Chapter 9 Brielle #3
“Men!” Everett shouts, gaining their attention. “Today we celebrate Dougie’s commitment to the Adders.”
Everyone cheers, thrusting their hockey sticks into the air.
Each team has a group of six individuals, all wearing elbow and knees pads. Opposite sides of the ice hold football goalposts with a man standing on the inside of each, presumably the goalies.
Tilly approaches my side. “Well, well, well. Looks like someone fancies you .” She takes two fingers and dances them up my upper arm.
“Oh, he is just playing games with me,” I reply.
Then Tilly crosses her arms. “Then play back! ”
Her words send some sort of irritation down my spine. “Tilly, they are all playing with us. They could have any woman in town and have decided to mess around with our emotions. This is why I focus on work and stay in my own lane, instead of going outside my comfort zone.”
She tsks at me. “You mean not living. You have chosen not to live, and instead drown yourself in work and focus on ungrateful bosses and patients to keep your mind busy and block out any thoughts bothering you. When you receive the smallest amount of endearment, you become repulsed by the kindness and take it to be a cynical gesture.”
“Men always have ulterior motives, Tilly, they can’t be—”
Before I can finish my statement, Tilly interrupts me.
“What, Brielle? Trusted? They can’t be trusted?
Yet you started working for them. You got into the vehicle with them.
So help me make sense of your brain—or instead, swallow your words and allow life to let you live a little please.
I’m begging you, for my sake.” Tilly stares me down with her gorgeous blue eyes, her curly blond bob gleaming in the casted sunlight.
I cast my eyes on the ground, digesting the words she has given me.
“Brielle, I’m not trying to be a hard-ass on you.
Clearly you have been through something.
I’m not going to pry, but you can either continue to stare at the past and let it consume you, or you can approach the future with open arms. You may get hurt, you may have fun, or you may find new, wonderful things.
It is your decision to choose what you want to do. ”
Peering up at her, I find her studying the hockey game. Her eyes are following Bobby, a small smirk adorning her gorgeous face.
Tilly’s words settle within my mind as I find Everett chasing a small circular black object on the ice.
What would it hurt to live a little?
To accept the attention from Everett?
Though the probability of getting hurt would be high, Everett doesn’t appear to be like any of the men I’ve met in my life before. One dire fact still remains the same: he is a gangster and a fallout could be inevitable.
We continue to watch the men play for two periods. They fly back and forth upon the ice, chasing after the tiny black puck. During the final period, tempers begin to rise, as they were tied going into it.
Biscuit surprisingly makes the latest goal, then skates past Bobby while placing his thumb against his nose, wiggling his fingers in a mocking fashion while sticking out his tongue.
Bobby responds to Biscuit with a vulgar gesture as the men from Biscuit’s team laugh.
Among those members is Everett, who is staring straight at me.
“Goodness.” Tilly nudges her elbow into my arm. “The way he is looking at you could melt the ice, deary!” She gives a chuckle then sits down on the bench next to me.
He skates towards the center of the pond, facing off with Bobby for the beginning of the next period.
As the referee tosses the puck between the men, his whistle resonates across the park.
The men ferociously slap their sticks together, trying to gain control over the puck. Everett wins, skating the puck toward Bobby’s team’s goalie until Kenneth slams into his side.
A large thud rings out across the ice as Kenneth topples over Everett.
I stand with my hands over my mouth as I hear Tilly mutter, “Shit!”
As quickly as Kenneth slammed into Everett, a fight erupts between the two men. Their teammates encircle them, trying to pull the men off one another as they throw punches at each other.
Tilly starts laughing! “Tilly!” I turn to face her.
“What!? This is hockey, Bri! They fight. My brothers did this all the time! It’s normal. Let them get their testosterone worked out.” She waves a nonchalant hand in my direction as she continues to giggle at the men.
After they cease their malarkey, Kenneth, Bobby, Biscuit and Everett are dragged off the ice by their respective teammates.
“Get off me!” Kenneth yells, as he shoves Gregory’s hand from his shoulder.
“What the fuck, Ken!” Everett states, wiping the blood from his busted eyebrow. His lip is swollen, his shirt bloodied. Kenneth looks similarly after their quarrel .
“My brother, I was just ensuring the utilization of our nurses. Considering they’re here, why not give them something to do? Like fix your face?” Kenneth smiles, his teeth bloodied.
Tilly steps up. “All right, boys. Bobby and Kenneth with me. Biscuit and Everett, go to Bri. We’ll get ya fixed up. Can’t ’ave ya ruining Dougie’s celebration day, eh?”
Tilly guides the men to a bench and begins aiding them.
I grab my first aid kit and set up on the bench closest to us.
Luckily Biscuit only needs a couple butterfly bandages to his nose and a pack of ice.
“Goodness, Biscuit, stop getting yourself into silly situations and starting trouble,” I state.
“But miss, trouble’s my other nickname,” he replies, cracking a toothy grin. His adorable gap teeth cause my heart to warm. I have a soft spot for this big lug.
After I finish cleaning the blood off his face, I send him back to the ice. Grabbing some sutures, I look over at Everett. It is ridiculous that he still looks attractive while this bruised and beaten.
“What’s my prognosis?” he asks.
“Well.” I sit beside him on the bench and get the suture kit ready. “I need to place a couple sutures on your eyebrow. I’m going to clean it off, so this may sting some.”
Feeling his gaze observe every one of my movements, I tenderly wipe his eyebrow with medicinal gauze. He doesn’t even wince.
“I’m going to begin the sutures,” I warn, but he just continues to watch me.
My heart begins to beat a little faster within my chest.
I can feel the sweat gathering in my hands.
“I can’t concentrate when you are staring at me like that,” I state harshly.
Everett cocks a half smile. “Then where should I be looking?” he asks.
“I don’t know, but just stop looking predatory.” Jesus , was that the best retort I could come up with? I want to scold myself internally but need to focus on the task at hand.
“All right, I’ll stare at your neck. I quite like your neck. It is delicate,” he states as I smoothly thread the suture through his brow .
“Never heard of anyone liking a neck before,” I reply, threading another suture.
“Oh? When I see your neck, I want to lick it. See what you taste like and wrap my hand around it.” At his words I yelp. My face shoots down to glare at him as my hand accidentally jerks, pulling the suture tightly across his brow.
“Oh shit!” I shout my concern. “I am so sorry!”
He chuckles. Chuckles at me.
“That’s all right, little dove. I like a little pain.” With that statement I hold up, the suture needle with my right hand and place my forehead into my left palm. “I can’t handle you right now,” I mutter, drowning in discomfort.
Then I feel him shift closer to me, and he mutters into my ear, “I’ll teach you how to handle me.”
“Everett!” I shout, then lift my head up too swiftly, knocking the back of my head into his nose.
“Fuck!” Everett shouts.
I clutch the back of my head with my free hand. “I’m so sorry! Oh God, I’m so fucking sorry!”
I reach out with my right hand, which is still clasping the needle, and gently brush my other fingers across his nose.
“It isn’t bleeding, so that’s good,” I exclaim sincerely.
“You are absolutely adorable,” Everett tells me, and I feel my face flush.
I take an inhale through my nose. “You really have a way with words. Are you like this with all women?” I ask.
His eyes search mine. “No. You’re the only one I have ever wanted to be like this —” he gestures between us “—with.”
“I don’t appreciate you lying to me,” I boldly state as I finish up my sutures on his eyebrow.
Grasping for the gauze from my pack to clean off the blood from his brow, he carefully grabs my wrist. “I would never lie to you, Brielle.”
We sit entranced with one another, our faces so close.
I can feel his breath on my cheek as he leans in closer, appearing to wait on bated breath for a kiss.
Slowly we move toward each other.
His nose caresses mine.
Then I jump as loud cheers come from the ice rink .
Peering over, I find that Bobby scored the winning goal for their team, ending the third period.
How long have we been sitting here?
Looking over to Everett, I find him standing, taking off his elbow and knee pads. “We need to get ready to go to the induction ceremony.”
As everyone leaves the rink, we return to the vehicles and embark toward “the farm.”
We sit in the back of Everett’s vehicle, but with Douglas riding along with us.
My mind is preoccupied, thinking of the kiss that almost occurred. I touch my lips, wondering what his would have felt like and realizing I haven’t kissed a man in years.
My thoughts are interrupted when I hear Douglas state, “I’m a bit nervous, boss, but thank you for letting me do this. I’ve been wanting to since you saved my family.”
Everett doesn’t say a word but smiles back at Douglas and nods.
Night has fallen by the time we arrive at the farm. We encroach upon a large wooden barn. A vast forest surrounds the area, alongside horse stables and a couple other barns.
Everett helps me out of the vehicle and we embark to the largest of the barns.