Chapter 2
Roman
“ You’ve been traded to the Phantoms.”
The phone call from my agent came out of nowhere and though I’ve been here a month already, I’m still reeling.
The Phantoms are based in Los Angeles and I had no interest in ever coming back here. My hometown. A place I left a long time ago.
But here I am, living in a two-bedroom townhouse with a kid I’ve known less than a month. Well, he’s not really a kid. He’s a grown man who plays pro hockey, just like me. Just a lot younger.
The good thing about Bodi, my roommate, is that we don’t have history. He’s twenty-five but he’s played almost his entire career in the minors, so we’ve never crossed paths before. That’s probably the only reason he asked me to move in almost as soon as I got here.
The other guys on the team have been welcoming but cautious.
Who can blame them?
I’m thirty-five and essentially closing in on the end of a hockey career that’s been tumultuous at times. I’m known for being a shit disturber on the ice—the guy everyone loves to hate. And a lot of guys around the league do.
So the trade to L.A. was unexpected—and unwanted, but the money is good for a guy at this stage of his career.
One year, $1.5M.
It’s not the league minimum because it’s Los Angeles, where everything costs a fucking fortune.
I was a little stressed about everything until Bodi reached out, asking if I wanted to move into his townhouse. We’re both single, he’s trying to save money, and I couldn’t stay in the team-sponsored apartment for more than a week.
So Bodi’s offer was both fortuitous and timely.
I haven’t had a roommate in a long time, though, so I worry that I might do something dickish, but Bodi’s been pretty laid back so far. Not that we spend much time together at home. He’s young and goes out almost every night off. I see him at work, of course, but that’s different.
And I’m not the type who likes to party.
Not anymore.
I went out with a group of guys my first week with the team, trying to bond with everyone, but Bodi had a date that night and wasn’t with us. Since then, I’ve tried to lie low and do my best to perform on the ice, which has been iffy.
“You want to order in tonight?” Bodi asks, leaning in the doorway of my bedroom.
“Sure.” I look up from the book I’m reading, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People.’ I don’t think it’s going to help but it can’t hurt to try.
“You like General Tso’s Chicken?” Bodi calls out.
“I eat almost anything,” I respond. “And get me an egg roll.”
He nods and types on his phone.
“Okay. Food’ll be here in twenty.”
“Excellent.” I put my book away and get out of bed, pulling on a T-shirt. I don’t think Bodi cares if I eat without a shirt on but I’m trying not to be a complete heathen.
I pad into the kitchen and pull a bottle of water out of the fridge.
I used to be a big soda drinker but now that I’m thirty-five, my body requires a lot more care to function at the level of a professional athlete. I put on some weight last summer and really had to work my ass off to lose it, get back in shape.
Now I’m in the best shape of my life, which makes the fact that my old team traded me that much more of a kick in the pants.
Bodi’s phone buzzes, and I hear him answer in a more lighthearted voice than usual.
“Hey, kiddo, what’s—what?! What are you talking about?
” There’s a stretch of silence and then another explosion of anger.
“Are you fucking kidding me?! What the hell…yeah, of course, I’m coming.
Pack up your shit—I’ll be there in twenty minutes.
” He disconnects and stomps up the stairs to his room.
A minute later he’s clomping back down the stairs, keys in his hand.
“Everything okay?” I ask, following him into the living room.
“No.” He looks pissed. “My sister’s in a situation with her roommates. I have to get her out of there.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure exactly. Something about the one roommate’s boyfriend trying to join her in the shower. All I know is, if he puts his hands on her, I’ll fucking end him.”
Stay out of it.
The devil on my shoulder is kind of a selfish ass.
“You need backup?” The words tumble out of my mouth anyway.
He doesn’t hesitate. “Stay tuned—you may be bailing me out of jail.”
So much for staying out of it.
“All the more reason to have back-up. Give me thirty seconds to get socks and shoes on.” I take the stairs two at a time and pull out a pair of socks. I yank them on, stuff my feet into my running shoes, grab my wallet and phone, and run back down.
Our Chinese food has just arrived and Bodi puts it on the coffee table without turning around.
“You ready?”
“Let’s go.” I follow him down to his SUV and jump into the passenger seat. “I didn’t know you had a sister. How old is she?”
“Twenty-two. She’s graduating in June. We moved here over the summer, and she lived with me the first semester but moved out over the Christmas break.” He doesn’t look happy about it.
“You brought her with you to L.A. when you got called up?”
He hesitates. “Yeah. She didn’t want to, but I kind of made her at least look into some schools here, and then she got this fellowship thing where she’s finishing her bachelor’s and starting her master’s—I don’t understand it completely but it was a great opportunity for her.”
“You made her go to school in the same city you’re playing in, even though you could get traded tomorrow?”
He grunts. “It’s not that simple. We were fifteen and eighteen when our parents were killed in a car accident. There was no one else to take her. If I hadn’t stepped up, she would’ve gone to foster care, so I’m responsible for her, you know? I worry. I couldn’t just leave her in Phoenix.”
“Were you in college when the accident happened?”
He hesitates. “I was supposed to be but I couldn’t take care of her if I went to college so when I got drafted that summer I went straight to the minors.”
“And you were drafted by Phoenix.”
“Yeah.” He stares straight ahead as he pulls into traffic.
“Let me guess—you didn’t let them call you up because you didn’t want to pull her out of school or whatever.”
“I didn’t want to disrupt her life any more than it already was. She lost both parents, broke her femur and would need rehab, had PTSD from the accident… she’s been through a lot.”
“She was in the car when it happened?” I groan.
Even a grumpy fuck like me feels a wave of sympathy for a teenage girl who had to live through that.
“Help didn’t come for hours. She watched them die. There was nothing she could do—she was trapped between the door and the seat, her femur shattered.”
“She okay now?”
“Physically, yes. We used to work out together a lot, so I could make sure she healed properly. And of course, I had good health insurance.”
“You’re close?”
He hesitates. “Close- ish . She thinks I’m too overprotective, that I try to control her.”
“Do you?”
A light chuckle. “Maybe a little? She was just so messed up after the accident. She would have nightmares unless I slept on the floor next to her bed.”
“You’re a good brother,” I say gruffly. That’s more than I probably would have done for my sisters.
“I do my best but we fight a lot now. She wants her freedom, and I just want her to be safe. I knew she shouldn’t have moved into this place. I fucking knew it, but I couldn’t stop her either. After one semester living together, she left.”
“I don’t have any experience with this, but from the outside looking in, I think you have to let kids spread their wings. That’s the only way you can ensure they fly back to you. Or something like that.” Where the hell did that bit of ageless wisdom come from?
Bodi seems to be considering what I’ve said. “She’s an adult, about to have a college degree, so I know she’s strong and capable. I just worry. You know how guys in their twenties can be.”
I arch one brow. “You mean—like you?”
He grunts. “ Exactly like me. I’ll fucking kill anyone who treats her the way I treat women.”
“Ever occur to you not to treat women that way?”
“Okay, let me rephrase. I’m not a bad guy. I don’t abuse them in any way, physically or otherwise. I’m just…not looking to settle down. One and done. And I’m clear about that. So I’m not a liar either. I just don’t see them more than once. Maybe twice. And we have a lot of fun while I’m around.”
“There are lots of ladies who appreciate that.”
“I don’t think my sister is one of them.”
“Are you sure?”
“Noooo.” He draws out the word on a groan. “Jesus. I can’t ask her if she likes having one-night stands.”
“Then maybe don’t make assumptions.”
“Well, I’m going to assume you don’t have a sister?”
“Actually, I do, but I don’t try to boss them around. That used to be my mom’s job until they became adults.”
“Well, I worry about her,” Bodi admits after a hesitation.
“She was a figure skater before the accident, but even though her leg is healed, she still has stiffness and discomfort now and then. She had to give it up. Doctor told us she would probably have arthritis at a young age. Shit like that. So yeah, I’m overprotective, but it’s because I care. ”
“You can care without stifling her,” I say with a shrug. “But that’s the extent of my sage advice since I don’t know her.”
“Well, now you’re going to meet her. Okay with you if she crashes on the couch until I can find her another place to live? If she was desperate enough to call me, things must be bad.”
Great.
The last thing I need is some twenty-something-year-old college girl lounging around the house half-dressed, talking on the phone all night, and spending hours in the bathroom.
But what can I say?
Bodi’s my roommate, my teammate , and I don’t need to make an enemy out of him. I have enough of those in the league. Besides, it would totally be a dick move to say his sister isn’t welcome after what he just told me.
“Sure. No problem.”
“You’ll like Billie. She’s great when she’s not mad at me.”
Did he just call his sister Billie?
Billie?!
How many twenty-two-year-old college students named Billie can there be in L.A.?
A lot. It’s L.A. Everyone has a cool name like that.
Right?
Something sour twists in my gut.
I’ve thought about the pretty blonde from the club every single day since the night I rescued her. Considered going back there, maybe running into her again.
It’s a damn good thing I didn’t.
My intuition tells me Bodi wouldn’t be happy to hear I jerk off in the shower thinking about his sister.
I nearly groan in frustration but there’s nowhere to go but forward since we just pulled up to an older looking apartment building in a shady part of town.
“You want me to wait here?” I ask cautiously.
“Nah, you might as well come with me. If there’s going to be trouble, I need someone to make sure Billie’s okay while I kick ass.”
I’m not sure if I’m flattered or insulted, but either way, I get out of the SUV and follow him to the stairs.
Nowhere to go but forward.
Please don’t let Bodi’s sister be my Billie.