Chapter 34
NORA
We spent the night in Portland, and Alex introduced me to his extra-large, very luxurious shower.
Also his extra large, very luxurious bed.
But he was anxious to get back to Rebel so we boarded Declan’s plane late morning and we’re back in Louisiana in plenty of time for Alex to get ready for the Revelers first game.
We had thought about trying to keep his return a surprise for everyone, making a big dramatic moment out of him skating on the ice, but it is impossible to keep secrets in Rebel, so instead, Alex and Beckett showed Sam the Sportsman around town and accompanied him to his first crawfish boil. Which he loved, by the way.
Everything was a rousing success.
It turned out that I don’t actually have to be physically present in Rebel every hour of the day for fun and frivolity to reign.
My friends made sure that every single detail was triple checked, and not only was there enough crawfish for everyone, but Sutton had even taught everyone the lyrics and basic choreography so they could sing and dance in the stands along with the teams.
It was some of the most fun I had ever had, and I spent most of the evening in tears.
Happy tears.
“That’s Declan O’Grady, right?” Andi asks, her attention on the owner’s box.
“Yep,” I confirm.
“Who are those people with him?”
“The woman is Iris Lee, she’s his…assistant, I guess? Friend. Bodyguard.”
“Bodyguard?” Everly asks, brows up. “Wow.”
I shrug. “Yeah. And the guy is Miles Stafford. He’s Astrid’s best friend and physical therapist.”
“Oh yeah, I read about him,” Everly said. “So they just hopped on the plane with you.”
“Well, it’s Declan’s plane,” I point out with a laugh.
“Right.”
“They’re very nice. I mean Iris and Miles are. Declan is…”
“Fucking hot,” Everly says.
“Rich as fuck,” Andi adds.
I nod. “Yes. Those. Also intimidating. And quiet.”
“He’s not sitting with Astrid,” Andi points out.
“I think it’s that Astrid isn’t sitting with him,” I say, glancing at our gorgeous owner, who’s sitting on the other side of Ruth and Thea, in the first row with us, straight across from the benches.
“Alex is aware that if he gets another penalty, he’s going to have to lip-synch all by himself, right?” Everly asks.
“Uh…probably,” I say, my eyes on the man who seems to actually be having the time of his life.
I’m not at all sure he knows what happens on his next penalty. It’s possible that Alex has just said fuck it and given up on trying to keep track of the rules and regulations of bonkers hockey.
It would be a definite moment of growth, of course, but he may have just decided to roll with it and do whatever they tell him when it’s time. He’s already smiling, laughing, and dancing with energy, which is a huge change.
That doesn’t mean he’s dancing well. He’s just doing it energetically.
“It seems to me like he’s trying to get another penalty,” Sutton says. She looks at me. “Maybe he wants to lip-synch by himself.”
I laugh. “There is no way Alex Olsen wants to lip-sync solo. I promise you.”
Alex skates up to Zeke Landry and throws an elbow. Zeke jerks back, almost comically, then falls to the ice.
“That was the fakest thing I have ever seen,” Ruth says.
“I thought you guys choreographed fights,” Everly says to Sutton.
“We have. And they’re way better than that. That is so obvious. I don’t think Alex even touched him.”
It doesn’t seem to matter. The referee skates up, blows his whistle, and indicates that Alex just received a second penalty.
“Well, you know what that means, fans,” I say into the microphone. “Time for another vote. Should Alex go sit on the bench and wear the giant crown that says Penalty King for four minutes, or are we gonna let him lip-synch for one minute and come back into the game?”
People immediately start voting on their phones, and within seconds, it’s obvious that everyone wants to see the big grumpy center at center ice, lip-syncing.
“Looks like someone needs to get that man a microphone,” I say.
Even though it’s lip-syncing, we have a giant plastic microphone for the guys to use.
Instead, however, I see Rougie, our mascot, skate out with what looks like a real microphone. That’s confirmed when Alex switches it on.
“Oh my God, he’s actually going to sing,” Andi says.
I’m frowning. “Why would he do that?”
As far as I know, Alex hates lip syncing, but obviously, he would hate singing even more.
Still, I do my part. “Okay, everyone, there’s a multiple-choice in the app. Pick which song you’d like to see Alex perform.”
But when I look down, no one is voting.
I frown and look up quickly. “Is the app not working?” I ask Sutton.
She grins and points.
Alex is at center ice in the middle of the spotlight. The music starts.
And he starts to sing. No lip syncing, and it’s not one of the choices in the app.
It’s Elvis’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.
And he sings it perfectly. Beautifully. Like beautifully enough that I’m hot and tingly and my panties are wet by the time he’s done.
Because his eyes never leave me the entire time.
It was one thing for us to goof around and then for him to kiss me at center ice in Portland.
There are kiss cams and all kinds of things that happen in professional hockey arenas.
It was funny, and most of the people in the stands really had no idea who I was.
They probably thought the whole thing was a PR stunt or something.
Here, that is not the case. Everyone knows who I am. Everyone knows who Alex is.
And they just found out today that he has given up a professional coaching job to stay with all of us in Rebel.
It looks like he’s adding an exclamation point to the end of that announcement.
And Alex Olsen doesn’t use exclamation points.
When he’s finished, the crowd literally goes wild.
There’s cheering, applause, clapping, and stomping.
And I am madly, deeply in love.
“Oh my God,” Andi says. “You know that people are going to be asking him to run for mayor after Harley’s next terms up.”
I laugh. “He just moved here. A week ago, people were voting for Brussels sprouts instead of him.”
She nods. “That’s my point. The guy turned the entire town around in their opinion of him so fast. I wonder if there’s anything he can’t do.”
With his penalty taken care of, the other players have returned to the ice, and play has started up again.
But whistles are blowing shrilly.
Players and referees are all crowded together at one end of the ice, and when they part, we see that they are pulling Beckett and Lawson off of one another.
Sutton sighs. “There might be one thing he can’t do—make my brother and Lawson get along.”
Everly looks at Sutton with one brow up. “Well, that’s the trouble with bad boys.”
Sutton shakes her head. “What do you mean?”
“You just can’t totally take the bad out of them… nor would you want to. No matter what your brother says.”
I take in Everly’s sly grin, then study Sutton.
She doesn’t say anything. Her gaze is locked on the ice. And I don’t think she’s raptly fascinated by her brother.
I find Alex where he’s standing between Beckett and Lawson, looking frustrated.
Now there’s the Alex Olsen I know and love.
Oh, who am I kidding? I love all versions of Alex Olsen.
Beckett lunges toward Lawson again, and Alex throws up his hand, bracing it against Beckett’s chest. He says something to him, then something to Lawson.
“Should we think about putting them on separate teams?” I ask Astrid.
She looks at me with wide eyes. “Absolutely not. This drama is part of the fun.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “I wish I knew what the problem was.”
“I, uh…”
We all look over at Sutton. Her cheeks are pink when she finally meets my eyes.
“So, it’s kind of a long, embarrassing story but…”
“But what?” Everly asks when Sutton pauses.
Sutton grimaces. “I’m pretty sure this is my fault.”
We all turn to face her as one unit.
“What is?” I ask.
“I mean… they definitely already didn’t get along,” Sutton says. “But…things between Beckett and Lawson are worse now.” She sighs. “And I think it’s because of me.”
“Go on,” Andi says.
Sutton looks from me to Andi to Everly to Thea to Astrid, then back to me.
“I can’t look at you when I say this.” She covers her eyes with one hand.
“I, um…might have written down something that…um…indicated that I kind-of, maybe, was thinking that…Lawson would be…um…a good person to, uh, ask to…um…teach me about sex.”
She rushes through those last four words, but even with the hockey game noise, we hear what she says clearly enough.
I feel my eyes widen. I see everyone else’s eyes widen.
Then she drops her hand, takes a breath, and says, “And Beckett read it.”
My mouth drops open.
Andi’s too.
Thea gasps.
Ruth is, thankfully, engrossed in the game.
Everly grins and pats Sutton on the back. “Oh, yeah, this is definitely your fault.”
I turn and look back at the ice.
I’m going to have to fill Alex in. He should know why he has to pull Lawson and Beckett apart constantly.
And why it might get worse.
He's definitely going to grumble and roll his eyes when he hears this.
But I feel my grin slowly spread as the time ticks down to the first intermission and I see Rougie and Rascal, the mascots getting ready to skate onto the ice with giant inflatable hockey sticks, remember that the Zamboni is decorated like a Mardi Gras float, scan the crowd and see people eating purple, green, and yellow popcorn, and drinking cups of Swamp Water.
The seats are filled with people who I usually see at club meetings and town festivities.
I find the section where Harley, Leo, Wilson, Brewser, and Bruce are sitting.
They’re clearly having a wonderful time.
Leo is holding the WELCOME ALEX OLSEN sign that they had been carrying at the airport when they’d gone to pick Alex up, but they crossed out the LCOME and turned it into LOVE so the sign now reads WELOVE ALEX OLSEN. I love them so much.
Muriel and Patty are sitting three rows up behind the players’ benches.
Patty is dressed in the Rascals' colors of green, black, and silver. Muriel is in Revelers’ purple, gold, and green.
She also recycled a sign. The protest sign that once said “Go Home Alex Olsen” now reads, “Welcome Home, Alex Olsen!”
My eyes well up, again, with happy tears.
It’s all wonderful, fun, and happy.
And yes, bonkers.
In other words, it’s perfect.
Thank you so much for reading Just Don’t Call It Love! I hope you loved Nora and Alex’s story!