Chapter 24
Grady
A part of me worried Landon might make up some excuse and bolt as soon as we were done fooling around.
I know what a clusterfuck of conflicting emotions a sexual awakening can have on a guy.
But Landon stayed, and after we used the wet wipes I keep in my night table to clean up, we talked about stupid shit.
The stuff friends are supposed to talk about—the game, which new teammates we like and which we just tolerate, and then we exchanged documentary recs from Netflix.
We talked and laughed until the sun was almost ready to come up.
And then we both drifted off, together. Not cuddling but lying side by side, kind of tangled up in each other.
So the irony isn’t lost on me when I’m the one who bolts.
I woke to my phone buzzing on my night table.
Landon was curled on his side, away from me, snoring softly.
With blurry eyes, I grabbed my phone and saw my cousin Harlow’s name on the screen.
It was barely six o’clock, so I answered it because Harlow wouldn’t be calling at this ungodly hour unless it was important.
I slip out of the bedroom and walk all the way to the kitchen so I don’t wake Landon.
I don’t want to wake him for a million reasons, one being that he’s had bags under his eyes for weeks, and he definitely needs this sleep.
The other is that I’m scared that if he wakes up those words we said and things we did might scare the fuck out of him in broad daylight.
They kind of give me a mild panic attack if I’m honest.
I answer the phone in a groggy voice with, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she says quickly. “Sorry. I know it’s the crack of ass. Can you meet me though? I’m at Ocean Perk, on Temple.”
She’s in Ocean Pines? That makes me believe that whatever she needs is serious if she got up before dawn and drove out here. “Yeah. Is Shelby with you?”
I kind of assume she isn’t because Shelby would just pound on my door at whatever hour she wanted.
Harlow is more discreet because Harlow knows my secrets.
Every last one of them. “No. I have secret project stuff to do, which is why I’m back.
I couldn’t talk to you about this last night because everyone was around, and it’s yet another secret. ”
Harlow and I really need to find something to bond over that isn’t stuff we’d rather die over than share with the world. “Let me throw something on. See you in five.”
“Thanks, Grady. I’ll have a chai latte waiting for you.”
I end the call and walk over to the closet where my stackable washer and dryer are in the hall.
Thankfully, I didn’t empty the dryer, and there’s a clean sweat suit in there.
So I pull it on over my naked body and head back to the kitchen.
I write a short note and sneak into the bedroom and leave it on my pillow for Landon.
Then I shove my bare feet into some winter boots, throw up the hood on my sweatshirt, and slip out the front door.
Harlow is sitting in a booth at the back of the small cafe. As promised, there’s a chai latte waiting for me across from her. I slide into the booth after ruffling her hair with my big hand. “What’s wrong?”
“I told you, I’m fine.”
“Something is wrong, though, because you wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t.”
“I have a secret meet-up with the boyfriend.” Harlow lifts her hands and makes air quotes as she says boyfriend. I smile.
“Your mother is like the love child of Cupid and Venus,” I remind her. “I’m surprised she’s gone almost an entire year without hunting down this boyfriend so she can fawn all over him.”
Harlow laughs softly and tucks her dark hair behind her ear.
She’s a weird mix of her parents. She’s got all her mother, my Aunt Rose’s delicate, dark features, but her father Luc Richard’s bold, tough-as-nails personality.
She’s also got his athleticism and competitive streak.
People think she outgrew it, but she hasn’t.
Her boyfriend is the ice rink and a trainer in Portland.
Harlow used to be a figure skater. She was a state champion, but she dropped it her senior year of high school for two reasons—an injured knee that just wouldn’t set right and a boyfriend she was head over heels for who didn’t think she should keep doing it.
Last year, she decided to lace up again and is now training to be a competitive ice dancer.
“You know that you could tell them. You’re close to competing in events they will likely see or hear about in the media soon,” I warn. She’s only done some regional stuff so far, but she has to win at higher levels to get a chance at a spot on the Olympic team, which is her endgame.
“I think at this point my mom is really invested in the idea I’ve got a boyfriend.” Harlow smiles.
I don’t take her bait to keep this light. “Everyone would be supportive.”
She locks eyes with mine and lifts an eyebrow. “Right back at you.”
“Not on the Talbot side,” I remind her. “You don’t have a Talbot side, so you’re golden.”
“As I have said from the beginning, fuck them,” she announces. “Grandma Donna and Grandpa Henry will love you twice as hard if those other grandparents of yours turn their backs.”
I sigh. “I’m sure we’re not here to talk about my sexuality.”
“No, we’re here because Theo is entirely off-the-rails,” she announces, and any trace of a smile disappears from her face. “And I’m officially scared, Grady.”
Theo is her brother and the second youngest cousin in the group. He, like all the male cousins, was drafted straight out of high school a few years ago. He’s played for two teams and is currently in Vegas playing for the Vipers, a team that his father once played for. “The drinking?”
Harlow nods, and somehow her dark eyes get darker.
“I went to visit him last week. He was drinking every moment he wasn’t on the ice or at work.
Not kidding. Comes home from practice, grabs a beer.
After a game, off to the bar. He took me to a casino, I spent an hour on the slots and found him at a blackjack table, four whiskeys in and down five grand.
He wouldn’t leave until he won it back. I ended up almost carrying him home an hour and a half later, and he was out twenty-five grand by then.
The next morning, I had to tell him about it. He remembered nothing.”
My face shows my shock, and she nods before sipping her coffee. “But like, was it just because he had guests? Was he showing you a good time type thing?”
“Does that sound like a good time?” Her words are pointed. She sighs. “There’s always an excuse. He’s blowing off steam after a bad season or a bad game. He’s on vacation. He’s heartbroken over a girl.”
“That was my favorite excuse,” I reply and roll my eyes. “He kept telling me he loved Lana. Her name was fucking Laura, and they’d only dated four months.”
“Everyone thought that was hysterical. Even Mom and Dad are in denial, but I’m not.
Not anymore. I think my little brother has a problem,” Harlow announces.
“And I’m telling you because I want your opinion.
You’re the most level-headed, rational of all the testosterone sacks in this family.
So if you see it, then I know I’m not just leaning into my trauma and taking it out on him. ”
Harlow’s ex-fiancé, that boy she gave up skating for, had a drinking problem.
Also the Richard's grandmother—Luc’s mom—had such a serious drinking problem, it drove Luc to basically become a Garrison when he was a kid, even moving in with the family.
It was technically because of hockey, but he could have easily played on a Canadian team, and he didn’t want to.
She ended up dying of liver failure when Harlow and Theo were little.
“Okay. What do I do?”
“You’re heading out west for a road trip.
Spend time with him. Outside of the rink.
Tell me your honest thoughts, and better still, tell him,” Harlow says as she puts her half-empty coffee mug down on the table.
“And if you see what I see, I’ll talk to my parents.
We’ll hold a Garrison intervention. I am not losing him, or letting him lose his career, to this. ”
I nod. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
This is a heavy way to wake up after a dreamy night, but I’m glad Harlow confides in me—about this and everything. I glance at the big bag beside her on the bench. “You aren’t gonna burn out, are you? Between this and working full-time?”
“No. I’m good. This morning is just a skate with a new partner. We’re auditioning each other.” She looks like she’d rather eat glass. “Every time I think I’ve made it to the top of this uphill battle, there’s another mountain to climb. Am I an idiot? Should I just admit my chance is gone?”
“No, because your chance isn’t gone,” I reply.
“You’re in the best shape of your life. You never lost your talent on the ice.
Partners may come and go, but you are still the best ice dancer out there.
Even better ice dancer than you were a figure skater, and you were stupid talented at that. So, no. Do not give up.”
“Olympic trials are in four months. Four.” She pales.
I reach across the table and cover her hand with mine. “You’ll make it. And I will be there to cheer you on. And so will the rest of the family if you just fucking tell them you lone wolf.”
She laughs and swats my hand away. “If I make it that far, I will tell them. But first… find a partner.”
I finish my drink, and she finishes hers, and we both slide out of the booth. I yawn. She looks up at me as she grabs her bag and shoulders it. “Late night?”
“I was… entertaining.”
She lifts one of those dramatic eyebrows again. I reach out and try to push it down with my index finger. She swats at my hand. “If I wandered over to Landon’s house, would he be there this morning?”
Fuck. She’s good.
“Why would you think—”
“Please. Shelby told me you flat-out said she couldn’t hit on him, and then you invite him out and spend the whole night next to him, and you guys stayed for an extra beer.
Plus, why would you stick around in this boring, barren town if it wasn’t because he’s a few blocks away? ” She smiles at her own cleverness.
“It’s not, like, a thing.” I shrug and hold the door to the cafe open so we can both head back out into the snowy morning.
“Of course not, because you refuse to let anything be a thing,” she replies. “For the record, he looks at you like you’re more delicious than brownie batter gelato.”
“Nothing is more delicious than brownie batter gelato,” I argue. “Although I would probably give that up for life for if it means we can keep this going and quiet. The odds are against us.”
“So don’t keep it quiet.” She lifts her shoulders, like it’s not a big deal.
“I told you, I’m not doing that until my career is over,” I reply. “And besides, Landon is just… He’s curious. He doesn’t need his curiosity to become this thing that he can’t get away from at press conferences for the rest of his life. Cancer is already like that, and he hates it.”
“Hmm…” Harlow says like she’s trying to decide something. She smiles up at me. “We’ll see. I have a good feeling about this, GG. As long as you get out of your own way.”
“You’ve got more of your mom in you than I thought,” I kid, and she shoves me.
“My mom’s love of love is adorable,” Harlow replies. “As long as she isn’t trying to make me fall in love. Did that once, not doing it again.”
“Never say never,” I advise, and we get to the corner where I see her car is parked. There’s a fresh dusting of snow on it. “Well, hope the new partner works out. And I’ll tell everyone I saw you and your BF canoodling at the coffee shop this morning if you need an alibi.”
“Thanks.”
I wait as she gets in her car, turns on the windshield wipers to clear the snow, and drives off. Then I head back to my place, hoping Landon is still in my bed.