Chapter Eight Within Reach #2
Then come my two closest friends on the team.
Zander Caldwell and Jayce Vaughn. They joined the right along with me, and in some ways, they are total opposites.
Zander is a literal mountain of a man with emerald green eyes and a neatly cropped beard who looks like Thor after the haircut, carrying a quiet, protective weight wherever he goes.
Jayce, on the other hand, is our fast, lean left wing, bringing his usual relaxed, poised energy to the ice like nothing in the world can shake him.
He also looks like a California surfer and a wealthy billionaire all at once, which he is.
They’re cut from completely different cloth, but they are two of the best men I've ever known.
Watching them skate out, a familiar warmth settles deep into my chest. These guys are the closest thing to a real family I’ve ever had, and I’m lucky as hell to call them my friends and my teammates.
“Jesus, Wilder, you trying to live here now or what?” Jensen asks when he spots me.
“What time did you even get here?” Owen asks, squinting at me. “You look like you played a whole game by yourself already.”
“Couldn’t sleep,” I mutter, already pushing off again like I wasn’t just standing and staring at Hadley five seconds ago.
The guys start to gather closer, their large, padded frames forming a tight huddle near the center line as the rest of the team filters out of the tunnel.
“Shocking,” Zander deadpans as he skates past, bumping Jensen playfully with his shoulder. “Guy’s got issues.”
Carson snorts. “That’s putting it mildly.”
I roll my eyes, but before I can respond, another voice rings out across the rink.
“Hadley?”
Grace is standing behind the boards, her eyes wide and jaw dropped as she gazes across the ice at the girl. Stacey is right beside her, looking just as shocked.
I glance over before I can stop myself.
Hadley has changed out of her skates and is walking along the outside of the boards. She waves in excitement and hurries toward Grace and Stacey. She just manages to step off the ice when both women reach her and pull her into a tight hug.
“What are you doing here?” Stacey demands, pulling back just enough to look at her, her grin wide. “I thought you were still in London!”
Hadley laughs and nods. “I was, but now I’m not.”
Grace narrows her eyes. “Hadley.”
“I live here now. Thank Skyler.” She winks, as if it’s just that simple.
Stacey blinks. Then she lets out a sharp, incredulous laugh. “Shut up.”
“I’m serious,” Hadley insists, smiling wider now. “I transferred.”
The guys have made their way over to the boards by the girls, looking just as stunned to see Hadley as Grace and Stacey.
“Wait, what?” Owen gawks. “You’re here now?”
Hadley nods. “Yeah.”
“Since when?” Carson asks with a grin.
“A few days ago,” she explains. “I’m going to finish school here in Denver.”
“And you didn’t tell anyone?” Jayce cuts in, skating closer with a chuckle and a blue-eyed wink. “That’s cold, Hads.”
She laughs, shrugging. “I wanted to surprise you guys.”
“Well, congrats,” Zander says, shaking his head. “You definitely did that.”
“Ugh, I have to get to the PT offices,” Stacey groans, reluctantly breaking away from the group. “We’ll talk later, okay? I need a full life update!”
“Of course!” Hadley assures Stacey, who hurries through a side door and disappears.
Grace grabs Hadley’s hands, still apparently processing the fact that Hadley is standing in front of her. “Oh, my God! You’re actually staying?”
“Yep,” Hadley nods.
Owen lets out a low whistle. “Damn. Guess we’re stuck with you now!”
“Tragic, I know,” she shoots back with a teasing grin.
Carson laughs, dropping down onto the bench behind the boards. His goalie pads click together loudly, his large frame occupying half the bench as he unstraps his helmet. “I don’t know, I think we can manage having another Sullivan hanging around.”
“Speak for yourself,” Jensen mutters. He steps closer to the boards, leaning his forearms against the top rail, before slowly lifting one heavily padded glove to press it flat over his chest. He closes his eyes, faking a grimace of absolute, mock pain.
His huge, dimpled grin completely ruins the performance. “I’m still processing the betrayal.”
“Of what?” Hadley asks, amused.
“You kept a secret,” he says, mock serious. “That hurts.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s still smiling.
Grace steps in, sliding her arm through Hadley’s. She shoots a pointed look over her shoulder at her husband. “Oh, please. Don’t listen to my hubby, Haddie. He’s just a sore loser because he and Carson bet fifty bucks that us girls would share all our girl talk with them if they asked nicely.”
Jensen chuckles, his mock pain melting into a soft look as he gazes at his wife. “Hey, watch it, wifey. It was a calculated tactical investment.”
“Clearly,” Grace laughs, turning her full attention back to Hadley, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Okay, what are you doing tonight? No excuses, because we are absolutely getting everyone together. This is a massive deal, and it is officially time to celebrate.”
Hadley’s brows shoot up toward her hairline. “What?”
“We’re going out,” Grace declares. “I don’t care if you all have practice tomorrow. This is a big deal.”
Carson lets out a low, weary groan. “It’s always a big deal with you guys.”
“And yet you always show up,” Grace shoots back.
“Because if we don't, there's a group chat trial,” Carson mutters, looking toward Jensen and Owen for backup.
“There has not been a trial,” Grace insists, her voice sweet and dangerous.
“There is absolutely a trial,” Jensen chimes in, pointing a gloved finger at his wife. “Last month, you literally presented evidence, Grace. I saw the PowerPoint.”
“You were late,” she shrugs, as if that explained the need for visual aids.
“You had screenshots!” Owen adds, his voice rising an octave. “With timestamps! I felt like I was being interrogated.”
“It was a formal inquiry into the lack of punctuality in this group,” Grace nods, looking satisfied with herself. She turns back to Hadley. “So, back to tonight. We’re celebrating. I’ll send out the invite, and if anyone is even a minute late, I still have the slides from last month.”
Hadley just laughs again, shaking her head. I hang back and watch the exchange with a tight feeling in my chest. She’s going along with this so easily. Fitting into the group like she’s always been part of it.
I’m hyper aware of every little thing about her.
It’s not intentional. I’m not trying to track her like this, but my attention keeps circling back anyway, like it’s got a mind of its own.
The way she tucks a piece of that wavy brown hair behind her ear when it falls forward, fingers lingering for just a second like she doesn’t even realize she’s doing it. The way her brown eyes move when someone’s talking to her. The way she leans in when she laughs.
Owen says something I don’t catch, something that makes her laugh again, and he bumps his shoulder into hers like it’s nothing.
My jaw tightens before I can stop it.
Jensen steps in next, saying something under his breath that makes her roll her eyes, and then he throws an arm around her shoulders in a quick side hug, squeezing once before letting go.
My hands curl into fists at my sides, the motion automatic, my fingers digging into my palms before I even realize what I’m doing.
The fuck? What is wrong with me? Jensen is a happily married man. He’d never go after Hadley. None of these guys would. Why the hell am I getting so defensive of her?
I flex my hands open again, dragging in a slow breath through my nose, forcing the tension out of my shoulders.
Fuck, I need to get a hold of myself.
I exhale slowly, dragging a hand over the back of my neck, the heat there doing nothing to cool the irritation building under my skin.
Get a fucking grip. She’s just a friend. Off-limits.
Not for me. She’s too good for me…not that she’d ever really be interested in a broken piece of shit like me anyway.
I repeat those words like a mantra that’s going to make my nerves settle, but it doesn’t stick. The feelings of possessiveness and protectiveness are still there, and that’s the real problem.
Hadley half a world away was a threat enough to my sanity, but I could at least convince myself there’s nothing more. My feelings toward her were nothing to worry about.
It’s going to be a lot harder to convince myself of that now that she’s within reach.