94. Grant
NINETY-FOUR
GRANT
EARLY APRIL, THIS SEASON
The bylaw getting approved quite literally changed my life.
For the first time in the seven years I’ve known Amelia, I don’t have to be quiet about my feelings for her. I can shout them from the goddamn rooftops if I wanted to.
I do kind of want to, considering the CBA will have the addendum I helped craft in its pages for the rest of my career.
We spent the day after the good news holed up in the house, taking turns to talk with our agents and the commissioner while also fielding calls from our friends and the executive boards for both of our teams. I was afraid to think it was actually true until the owner and CEO of the Stars apologized for the uncomfortable position I was put in.
Since then, my social media has been flooded with messages of support from athletes across every sport. There are a handful of comments from trolls about how it’s unprofessional to date someone like Amelia, but they don’t know the whole story.
They’re never going to.
We’re allowed publicly be together now, but that doesn’t mean people deserve access to us. We’re planning on keeping much of our personal life private, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
“Hi.” Amelia sits next to me on the bed. Her hair is wet from her post-run shower, and she smiles when I hold my arm open so she can scoot into my side. “Are you planning on getting out of bed at all today?”
“Unfortunately. I need to leave for practice in thirty minutes, which means I’m already behind schedule. But I think as an alternate captain who just went through a big fucking life event, I have some leeway on being a few minutes late.”
“You think Brody is going to care about that?” She laughs. “He’s going to be calling your ass out if you’re even a second behind schedule.”
“You’re right, which is why I need to get moving.” I groan and stand, stretching my arms above my head. “You’re off today, right?”
“I am. No practice, no meetings. This might be the first time in my career I’m not going to touch any work while I’m away from the ice. I might go get a massage and sit in a silent room for two hours where no one can bother me.”
“Sounds like heaven. Want to grab dinner tonight?”
“Sure. What were you thinking?”
“Leave that to me. Be ready at six. Attire is casual.” I walk to her side of the bed and tilt her chin so I can kiss her. “I love you,” I say, and her soft smile makes the hell we’ve been through worth it.
“I love you too,” she says. “Thank you for being patient with me and not running away when I gave you the chance.”
“You’re going to have to try harder than that to get rid of me, baby.” I smile. “Have a good day, Lia. I’m going to miss you every second I’m gone.”
“Me too. I’m counting down the seconds until you’re home.”
Between the Olympic break and moving through life like a ghost, this is my first practice in a month where I’m excited to be here.
I’m practically giddy on my walk to the locker room in our practice facility, and when I touch my name plate above my stall, I realize how close I was to giving up the sport I love for the woman I love.
Walking away would’ve hurt. It would’ve been hard to see my brothers succeed—and fail—without me, but I would’ve found something new to try. I would’ve figured it out, but now I don’t have to. I could put a photo of her in my locker and no one can argue about it, and that’s a damn good feeling.
“Morning, G.” Ethan throws his arm around my shoulders and grins. “Glad to see you in a good mood.”
“Glad to be here, E.” I laugh and give him a sideways hug. “Thanks for sticking with me when I was a depressed asshole.”
“I love you,” he says. “I’m never going to give up on you.”
“Ten minutes until we hit the ice,” Coach barks out, walking through the locker room to his office. “Mitchell is going to separate you all into teams for practice today.”
“Make it single people versus guys in relationships, Mitchy,” Ethan calls out.
“Good suggestion, but not happening, Ethan,” Riley says.
“Because I’d school all their betrothed asses.”
“How are you doing?” Hudson asks, tossing his shirt in his stall. “Still glad the bylaw passed?”
“I haven’t stopped smiling. I thought I was happy before, but now I’m fucking floating, man. I sent James and Henry the biggest fruit baskets I could order to thank them for all of their help,” I say. “I want to do something for y’all too, but I don’t know what to get the whole team.”
“You don’t need to get us anything. We didn’t help you because we wanted you on the roster.
We helped you because we love you, Grant.
And love doesn’t come with a repayment plan.
” He searches through his duffel bag and hands over a brownie wrapped in cellophane.
“This is from Madeline. It’s her contribution to celebrating your good news. ”
“Shit. This is going to be my reward for the ass-kicking I’m sure Saunders is going to give us this morning. Tell her I say thank you.” I take the brownie and hold it tight to my chest. “Dessert is the way to my heart.”
We all finish dressing and trudge down the tunnel with our gear.
There’s shoving and pushing and someone yelling that someone else is pissing them off.
It’s chaotic and loud, but it’s also perfect.
The constant in my life I’ve missed, and the second my skates hit the ice, I let out a breath.
I let my arms go slack at my sides. Every ounce of tension I’ve carried since the Olympics disappears, and I’m home.
“We’re starting with a 3-on-3 drill to warm up, and then we’re transitioning into a 1-2-3 Bumper Game.” Coach blows his whistle, and I grin. Not even the way he barks out orders can bring me down. “Is something amusing, Everett?”
“Happy to be back on home ice. I really took it for granted before.”
He pauses and stares at me. I shift on my skates, afraid I’m going to be sent to do laps for interrupting practice, but Coach tips his head. He offers me the hint of a smile then nods.
“We’re glad you’re back,” he says, then he blows his whistle again. “Line up in the groups Mitchell assigned you to. The last skaters to get organized are headed to the weight room after this for extra bench presses. That means you, Richardson.”
“Three things are certain in life,” Connor says, heading to join Hudson on the left side of the ice. “Death, taxes, and Easy E pissing Coach off by simply existing.”
“He loves me,” Ethan says. “Probably loves me the most, to be honest.”
“Keep dreaming, dude.” I tap a puck over to Connor then line up a practice shot on goal. “Pretty sure I’m his favorite.”
“Because you’re family now,” he challenges, letting out a screech when I chase him across the blue line. “I take it back!”
“Now you have to pay.” I wrap my arms around him and bring us both to the ice, laughing when Ethan grabs a clump of ice shards and shoves them down the back of my jersey. “I’m the alternate captain. You’re supposed to listen to me.”
“Richardson. Everett.” Another whistle blows, and I can’t stop giggling. “You’re two seconds away from joining the fourth line today and giving up your starting positions in favor of the rookies. Get off your asses and get ready to work. Now.”
I climb off Ethan and hold out my hand. He grins up at me.
“Worth it?” he asks.
I match his beam. “Really fucking worth it.”
I head to Riley’s house to play video games for a couple hours after practice before running the errands I need to get done for tonight.
By the time I make it home, the living room smells like Lia’s perfume.
I bite my knuckles at the sight of the baggy jeans she’s paired with a crop top and leather jacket.
“How is it that you get more gorgeous every day?” I kiss her and put a hand on her waist. “I saw you a few hours ago, and you’re already more stunning.”
“I don’t know what you have planned, but I felt like dressing up. I was in such a funk the last month, it’s nice to take a breath, wash my hair, and put on makeup.” She smiles and kisses me back. “How was practice?”
“Good. Coach is amping up the intensity as we head into these last few games, and what was supposed to be an easy day with drills turned into getting our ass kicked with offensive sequences until someone dropped. Do coaches enjoy putting their athletes through hell?”
“Yes.” Lia pats my cheek with a smile she doesn’t bother trying to hide. “It’s the best part of the job.”
“Figured as much. Y’all are as weird as goalies.” I pull away from her so I don’t mess up her outfit. “I’m going to rinse off, and then we can head out.”
“Sounds good. Still not a fan of surprises, but I’m excited to see what you have planned,” she says. “If it involves anything that pops out at me, this relationship is over, Everett.”
“I’d never. Give me twenty, and I’m all yours.”
I roll the windows down and let the warm breeze fill the cab of the car. Lia and I hold hands on the center console, and I slide a pair of sunglasses on my face at a red light.
“I love this time of year.” She glances out the window at the row of flowers lining the street.
“All these trees and plants died during the winter, but now that it’s spring, they’re alive again.
” She looks at me. “That’s how I felt when we were apart.
Like I was stuck in some winter storm with no chance of sun. ”
“Worst month of my life,” I agree, stroking over her knuckles. “But for as much as those days without you sucked, it made me realize we’re going to be able to get through anything. We’re always going to make it work.”
“Yeah.” Lia smiles. “We are.”
Another ten minutes later, I find a parking spot. I shut off the ignition and face her.
“I had a couple ideas for tonight. It’s a boring Thursday in April, and we’re not celebrating anything specific, but I realized that in itself was a gift.
There aren’t any rules we have to follow.
We don’t have to plan a route away from where big groups of people are.
We can do whatever we want now, and what I want is to be out in the open with you.
I called in some favors to get this pulled off, and I hope you like it,” I say.
“I’m going to be with you,” she says. “I’m going to love it.”
I climb out of the car and round the hood to her side. I open the door and hold out my hand, not letting go when her feet are on the ground. I don’t have to hide my affection for her anymore, and I link our fingers together. I swing our arms back and forth, glad when a giggle bursts out of her.
“I feel like I’m back in high school,” Lia says. “And hanging out with the coolest, hottest athlete in my grade.”
“It’s a good thing we’re not in your high school, because I am neither the coolest or the hottest athlete. I’m so sorry to ruin the dream.”
We walk along the shaded path hand in hand, and this… this is what we didn’t have before. The way I can rest my arm around her and pull her to my side. The way she puts her head on my shoulder and laughs when I touch her ribs.
I’m greedy with my affection because I fucking can be, and it’s incredible.
We reach a clearing away from the bustle of people. Lia gasps as she looks ahead, and her hand flies to cover her mouth.
“A picnic?” she whispers.
“The last one we went on was cut short,” I say. “That’s not happening this time.”
“You got Pete’s?” Her laugh is disbelieving, and she hurries over to the blanket. “And what’s in the box?”
“A slice of key lime pie from the Italian restaurant in Denver. That took a lot of coordination, but we made it work. I had to pull out all the stops for our first date.”
I expect her to go for the sandwich first, but she doesn’t. She turns and throws her arms around me, a hug she punctuates with a kiss to my cheek while she squeezes me tight.
“I hate to break this to you, honey, but this is far from our first date.” Lia pulls back and rests her hand on my arm. “Are we not counting all the years before this?”
“No, because I wasn’t allowed to love you out loud like I wanted to.”
I kiss her forehead and tug her on the blanket. To a passerby, we look like any other couple in love with our hats and sunglasses and the way she positions herself my legs, but I know the truth: this is the first real day of forever for us, and it deserves to be celebrated.
“I can’t believe this is where we are now,” Lia says. “We can just… be.”
“I promise I won’t suffocate you with PDA.” I hand her the sandwich and unwrap my own. I can thank Liam for keeping them warm before dropping them off, and I’m glad to know he really has a heart. “But today calls for it.”
“Did you ever think we’d get here?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I do. Because I hoped for it and wished for it, and we never gave up. It had to work out. There was no version of me that exists without you.”
“I’m surprised you’re not wearing one of my jerseys,” she teases, sitting up so she can take a bite of her food. “You were much bolder when we had to hide our relationship.”
“Already planned to put one on when we got home, baby.” I wipe away a drop of marinara sauce from her cheek. I can’t believe I get to do that for the rest of my life. “And there’s one in my car if the mood strikes.”
Lia tips her head back and laughs. Her shoulders shake, and when she brings her chin level to meet my gaze, I see the tears glistening in her eyes.
“I love you,” she whispers. “And I’m so glad you fought for us.”
“I had to. Imagine if I walked around with a badger tattooed on my arm and it didn’t even have a purpose.”
We dive into our food, and the sun starts to set. After we finish, we eat the slice of key lime pie. I wasn’t the biggest fan before, but today it’s goddamn perfect.