Chapter 49
49
RHYS
T he Friday after Thanksgiving, I stroll up to Maddie and Lane’s house.
Lane invited me over to hang out. I can’t deny that nerves are pattering in my stomach as I walk up their driveway, knowing that by this time next week, Lane will know about me and Maddie—and I’ll know his reaction to it.
I don’t want things to change with my best friend. At the same time, I won’t give up what I have with Maddie.
If sacrificing my lifelong friendship with her brother is the price I have to pay to be with the girl I love, I’ll pay it. But that possibility feels like a stab through the heart as I look at their house, and all the memories I have with Lane here run through my head.
I know that I don’t fit the profile of a guy that he—or their parents, for that matter—would want for Maddie.
I grew up with a single mother in a neighborhood that the kids at school would make fun of. I never would have been accepted to Brumehill if not for an athletic scholarship to play hockey; and though I keep my grades above water, if hockey doesn’t pan out, I don’t know what the hell I’ll do.
I certainly don’t have very good prospects of ever being able to buy Maddie this kind of house, the kind she grew up in, if injuries or just not being able to cut it in the pros extinguish my hopes as an athlete.
A sharp psst sound above me grabs my attention before I can press the doorbell.
I look up to see Maddie peeking from her bedroom window that looks over the driveway.
Butterfly wings flap in my stomach. It was fucking torture not seeing her yesterday after what happened on Sunday. And now she looks so damn pretty looking down at me, her black hair feathering past her shoulders and dancing in the light wind.
She tilts her head to the side of the house and flashes me a wink. She wants us to have a moment to ourselves before I come inside to chill with Lane.
Considering I was just thinking how hard it was going to be to be in the same house as her and keep my hands—not to mention my lips—off her, I’m sure as hell not inclined to argue.
Keeping my footsteps light, I steal around to the side of the house and wait impatiently for her to step from the side door of the garage, my lips itching to taste hers.
When Maddie finally steps out, I don’t let her even close the door behind her before I’ve pulled her close against me and crushed my lips to hers.
Heat flashes through my veins as I kiss her. I savor every sensation, including the feeling of my forehead nudging against the frame of her glasses.
It’s a tiny feeling that I’ve grown addicted to. It just feels like her . If Maddie ever wanted to switch to contacts, I’d probably drop to my knees to beg her not to.
Suddenly, the sound of something falling to the ground next to us rudely rips us back to reality.
I pull away from Maddie, and a shock jolts through me when I open my eyes.
Lane’s standing at the threshold of the door, his jaw practically scraping the ground. His eyes are wide and blank, and a full trash bag lies at his feet. The right hand it slipped from is still frozen in a half-fist in front of him.
It feels like a bucket of ice-cold water just sloshed down my back. Heavy beats of time drag silently through the air as the three of us are frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
This isn’t how I wanted Lane to find out about us. But it’s too late to turn the clock back now.
I gather up all the courage I have, take a deep breath, and step toward him.
“Lane, Maddie and I are together.” There’s no trace of apology in my voice. No trace of embarrassment. I state it with my whole chest.
The only movement Lane makes is to blink his eyelids. Shock is still etched on his face, and the silence that reigns in the air as his mouth remains still is deafening.
“It’s not casual between us, Lane,” I continue. I know I need to state my case. Need to try to make him see that I love his sister, that I only want the best for her, that I’ll treat her right even if I’m not the kind of person he wishes she’d end up with. “I love Maddie. She loves me. I know you don’t think I’m good enough for her, but?—”
At that, his face finally moves. His lips draw together, his brows pinching sharply and digging furrows into his forehead. “What?”
I take a deep breath. Was he too stunned to hear anything I just said? “Maddie and I are together, Lane. We?—”
He shakes his head. “No. I heard that. I mean …” He shakes his head again, his expression still stricken. “You think I don’t think you’re … good enough for her?”
Now it’s my turn to wear a befuddled look. “I mean, I know I’m not the kind of guy you’d want for your sister …”
Lane’s eyebrows leap. Hurt swims in his eyes. “Dude, what are you talking about?”
My tongue just idly darts around inside my mouth as words fail me. I’ve run through a lot of scenarios in my head about how Lane would respond when Maddie and I tell him about us. This wasn’t one of them.
Lane’s shoulders lift, and he huffs out a laugh as he questioningly glances side to side. “What the hell made you think that?”
I look to Maddie. Her brow is high, her blinking slow and heavy, but she seems to be recovering from the shock of the moment. I look back at Lane. “I mean, shit, dude. My family, where I grew up …”
The confusion on Lane’s face only ratchets higher. “Your family? Dude, you know I love your mom!”
“Fuck, you know what I mean. I’m not rich. And if hockey doesn’t pan out, it’s not like I’m going to be able to be a lawyer, or a doctor, or a consultant, or whatever the fuck. Who knows what I’ll be. I just always thought …”
“Let me stop you right there,” Lane says, his voice firming as he takes a step closer to me. “Hockey or not, I know damn well what you’ll always be. My best friend. Not good enough for my sister?” He laughs. “First of all, my sister can make her own decisions. But even if I were worried about her judgment, I couldn’t imagine someone I’d feel better about her being with than you.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Of course! I know you’ll treat her right. That’s the only thing that matters.”
Maddie rushes past me and flings her arms around her brother’s neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek. She steps back, and then Lane walks forward, pulling me into a hug.
“I can’t believe you thought I’d give a shit about any of those things you mentioned,” Lane says, a trace of hurt still in his voice, before he replaces it with a joking tone and asks, “Am I really such an asshole?”
I breathe a relieved laugh. “No, it’s just …” I shake my head at myself. “Shit, I don’t know. Remember that interview you did with the newspaper at the beginning of the year? When they asked if you’d be okay with any of your teammates dating your sister?”
His features pull as a searching look passes over his face. “What, that?” He laughs again. “Dude, it was a stupid answer to a stupid question. I didn’t even think about it for half of a second.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “I guess I’ve just been an idiot this whole time.”
“I’ll fucking say,” Lane jokes, socking me with a playful punch to my shoulder. “But now that that’s taken care of … what ?” His eyelids snap back as his gaze slices between me and Maddie. “You two? Together? Since when? I feel like someone needs to pinch me to see if I’m dream— oww !”
He jumps back after Maddie grabs a big chunk of his arm between her index finger and thumb. “It was a figure of speech!” he yelps.
I wrap my arm proudly around Maddie, my girl, and tug her close as we walk inside, laughing.