Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Abby
Being back in my hometown without my best friend has its drawbacks, and being lonely is one of them.
Landon and Levi are always at practice or away, and I’m often home alone with my thoughts.
I have been keeping myself busy by filming content every chance I get, and I have been growing my subscribers day by day.
I’m shocked at how many want to watch even though they don’t get explicit content.
My phone vibrates, and it’s a text from Tate, which is even more shocking since I said our next catch-up would be a date. I sent him my number anyway because I said I would, but I figured since I hadn’t heard from him that I’d scared him away.
Tate
So I have been thinking about our date.
Clearly he didn’t miss me mentioning that like I’d hoped.
Me
I thought I scared you away with that word.
Tate
Are you taking it back?
I ponder for a second—am I taking it back?
Me
That depends. I completely understand if it made things weird.
Tate
I don’t want you to take it back. I was hoping you would be free for dinner tonight.
Me
I would love that.
Tate
Then it’s a date. I’ll pick you up at 8pm if that suits you.
Me
See you then
“Holy fuck!” I squeal. “He wants to take me on a date.”
“Who wants to take you on a date?” Levi asks as he walks into my room. I didn’t hear him come in.
“Someone,” I say, trying to gauge his reaction.
I watch him warily as he gets closer, a smirk on his lips, then he snatches my phone from my hands and takes off running. That asshole! I was going to tell him—I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t complicate things further for us.
“Levi, get your ass back here!” I yell, taking chase.
“No way. LANDON! Abby has a date.”
I sprint after him, down the stairs and toward the living room, where I collide with Landon. He wraps an arm around my waist to stop me from falling on my ass.
“You have a date?” he asks, and I nod as he releases his hold on me.
“Yup, I sure do. And I need to find your brother and get my phone back because I have an hour to get ready before he gets here.”
Levi saunters into the hallway where we’re standing. “You could have just said you were going out with Tate.”
He hands me my phone back, and I look up to see that both Landon and Levi are staring at me. “What? Tate asked me on a date, and I said yes. We had breakfast last week, and he’s pretty cool.”
“Landon looks like his brain is about to short-circuit,” Levi chokes out through his laughter.
“It’s really not that big of a deal. He seems nice, and he knows about us and our history. I mentioned how maybe I should start dating, as I haven’t since everything went down between us, so he is just being nice and taking me out.”
“Are you going to fuck him?” Landon asks abruptly, and Levi snorts.
“Excuse the fuck out of me, but what sort of question is that? I get that you might be feeling some kind of way about only being able to be with him with a mask on, but you don’t need to project that onto me.”
I turn away from Landon, and he grabs my shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“So you should be,” I say, shrugging his hand off and storming back up to my room.
Levi’s laughter is followed by an “oomph” echoing down the long-ass hallway behind me.
Once I reach my room, I shower, shave, and do my makeup.
I don’t have time to overthink my outfit, and Tate never mentioned where he was taking me, so I don’t know if it needs to be casual or dressy, and I regret not asking.
I pull on a long-sleeved black dress that hugs my waist and hips, black tights, ankle boots, and find a small black purse just big enough to hold my phone.
Blow-drying my hair takes longer than expected, and I’m almost done when the front doorbell rings.
Shit, there is no way one of the guys won’t answer.
I quickly decide that my hair is done enough and dart out of my room.
As I suspected, Landon and Levi are standing in the foyer, Landon with his arms crossed over his chest, and Levi with a grin plastered across his face that tells me he’s about to cause problems. The doorbell rings again, and Landon’s jaw tightens.
“I’ll get it,” I say, moving past them both before either can make a move.
I open the door to find Tate looking absolutely gorgeous in dark jeans and a fitted henley that clings to his chest, making my mouth go dry.
“Hey,” he says. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself,” I say, stepping forward to close the door behind me.
Except the door bounces back as Levi wedges his body in the doorway, his grin so big it might split open his face, so I growl at him.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Coach Tate,” Levi says, his tone laced with amusement. “Fancy seeing you here.”
I shoot Levi a look that could kill. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Levi asks innocently. “I’m just saying hello to my assistant coach. That’s friendly enough, isn’t it, Landon?”
Landon steps up beside his brother, his expression unreadable. “Very friendly, Levi. So, Tate, what are your intentions with Abby exactly?”
Tate’s face flushes, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck nervously. He glances at me, clearly looking for backup.
“His intention is to take me to dinner,” I snap. “Which is none of your business.”
“Everything about you is our business,” Landon says.
“Oh, is it?” I step closer to Landon, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. “Because last I checked, we are not together anymore. So are you going to stand here and interrogate every man who shows up at the door?”
Levi lets out a low whistle. “She’s got a point, bro.”
“I’m not interrogating him,” Landon grits out. “I’m asking questions. Perfectly reasonable questions about his intentions because Leila would want to know.”
I huff in annoyance and cross my arms. He’s right, though; this is exactly something Leila would do.
“His intention is to take me to dinner,” I repeat, slower this time. “Not to marry me, not to father my children, not to move in and take over the house. Just dinner between two adults.”
Tate clears his throat, clearly uncomfortable with the situation unfolding in front of him. I can’t blame him. The sexual tension and possessiveness radiating off Landon and Levi is probably overwhelming for someone who doesn’t know them the way I do.
“So how long are you planning to have her out?” Landon asks, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter, grabbing Tate’s arm. “Levi, Landon . . . do not wait up for me.”
“Where are you going?” Levi calls out as I pull Tate down the walkway toward his car.
“Out,” I call back over my shoulder. “Away from you two psychos.”
Landon says something to Levi, but I don’t care to hear what it is because they are intentionally being dicks. I pull open the passenger door of Tate’s car and slide into the seat, then slam it shut.
Tate climbs into the driver’s seat, his hands clenching around the steering wheel as he takes a deep breath.
“So,” he says carefully, “are they always like that with you?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” I admit, watching him carefully as he pulls out of the driveway. “I’m sorry about that. They’re overprotective and territorial and apparently incapable of understanding that I’m a grown woman who can make her own decisions.”
“It’s fine,” Tate says, but there’s a tension in his shoulders that tells me it’s not. “They clearly care about you.”
“They care about controlling me, apparently,” I correct, but I soften my tone because it’s not his fault the Kane brothers are idiots. “But we’re here and they’re back there, which means we can have a nice night with no more interruptions. Then I can kick them in the dicks when I get home.”
Tate glances over at me, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “I was hoping for that. It’s been a while since I have gone out to dinner with a beautiful woman.”
The drive takes us to a part of town I haven’t been to since I was in college, down toward the riverfront where food trucks are lined up along the water. It’s casual—and honestly, kind of perfect.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Tate says as he parks the car. “The food is incredible here.”
“No, I love this,” I say, and I mean it.
We walk along the row of food trucks, looking at the menus written on chalkboards and displayed on the sides of the trucks. There’s a Thai truck, a taco truck, a burger place, and my favorite, a Korean BBQ food truck with a line of people waiting.
“The Korean place has the best short ribs,” Tate says, nodding toward it. “But their bibimbap is also amazing if you’re in the mood for something different.”
We get in line and order. I choose the bibimbap while Tate gets the short ribs, then we find a picnic table overlooking the river and settle down with our food.
“This looks really good,” I say as I mix my bibimbap together, the egg yolk running into the rice and vegetables. I taste it and it’s absolutely delicious.
“Told you,” Tate says, taking a bite of his short ribs. Some of the sauce gets on his chin, and I reach over with a napkin to wipe it away without thinking.
He freezes at my touch, his eyes meeting mine. There’s a moment between us that’s different from the intense sexual tension with Landon and Levi.
“Sorry,” I say, pulling my hand back.
“Don’t be,” he says softly.
We eat and talk as the sun sets over the river.
The conversation is nice; I forgot what it was like to get to know someone and not just jump into bed with them.
Since being apart from Landon and Levi, I wasn’t a nun, but I didn’t date.
I was too scared to get hurt again. But if this is what I was missing, maybe I should have started sooner.
“Do you regret it?” I ask quietly. “Not getting to stay on the ice.”
“Some days,” he admits. “But mostly I’m trying to find how to make my life meaningful. How I can still influence the game and make an impact. It’s just different from how I imagined.”
“That’s very mature of you,” I tease. “And here I thought you were just a hockey guy who didn’t think about anything deeper than the next game.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “You really don’t know me very well, do you?”
“Not yet,” I say, meeting his eyes. “But I’d like to.”
By the time we finish eating, I’m relaxed and enjoying myself. Tate is funny and thoughtful, but doesn’t try too hard to impress me.
“Can I ask you something?” he says as we’re tossing our trash into the bin.
“Sure.”
“Did you agree to a date with me to make them jealous?”
I lean against the picnic table, considering the question before I answer. “No. We’ve decided to be friends. But they will always be in my life in some capacity, as their sister is my best friend. Does that bother you?”
“I don’t know,” he says honestly. “Landon and I have history, and then I’m also their coach. I don’t want to piss them off.”
“They will be fine. They were honestly just trying to be annoying to get a rise out of me, and Landon was a little jealous.”
We walk along the path beside the river. “Jealous of you going on a date?”
I chuckle. “I know about your history with Landon, and I promise your secret is safe with me. But I think he was jealous that he wasn’t coming too.”
“Really? I never know with him. If things were different . . . but they’re not. Do you think us going on a date is complicating things?”
“I think you’re great,” I say honestly. “I’ve had an amazing time tonight, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t still have feelings for Landon and Levi. That doesn’t mean I plan to get back together with them—it just means I’m still figuring things out.”
Tate nods slowly, and I can see him processing my words. “I appreciate your honesty. I’m figuring things out, too, so I guess we’re in good company.”
“Does it bother you?” I ask. “That I have feelings for them?”
“Yes and no,” he says. “Yes, because I would like to take you on another date, and I don’t want to cause any issues with them. And no, because I understand that life is messy, and people are complicated—feelings don’t just disappear because you want them to.”
We stroll along the riverfront for a while, our hands brushing occasionally.
It’s peaceful and I would love to do this again with him.
I think I could really like him, and that scares me, but if I want to heal from the trauma Anastasia caused, I need to put myself out there.
When Tate realizes that I’m cold, he shrugs off his coat he put on when we arrived and wraps it around my shoulders as we head back toward his car.
Once we get back to the house, Tate jumps out and comes around to open the passenger door. He offers me his hand and walks me to the front door.
“Thank you for tonight,” I say. “I had a really good time.”
“Me too,” he says, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Can we do this again?”
“Yeah,” I say, smiling. “I’d like that.”
He leans down and kisses me; it’s different, and it feels new and exciting.
When he pulls back, I spot Landon’s silhouette in the living room window, and my stomach drops knowing he’s been watching.
“Good night, Abby,” Tate says, unaware of our voyeur.
“Good night,” I reply, my gaze lingering on him as he returns to his car.
I take a deep breath and open the front door, preparing myself for the interrogation that no doubt waits for me.