5. January 17, Monday
Chapter five
Ilya
As Zoey’s bold, brightly-colored outfit disappeared around the corner, Ilya watched her go longer than he meant to. Nostalgia twisted in his chest, too tangled up with something sharper—something like regret. Or dread.
Naturally, the guys pounced.
“So, what’s her story?” Tommy asked, nearly bouncing in his seat.
“Yeah,” Ian said. “You can’t introduce us to someone like that and expect no questions.”
Ilya forced a casual shrug and slid back down into his seat. “She’s an old friend.” But the words landed unevenly. Even to his own ears.
Ty and Bobby exchanged glances that had Ilya stiffening.
“An old friend from where?” Tommy pushed, leaning in with a mischievous grin that seemed to say he wouldn't let this go easily.
Ilya hesitated. Mentioning Mitch felt dicey. He didn’t know if mentioning Mitch was throwing Zoey under the bus or if he was helping prevent a future interaction that would catch her off guard.
“College,” he said finally. “We were all friends back then.” Maybe if he said it firmly enough and didn’t give any more details, they would…
The guys burst out with indiscernible follow-up questions, talking over each other and laughing.
…drop it.
Of course not.
Ilya straightened his back quickly to elicit a sharp crack and then took a deep inhale to weather the storm.
“So, she knows Mitch, Kayla, Kira…everyone?” Christian asked.
“Yup.”
“Ahhh!” Tommy pretended to swoon. “It’s like a reunion!" He even added a ridiculous eye flutter as he beamed at Ilya.
Ilya rolled his eyes, wishing, not for the first time, that Tommy would just let something, anything, go without a fight. Ilya rolled his eyes. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Come on, man,” Ian chimed in, eyes still tracking the direction Zoey had gone. “You can’t just say friend and leave it there. Is she an ex? Is she single? Married? Dating a cult leader? What’s the deal?”
“What Ian’s really asking,” Jason drawled, tipping back his protein shake like it was whiskey, “is if he’s got a shot.”
“So, what if I am?” Ian looked at Jason accusingly, then glared at Bobby and Ty, though both men had been silent up till this point. “You’re all shacked up and happy. Having great seasons. Why can’t I have a little bit of that luck?”
The men chuckled, which only served to set Ian off and he scowled darkly at them before turning frustrated eyes at Ilya, who Ian hadn’t realized wasn’t laughing at him.
“So, yeah. I want to know her story so I can know if I can ask her out. Sue me.” Ian’s prickly attitude hadn’t been around much in the recent months, but as his performance on the ice slipped, apparently so did his hold on his inner asshole.
“Reel it in, kid. I’m the only one here not giving you shit and you’re looking at me like I’m the asshole here.” Ilya said it quietly, but even so, the table quieted as they all registered the ‘captain voice.’
By the way Ian’s face turned red at being called ‘kid,’ Ilya knew he pissed him off. But what the hell? If Ian was going to act like a kid, Ilya was going to refer to him as one.
Before Ian could retort, Jason threw his own gas on the fire.
“Ian, I don’t think you’re gonna want to ask her out.
I scoped it out. She didn’t have a wedding ring, but do you have eyes, man?
Ilya got weirdly protective real fast for someone claiming she’s just a friend.
No matter how hard he tried to play it off as sibling affection. ”
Siblings. Fucking hell. But at least his semester of theater classes were still paying off.
Tommy cocked his head to the side and inspected Ilya. “You’re right. He doesn’t do that shit with Kira.”
Ilya scowled at him until Ty chimed in from across the table. “You did wrap her up real close. And what was with all the hugging? Since when are you a hugger?”
Ilya ground his teeth together as he narrowed his eyes on Ty The Traitor.
“I’d be a hugger too if it meant cuddling up against that,” Ian mumbled under his breath.
Ilya shot him a small grin, relieved Ian decided to let go of his hissy fit and turned back to the others. “Relax. We’re just friends. Always have been.”
Tommy's laughter filled the air, his broad shoulders shaking as he raised an eyebrow at Ilya, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
"If that's just friends, then I need to reconsider what my relationship status is with you.
I see your junk on the regular. We might be more than just friends and never even knew it.
My tax landscape is going to seriously change if I can mark married filing jointly. "
The guys burst into laughter, lightening the mood, and cutting through the heavy tension that had settled moments before.
Ilya tried not to let his shoulders dip with the force of his exhale.
Trust Tommy to turn even the most awkward situations into something laughable.
Even so, he needed to come clean, if for nothing else, then to just put a stop to the teasing that was bound to be never-ending if he didn’t nip it here.
"All right, all right," Ilya said, raising his hands so they’d quiet down and listen. "I may have had a…small thing for her…once upon a time…but nothing ever happened between Zoey and me. And nothing ever will." Feeling all the guys eyes on him, Ilya braced and looked at Bobby, unsure what to do.
Bobby sighed and dropped the reveal so Ilya wouldn’t have to. "She’s Mitch’s ex-wife."
The revelation prompted a collective groan from the guys as they all leaned back from the table as if they smelt something noxious.
Tommy slapped Ilya hard on the back, sympathy etched on his face. "Oh man, that's rough. Best friend's ex? That’s a…well…that’s a tough one."
Ty and Bobby exchanged knowing glances and Ilya did his best to ignore their silent exchange.
"Seriously?" Ian asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "How did you manage to keep that a secret?"
Bobby raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Did you manage to keep it a secret? Or did Mitch know?”
"Mitch did not know.” Ilya leveled a heavy look at the small group of men at their table.
“And he never will. Neither will she. Nothing can come of it, so there’s no use talking about it.
Ever again.” After he received a few nods, he adjusted his seat and leaned back a bit more so he could twirl his thumbs in his lap under the table.
He tried to project as much finality as possible in his expression. Inside, however, his thoughts were anything but casual as he remembered the undeniable pull he’d felt toward Zoey all those years and the guilt that accompanied it.
Luckily, the guys at the table were respectful of the decree and fell silent, lost in their own thoughts.
Phew.
As Ilya was taking a steadying breath and thinking of a new topic to introduce, Jason burst into the silence.
"Seriously, dude, that must have fucking sucked.” The guys immediately jumped back into it and started amongst themselves again, their voices a buzz that served to amplify the headache that Ilya didn’t know he even had.
“And now she’s here? That’s going to be so fucking awkward," Jason continued, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, seeing the forbidden fruit daily..."
Tommy groaned and patted Ilya’s back like they were at a funeral and he needed consoling.
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," Ilya ground out, shifting his now rapidly twirling thumbs, and instead squeezing the webbing of his left thumb. “Also, thanks for letting it drop.” He let the irritation seep into his voice but it didn’t quiet any of his teammates.
Jason shrugged somewhat apologetically. “I’m a verbal processor, man.
It’s how I work through things. If I don’t talk it out, it will fester within me, and I’ll say something at the wrong time.
Let me get it out now and we’ll be good.
” He finished with a petulantly mumbled, “Not trying to be a dick.” Sure enough, Jason’s expression was sincere and focused blankly on something across the room.
Like he was indeed trying to process it all.
Join the fucking club. Ilya had been trying to process it for more than a decade…so he wasn’t sure talking it out would help at this point.
But Jason was totally right.
How was Ilya supposed to see her all the time and not dive into a depression spiral of guilt and longing?
Just remembering the way Zoey used to laugh and how her eyes crinkled when she smiled made his heart hurt.
Being near her always made him feel alive.
And now, after so many years apart, she was back in his life, newly single, and stirring up feelings he'd long buried.
Ian looked up from his side conversation with Christian, a frown marring his face, like he just realized something. "Wait. You’ve had a thing for her for a decade, and you and Zoey… never…uh…nevered?" Ian asked, wiggling his eyebrows meaningfully.
“It’s not that unusual,” Ilya mumbled. “Plus, she was with my friend.”
“But like…you clearly really like her…and they’ve been separated for a while…so…why is she forbidden fruit?” Ian pushed.
Ilya ground his teeth together.
“Some of us take longer than others to get the girl.” Bobby chimed in without looking up from the worn paperback that he had pulled out a few minutes prior.
Ty chuckled and elbowed him. “That’s right. The tortoise and the hare.”
“Exactly. The slow and patient hunters.” Bobby agreed with a grin and went back to his book.
“Except…Ilya’s not hunting…” Tommy looked back to Ilya with an intrigued expression. “Are you…hunting?”
“No! I’m not hunting.” Fucking hell. What had Ilya done in a past life to deserve this?
“Or tortoising?”
Ilya gave Tommy an exhausted look and the thick man put his tattooed hands out in a ‘hear me out’ gesture.
“Because, dude, if you’re tortoising this bitch, and letting her get married to your best friend, to then watch their marriage fall apart so you can swoop in and pick up the pieces… dude. That is baller.”