Chapter 46 Zeke
forty-six
Zeke
Ican’t believe I missed it.” Avalon sighs. “Sounds like it was one hell of a game.”
“It would’ve been even better if my girlfriend was there,” I tease. “But she was too busy with classes to show up.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m trying to get good grades to get into medical school.” She rolls her eyes. “If my sexy boyfriend doesn’t become rich in the NHL, I’ll have to find some way to support the both of us.”
“Oh yeah?” I bite my lip, looking her up and down. “You gonna be my sugar momma?”
“It would be my pleasure.”
“Does that mean I’m not just your boy toy?” I hook my index finger under her chin and lift her head to look at me.
“I assumed that was pretty clear the second I told you I loved you.” She grins. “But if you need more proof, how does meeting your friends sound?”
“Yeah?” I sit up. “You really want to?”
“I do. I don’t know why I’ve put it off for so long,” Avalon continues.
“I’ve met Ember, and she’s great. Especially since she hasn’t pushed for us to go public.
And from what she’s told me about the girls, they seem great, and I’ve never really had female friends.
So, yeah, I think I’d really like to meet them. ”
“And I know they’ll be really happy to finally meet you,” I reply. “I think a few of them have suspected something’s up with me these past few months, but with my mom being in the hospital and now being home, I think they just assumed my good mood was from that.”
“Well, I can’t take all the credit for your good mood. Your mom being home is the real reason for your mood. When you called me after your win, you talked more about your mom being there to witness it than the win itself.”
“Yeah.” I smile. “She hasn’t seen me play in ages, so having her around for a game like that… no feeling will ever compare.”
“Not even your NHL debut?”
“Not if my mom’s not there for it.”
I wrap Avalon in my arms, pulling her closer to me, our bodies sinking together.
“She will be, though.” I smile. “For the first time in a long time, my hope doesn’t feel—”
“Fake?”
“Yeah. My mom’s healthier than ever, and being home has done wonders for her. It feels like she’s alive, you know? Like she’s finally able to live her life after being unable to for years.”
“I get that,” she responds. “I’ve only known her for a couple of months, but the last time I saw her, she just looked so happy.”
“What can I say? You have that effect on the Harris’s.”
She rolls her eyes, pushing my body away from hers.
“Shut up,” she mumbles. “I mean, she looked free. Relieved. Nothing like she did when I met her in the hospital. Her happiness didn’t seem forced.”
“Remission looks good on her,” I agree. “And I know she’ll be thrilled to see you at the Fourth of July party the guys and I host. She’s been nagging me to introduce you to them since you met her.”
“Please tell me, you told her I was the one hesitating.”
“I just said we were waiting for the right moment.”
“And today is the day.”
Avalon has class right now, but I’ll pick her up and bring her back to my place once she's done. It’ll be the first time she’s been here since Jeremy almost caught us in my bedroom last year.
I haven’t really figured out what to tell them. Do we just walk in, and I say this is my girlfriend, Avalon, or do I have to explain how I’ve hidden a girlfriend for so long?
I’m just hoping everyone’s home tonight. It wouldn’t feel right to introduce her to some of the guys and the rest find out later.
It’s crazy to think the next time I come home, I’ll be bringing my girlfriend in with me, and no one has a clue except Ember.
I place the Wendy’s bag between my teeth, fish out my house key, and unlock the door. I push it open and see Ember sitting on the couch and Declan staring at her from a few feet away.
“Hey guys,” I say, but when I notice the look on their faces, my eyes go wide. Please tell me I haven’t walked in on them getting ready to have sex… again.
In all fairness, it was my fault for not knocking every time I entered Declan’s room. However, before Ember moved into the house, sexy time wasn’t even something they were considering.
“Oh shit, did I interrupt sexy time again?”
“Zeke,” Declan says, his voice low and anxious.
“What’s going on?” I ask, now concerned that I just walked into Ember and Declan’s second breakup of the year.
But with their eyes burning into me, I feel like something much different is going on.
“Um, it’s your mom.”
I don’t know if there’s more to Declan’s sentence; truthfully, if there is, I don’t care to hear it.
I don’t know how I got to my truck, but I’m out of the driveway before I can even process what I’m about to head into.
The only thing I do know is that my mom’s back at Westlake; they’re the only hospital that has our home phone number in their system.
Which means I have an hour-long drive without knowing what’s going on. I could call the hospital. I should call them, but if I do, I'll get whatever news I’m going to get sooner. Which means it’ll be real.
And I don’t know if I’m ready for it to be real yet.