Chapter 51 Zephyr
Chapter Fifty-One: Zephyr
Practice starts in ten minutes and Rowan’s standing in the locker room doorway.
Nobody has said anything yet. We’re all just staring at him.
He clears his throat and shifts his weight. “Can I talk to you guys?”
Nolan looks at Asher. Asher looks at me. I look at Callum.
Callum shrugs. “What’re you doing here?”
Rowan walks in slowly. Like he’s expecting someone to throw him out. He stops in the middle of the room and looks at each of us.
“I owe you all an apology,” he starts. “What I did—sabotaging the drug tests—that was fucked up. I was stressed about keeping the captain position and I made a stupid decision. I’m sorry.”
The room is silent.
“I’m especially sorry to you, Cal.” He turns to Callum directly. “I accused you when I was the one doing it. That wasn’t right.”
Callum leans back against his locker, arms crossed. “Yeah. It was fucked.”
“I know. And I don’t expect you to forgive me. I just wanted you to know I’m sorry.”
“Are you still on the team?” Callum asks.
Rowan’s jaw tightens. “I tested positive. Coach benched me. Might be permanent. I don’t know yet.”
“Permanently?” Nolan sits forward. “That’s bullshit. It’s not like you’re addicted.”
“Doesn’t matter. I violated team policy. I used before a game. That’s grounds for suspension.”
Callum laughs. “Damn, Row.”
“Are you clean now?” I ask.
“Yeah. Been clean since the test. I fucked up once and I’m paying for it.”
Nolan stands up. “Maybe we can all get together for a vote. Give Coach no choice but to bring you back.”
Asher nods. “Team needs you, Row. We’ve been playing like shit since you stepped down.”
Rowan looks surprised. “You guys would vote me back?”
“Yeah,” Nolan says. “If it means we stop losing. Micah doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, and we fucking need you.”
I exchange a look with Callum. We’ve never particularly liked Rowan. Too much ego. Too much attitude. But Nolan’s right. The team has been falling apart without him at center.
“I vote yes,” I say.
Callum takes longer. He stares at Rowan and makes him squirm.
“Fine. I vote yes too,” Callum says.
The rest of the guys in earshot start nodding.
Relief floods Rowan’s face. “Seriously?”
“Don’t make us regret it,” Callum warns.
The locker room door slams open. Jax walks in. He sees Rowan and stops.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Team vote,” Nolan says. “We’re bringing him back.”
Jax’s eyes narrow. “Who voted?”
“All of us,” Asher says.
“Well, I vote no.”
Callum sits up. “Jax—”
“He accused you in front of everyone. And now you’re just letting him back?”
“It’s not about me,” Callum says. “It’s about the team.”
Jax looks at Rowan. Then at Callum. Then at me. “Zeff?”
“I voted yeah,” I confirm.
“Are you serious?”
“We need him. Micah’s not cutting it.”
“So we’re just going to pretend he didn’t fuck us over?”
Rowan steps forward. “Jax, I know you don’t like me. But I’m asking for a second chance. I made a mistake, and I’m trying to fix it.”
“By what? Showing up here uninvited?”
“By apologizing. By doing whatever it takes to make this right.”
Jax stares at him. The tension in the room is thick enough to choke on.
Then Jax turns to me and Callum. “You’re sure about this?”
“Yeah,” Callum says.
I nod. “We need him.”
Jax’s jaw clenches. “Fine. But only because Micah needs more practice. You fuck up again, you’re gone for good. I don’t give second chances.”
Rowan nods quickly. “Understood.”
Callum stands and walks over to Rowan. “One more thing, buddy. I’ll be captain.”
The room falls silent, watching Cal loom over Rowan.
Rowan blinks. “What?”
“You heard me. I’ll take captain. We vote you back. That’s the deal.”
“Seriously?”
I grin. “You always want to have the biggest dick, Row.”
Callum nods. “But I have the bigger dick.”
I laugh. “He does have the bigger dick.”
“Otherwise, I’m not doing it,” Callum adds.
Rowan looks between us. Then he smiles slightly. “Fine. You can be captain.”
The locker room door opens again, and Coach walks in. His eyes flare when he sees Rowan. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Rowan straightens. “Getting ready for practice, Coach.”
“The hell you are. You’re suspended.”
Asher stands. “There’s been a team vote, Coach. Everyone votes that Rowan comes back.”
“You guys don’t get to decide that.” Coach’s voice is sharp. Angry.
“But we just did,” Nolan says.
Coach glares at all of us. “It doesn’t work like that.” Then he storms out. He slams the door behind him.
The room is silent for a moment.
Then Rowan walks to his locker and starts getting dressed anyway.
“You’re really doing this?” I ask.
“Yeah. I am. If Coach benches me again, at least I tried.”
We all suit up and head out to the ice.
Coach is waiting with his arms crossed and face red.
“Melrose. Off my ice.”
“No,” Rowan says calmly.
“Excuse me?”
“I said no, Coach. The team voted me back. I’m playing.”
“This is my team. I make the decisions.”
“Then make the right one,” Callum says.
Coach looks at all of us. There’s an echo of agreement through all of us.
He shakes his head. “Fine. But you’re on probation. One mistake and you’re done. Understood?”
“Yes, Coach.”
“And Brixton?”
Callum looks up. “Yeah?”
“You’re captain now. Congratulations. Don’t screw it up.”
Callum grins, looking over at me and Jax. Then he winks at Rowan. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Coach.”
Practice is brutal. Coach rides us hard. He makes us run drills until we’re gasping.
But it works. The flow is better. Rowan at center makes everything click. Passes connect. Plays work. We actually look like a team again.
By the end of practice, I’m exhausted but satisfied.
Jax leaves early. He doesn’t say goodbye. He just grabs his bag and walks out.
Callum and I exchange looks in the locker room when he’s gone.
“Does Tiger sleep in your bed?” Callum asks quietly.
I shake my head. “Not once.”
He looks at me. Thinking. Processing.
“She always goes to Jax’s room,” I add.
“Yeah.” He licks his lips. “I’ve noticed.”
“Does it bother you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. You?”
“Yeah, I don’t know.”
We sit there in silence for a moment. Then Callum stands. He grabs his bag.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
The next morning, I’m at the house when Tiger gets back from dropping Zinnia at school.
She walks in looking tense. Shoulders tight. Face stressed.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Just tired.”
I walk over and take her hand. “Come here.”
“Zeff, I have stuff to—”
“It can wait five minutes. Come on.”
I pull her down the hall to my room and loosely close the door behind us.
She looks at me. “What are we doing?”
I cup her face and kiss her. Slow and deep.
She melts into it immediately. Her hands gripping my shirt. Her body pressing against mine.
When I pull back, she’s blushing. “What was that for?”
“You’ve been distant. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.”
“Tiger—”
“Really. I’m just stressed.”
“About what?”
She sits on the edge of my bed. “The hearing’s tomorrow. And Zinnia just started her new school. And I’m trying to get the college stuff figured out. And I feel like I’m drowning.”
I sit next to her. “What do you need?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then let me help.”
I stand and guide her to lie face-down on the bed.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Helping.”
I start massaging her shoulders. Deep and firm.
She groans immediately. “Oh my God.”
“Good?”
“So good. Thank you.”
I work my way down her back. Finding every knot. Every tight spot. Working them out with my thumbs.
She’s making these sounds. Soft moans. Little gasps. Completely relaxed.
“This is exactly what I needed,” she murmurs. “Thank you.”
I move to her lower back. Deep tissue. Pressing hard.
She arches into it. “Right there. Oh God, right there.”
The door pushes open.
Jax stands in the doorway, eyebrows raised at the view.
Tiger starts laughing. “Hi.”
“Those sounds,” Jax says. His voice rough.
I move to her legs now. Massaging her calves. Her thighs.
Tiger flips onto her back, looks at me, and then at Jax.
“You know what else would help me with stress?” she asks.
I raise an eyebrow. “What?”
She points her toes at me. Then hooks her legs around my hips. She pulls me closer and I fall over her.
“What do you need?” I ask quietly, looking at her mouth.
She pulls me down and kisses me.
Then she breaks away and looks at Jax. “You’re going to be a good boy and watch.”
I smirk over at Jax. He crosses his arms as he leans against the doorframe.
“Seriously?” he asks.
“Yeah,” she confirms.
Then she pulls me back down and kisses me again.
And I’m very aware of Jax watching. Of Tiger putting on a show. Of the way she’s touching me intently because she knows he’s there.
It’s intense. Electrifying.
I kiss her neck. She gasps. Arches.
“Zeff—”
She pulls my shirt over my head. Her hands are on my chest. My shoulders. Everywhere.
And the whole time, she keeps glancing at Jax. Making sure he’s watching.
He is. Eyes dark. Jaw tight. But he doesn’t leave.
When I start fucking her, Jax is tense. She focuses on me, kissing me, touching me. I get off knowing that I’m part of this little game she’s playing.
When I’m rubbing her clit, demanding her to come on my dick, she pulls me down and kisses me through her orgasm. I ride the wave with her and come all over her stomach. That’s when Jax leaves. She grins up at me, blushing like she can’t believe she just did that.
I kiss her nose and say, “That was really hot, Tiger.”
“Do you think he’s mad?”
I shrug. “Nah.”
Later, I’m in the kitchen with Jax, and Tiger’s in the shower.
He’s leaning against the counter. His arms are crossed. His jaw is still tight.
“I think it’s a bad idea to vote Rowan back on the team,” he says suddenly.
I look at him. “Why?”
“He has a crush on Cal.”
I think for a moment, and I’m so thrown off by the idea that I shrug. “How do you know?”
“I just do.”
“What does that have to do with the team?”
“Everything. Once Rowan finds out about this situation—” he gestures vaguely “—which he might already have an idea about, I don’t want stupid drama when Tiger already has so much going on. You know how Rowan gets. His little ‘girl’ friend made a comment at our last game.”
I nod slowly. “Yeah. It’s always a dick measuring contest with Rowan.”
Jax grabs a glass and fills it with water. He chugs it fast.
He places the cup down and snaps, “Why the fuck did she make me watch earlier?”
I shrug and try not to grin. “I don’t know.”
“What did she tell you?”
“She’s stressed about tomorrow.”
“The hearing.”
“Yeah.”
Jax sets the glass down. “I call dibs on tomorrow’s stress-fuck then.”
I laugh. “Tell Cal that.”
“Fuck Cal.”
“Pretty sure Tiger’s planning to.”
He glares at me. But there’s no heat in it.
“This is fucking crazy,” he mutters like he can’t believe it. Honestly, there’s moments where I can’t believe it either.
“Yeah,” I agree.
He runs his hand through his hair. “I don’t know if I’m ready for anyone to know.”
“They already know. They just haven’t said anything.”
“That’s different than it being confirmed.”
“You okay?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Ask me tomorrow after the hearing.”
“It’s going to go fine.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. Marcus is good at what he does. And Tiger’s a good guardian. They can see that.”
Tiger walks into the kitchen. Her hair’s wet, and she’s wearing one of my shirts.
“What are you two whispering about?” she asks.
“Nothing,” Jax says quickly.
“Right.”
He walks over and kisses her. “The hearing tomorrow. You ready?”
“No. But I’ll never be ready. So I guess it doesn’t matter.” She looks at me. Then back at him. “Thank you. Both of you.”
“Don’t thank us yet,” I say. “Wait until after tomorrow.”
We stand there in the kitchen. The three of us. And I think about how much has changed in the past few weeks.
How we went from avoiding this to embracing it. From fighting to accepting. From broken to whole.
Now that we have her, and that’s out of the way, it’s time to figure out the real life shit that truly matters.
Tomorrow is a big deal.