it, a newspaper article came up. I tapped on it and read it.
A woman was murdered late last night in Rainier Valley by a shot to the chest during a dispute with her partner.
The partner, Larry Tuley, was apprehended and is in custody awaiting arraignment.
The woman is reported to be the mother of Ronan Vale, frontman for the popular alternative rock group Vanta Crown.
“Shit, that’s it?” I ran a search for Larry Tuley and came up with his mug shot.
The guy looked creepy, with bloodshot eyes and messy, thin hair.
But then, does anyone photograph well in a mug shot?
With the way Ronan spoke of his mother, they’d likely been drinking.
What a fucking life he’d had growing up.
It was the exact opposite of mine. I’d never wanted for anything with my parents.
Ronan had defied the odds and become a famous rock star.
Hell, the man I knew had his shit together even with this history.
I chuckled. Mostly. He lacked my structure, but creative people thrived with a little chaos, didn’t they?
Hell, I don’t know if I’d even come out alive with an upbringing like that.