24. Matteo
Matteo
ELLINGTON
*image attachment*
MATTEO
living up to your reputation I see
also, is that a fucking cat in the background?
ELLINGTON
it’s like a Where’s Waldo? photo. there’s actually five
MATTEO
five cats???
what the fuck were you doing with four girls and five cats
ELLINGTON
the cats flock to me
like the Greek women ;)
MATTEO
you’re disgusting
ELLINGTON
I can smell your jealousy from here
MATTEO
that’s your STD marinating
ELLINGTON
I’m as clean as a whistle I’ll have you know
Skating to the other side of the rink where half of the team is congregated—the rest having fucked off like Caleb and taking this time to travel—I’m not fully present as I go through the motions of warming up.
My mind is elsewhere, more specifically on a pretty blonde whose blue eyes have had me hooked since I was seven.
Let’s fucking face it, Evie has always been special to me, and the fact that I can’t stop thinking about her chest pressed against mine, her arms around my neck, and her face buried in my nape speaks volumes.
I’m a grown twenty-seven-year-old man, and I can’t get over my best friend’s little sister hugging me.
I repeat, a fucking hug.
I had a hard-on the entire drive to the arena. The only thing that finally pulled me out of it was seeing Caleb’s text. It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over my head.
Thank fuck this is training camp and not a real game, because I don’t know if I’d be able to concentrate.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Oh, I know. I’m just head over heels for Evie.
I’m finally snapped away from my thoughts as Grayson steps onto the ice, our captain drawing everyone’s attention. Coach soon follows, the assistant coach, Olivia Foster, close behind with a slicked-back bun.
No one holds back their groan at the sight.
“Fuck, Foster, cut us some slack today,” Irving whines.
She cocks a brow. “Perform like you’re worth the millions the team pays you and perhaps we will go easy on you.”
Coach barks out a laugh. Well, at least one of them seems to be in a good mood.
Foster begins moving around the rink, placing small orange cones, outlining our warm-up drill for the morning. Once she’s done, Coach Anderson claps his hands together. “All right, boys, let’s warm up those muscles. Ten minutes of drills, let’s go.”
Ten minutes later, I’m skating over to the right side of the ice where Olivia Foster waits for us, and I can tell just by the twinkle in her eye this training session is going to hurt.
And sure enough, it fucking does.
It’s torture as is to run through sessions without Caleb by my side.
We’ve been defensemen on this team together for years.
We move in sync, breathe in sync, and even think in sync.
Everything about us is a well-oiled machine, so to not have my other half beside me on the ice feels… odd, to say the least.
I’ve heard the whispers about IceHawks trying to recruit Kai Silverton.
It would be fucking amazing to see that weapon of a player join the defensemen.
Especially since Lukas retired and it’s left O’Connor with rookies coming and going in his second line of defense. So far, no one has been able to click.
Kai would be a game changer, the extra oomph this team needs to take home a championship again. And I can tell we all want it. We may be grumbling about this training session but the determined expressions say otherwise.
We all want to prove ourselves, especially after losing the championship last year.
O’Connor stops beside me, ice spraying my pant leg as we watch Johnson run goalie drills.
“I think Foster likes living up to the boys’ superstitions.”
“She definitely knows what she’s doing,” I grunt.
“How is it without Caleb?” he asks as he picks up his water bottle.
Shrugging, I murmur, “Weird.”
O’Connor smirks at me, shaking his head as he squirts water into his mouth.
“What?”
He chuckles. “You and your one-word answers.”
Thankfully, my face is already flushed from the drills, otherwise my sheepish blush would show. “Sorry, it’s just—”
He claps me on the shoulder. “Nah, no apology necessary, Valenti. It’s just you.” Changing the conversation back, he asks, “How is Caleb?”
Snorting, I roll my eyes. “He’s got his hands full.” I wish I could whip out my phone and share the photo I received this morning against my will. My poor retinas. “Four women, and get this, he’s taken in five cats.”
“What the fuck? He’s a hazard.”
“He claimed they flock to him just like the Greek women.”
O’Connor and I skate back, our water break long over as Coach Foster blows her whistle at us. “Jesus, let’s just hope he makes it back home in one piece.”
“Hope can only go so far.”
Johnson slams his locker shut, his hands clenched by his sides as he roars, “Irving!”
O’Connor whistles beside me, shaking his head. “Here we fucking go.”
Irving all but swaggers around the corner from the showers, still dressed in his sweaty clothes from training. He has far too much confidence as he leans against the lockers, smirking at Johnson’s red face. “Yes, Johnson?” he purrs.
He stalks toward Irving, his menacing frame not making Irving flinch at all.
Kieran stops beside O’Connor and me, grimacing as he asks, “Should I go grab Crawford?”
As I grunt, O’Connor leans back on the bench and murmurs, “I don’t think anything or anyone could stop this shit show.”
Kieran takes a seat beside me, crossing his arms over his chest. “May as well enjoy this, then.”
“Did you switch all my clothes?” Johnson is now screaming.
Snickers and laughter break out as Irving dips his chin, a full-blown smile lifting his face. “Thought you could use some work on appreciating women. What better way than to try and walk in their shoes for a day?”
At his sarcasm, Johnson stalks back to his locker, ripping it open and throwing the contents at Irving, including various pairs of G-strings. “Give me my shit back!”
As if nothing is happening, Kieran turns to me and asks, “How’s the code going?”
Irving’s cackles and taunts finally have O’Connor standing to mediate. “Okay boys, let’s calm down. Irving, where’s Johnson’s clothes? You can’t let the poor bastard go home in a G-string.”
Shrugging, I lean forward and unlace my skates. “It’s going. There was a fucking comma that did my head in the other night, but besides that, we’re on track.”
He claps me on the shoulder, squeezing. “Fuck, I’m so excited for this, Valenti.”
That has my lips twitching, threatening to pull into a smile. “Me too. It will help a lot of kids.”
He nods. “Yeah.” Suddenly, he stands, our conversation done as he strides over to help O’Connor de-escalate the situation, which has turned into a panty-tossing fight.
Crawford, the sorry bastard, walks into the room right as Johnson flings a red G-string at Irving. Only, it hits Grayson square in the face.
The room falls silent as Crawford slowly reaches up and pulls the red panties off. He shudders and tosses them aside before fixing the team with incredulous eyes. “What the fuck is going on?”
Not wasting any time, Johnson points at Irving. “This little twat stole my clothes.”
Irving turns to Crawford with a shrug. “He needs help understanding what women go through.”
Crawford’s eyes slowly close. After a deep inhale, he opens them again and pointedly says to Irving, “Give the man his clothes back.”
Irving looks like a sad puppy as his shoulders visibly droop. “Okay, Cap.”
Before I can see Johnson get his clothes back, the sound of my phone vibrating in my locker pulls my attention away. Caleb’s name flashes across the screen. I quickly hit answer as I slip out into the hallway.
“Yo!” Caleb shouts through the phone.
Pulling it away, I grunt before putting it back to my ear. “Jesus, C, I can hear you just fine. Don’t scream.”
Cursing, Caleb softens his voice. “Shit, my bad. My hearing is fucked.”
Figures.
“Anyway, I gotta be quick. I’m on my way out but I just got off the phone with my mom. I don’t suppose you know why Evie is ignoring her, do you?”
I know I blocked her number…as for the reason behind why Serena is hurting her as much as she is…I wish I fucking knew.
“Can’t say I do. I’ve definitely noticed she’s not on her new phone as often, though. It might not just be her mom.”
That’s a lie, but that’s Evie’s business, not mine. If she isn’t opening up to Caleb, then I won’t either.
Something deep in my gut is screaming at me to protect Evie, to buy her more time. Time for what, I have no idea, but my gut has never led me astray.
Ever.
And right now, it’s demanding that I protect the woman whose hug quite literally melted my heart and spun my mind.
“Fuck, okay. I was hoping she mentioned something. I tried asking her before but she just dodged my questions. How is she doing? Is she doing better?”
“She’s doing better, C,” I say. “Slow progress but she’s getting there.”
Anger laces his tone as he all but spits, “That fucking asshole did a number on her.”
I’m not sure it was just him, I think to myself.
“Just think about the way I broke his nose and how Evie and I fucked up his car.”
A chuckle comes over the line. “That definitely lifts my spirits.” Rustling comes over the line before a muffled female voice floats in from the background. A second later, Caleb is back on the phone. “Sorry dude, I’ve gotta go. Chat later?”
Pushing off the wall, I begin to make my way back to the locker room to shower. “Yeah of course, no worries.”
“Take care of my sister!”
The line ends before I can say another word, before I can tell him that I’ll always take care of my Dove.