Chapter 3
Three
Daemon
When we walked into Rookie’s earlier, the entire place was surprisingly packed for a random Friday night.
Then again, the Hudson Huskies and the nearby Boston Bears aren’t the only local teams currently in the playoffs. The Boston Harborhawks, our local professional basketball team, is tearing up the court tonight in their own playoffs game.
Due to the fact that Hudson doesn’t have its own basketball team, everyone in here is decked out in the Harborhawks’ colors. It’s a sea of navy blue and seafoam green here.
I can only imagine what this place looks like on nights when the Huskies are on the ice. A smile tugs at my face when I envision this place filled to the brim with our colors; an endless stream of purple, black, and gray.
It reminds me what's at stake if I can’t get my shit together and play with my team.
I'm nursing a whiskey at a corner booth with Holden, Kai, Maxton, and Truett. The music is too loud and the crowd is too close, but Holden insisted I needed this. Honestly, he was adamant that we all needed this.
We came out tonight for some team bonding exercise. Truett, our goalie, came out because he’s never included in the team exercises, and the kid needs a break. He’s the only reason we’ve come this far in the playoffs.
“You're brooding again,” Holden says, leaning against the backrest of the booth, eyes focused on me. Even though we aren’t playing tonight, he’s still radiating that captain energy he’s known for. “You need to let loose tonight.”
“I'm not brooding.” My response sounds exactly like what he’s accusing me of, and we all know it.
“Bullshit, Lucero. You are brooding,” Kai snaps at me. He's on his third beer and the scowl on his face is present as ever. “We came out here tonight to help you get your head back in the game. Stop being a little bitch.”
“Fuck off.” I flip him the bird.
Truett snorts into his drink. “He's been like this for months. Do you think a few beers is going to fix a broken heart?”
And there it is. Truett fucking Vale is the most perceptive person I’ve ever met, and he knows exactly what’s wrong with me.
Maxton's head snaps up from across the table. His jaw tightens as he stares daggers at me. His only warning is a single word. “Don't.”
“Don't what?” Truett asks innocently. While he’s perceptive, he isn’t psychic. There’s no way he could have known.
“We are not talking about New Year's Eve,” Max grits out.
I take a slow sip of my whiskey. “Well, at least now I know I was right about you still mad about that.”
“You left my parents' party with my twenty-two year old sister in law,” Maxton says flatly. “Let’s not forget that your great escape took place on a stolen snowmobile. So yeah, I'm still mad about that.”
“Borrowed,” I correct him. “I brought it back the next morning.”
“At four in the fucking morning.”
I shrug, trying to hide my smirk. “Technically, it was three forty-five in the morning.”
Holden barks out of a laugh. Kai is hiding his face behind his hands as he tries not to do the same. Truett just shakes his head and resumes bobbing his head to the music.
Maxton glares at me. “You know what the worst part is? This isn't even the first time you've hooked up with someone in my family.”
I’ve been wondering how long this would take to happen. It was only a matter of time after they got together that they’d have the exes talk.
“Sage and I happened before you two got together,” I say evenly. “Years before you got together.”
“That doesn't make me feel better.” His eyes are cold as he glares at me.
“I knew that I liked her as soon as she showed up to take the team’s photos,” I admit. “She's smart, funny, beautiful, and doesn’t take shit from anyone. What’s not to like? But she only ever had eyes for you, man. Even when she was trying not to, it’s always been you.”
Maxton's expression softens slightly. He knows it's true. Sage and I had a brief thing two years ago. It was only a few dates. We had chemistry, but it was nothing serious. However, as soon as I heard the way she talked about Maxton, I knew I didn't stand a chance.
I'm not bitter about it. Sage is great, but she wasn't mine. She has always been waiting for Maxton to get his head out of his ass.
“What about Gianna?” Maxton asks. “What's your excuse there?”
I lean back in the booth, swirling the whiskey in my glass. “I don’t have an excuse. I met her, and we hit it off. She's so… free.”
No shit,” he deadpans. “She's twenty-two. Of course she’s free.”
I glare at him. “I know how old she is.”
“She's my sister in law.” He arches a brow.
“I’m also aware of that.”
Maxton runs a hand through his hair. His frustration is evident. “She’s unhinged, Daemon. Pure fucking chaos. You don't need that in your life right now. The two of you are at completely different stages.”
He's right. I’ve known that since the moment I laid eyes on her. But that hasn’t stopped me from thinking about her and wishing I’d left my number that morning.
“I left my fucking credit card number with her on New Year’s day,” I say softly. “So she could use it to get a ride home that morning after I returned the snowmobile.”
“Classy,” Maxton scoffs, his anger quickly returning.
“She's still using it.” I lean forward, resting my forearms on the table.
That gets their attention. All four men perk up at my words.
Holden leans forward, mimicking my position. “What do you mean she's still using it?”
“I mean, she's been using it for nearly four months for late night Uber rides. The charges pop up two or three times a week. Always between midnight and four in the morning.” I sip my drink and scan the bar.
Truett whistles low. “Why haven’t you reported the card stolen?”
I shake my head. “No, I won’t do that.”
“Why not?” Holden asks, leaning in closer as though he needs to know my reasoning.
I take another sip of whiskey, letting the burn settle in my chest. “Because I like knowing she's getting home safe.”
There's a beat of silence around the booth. My gaze darts between all my teammates.
Then Kai grins. “Oh, you are so fucked.”
“I'm not fucked,” I scoff.
“You're really fucked, brother,” Truett agrees, reaching over to pat my shoulder. “You're tracking her Uber rides like some kind of stalker. That's an entirely new level of fucked.”
“I'm not tracking her,” I defend quickly. “It’s not like I can see where she’s going or coming from. I just… notice.”
“You notice,” Holden repeats, amusement in his words. “You notice that she’s getting rides home at two in the morning when you should be sleeping before practice.”
I don't have a good response for that, so I don’t bother. My eyes drop to my nearly empty glass.
Maxton shakes his head, standing up from the booth. “I need another drink if we're going to keep talking about this. Does anyone else need one?”
“I do,” Kai says as he lifts his bottle. “I’ll have another beer.”
“Whiskey for me,” I add.
Maxton walks off toward the bar, muttering something under his breath that sounds like “fucking Lucero” and “my family”. A smile pulls at my lips.
Holden watches him go before he turns back to me. “Maxton might have gone about it wrong, but you have to know that he has a point. Gianna is not exactly what you need right now.”
“You don’t have to tell me. I’m well aware.”
“You're in the middle of the playoffs of your last season. This is it for you.” There’s a look of remorse in his expression.
“I know.” I nod, biting the inside of my cheek.
“So why are you still thinking about her?” Holden contemplates his next words before a smile splits his face. “Was it really that good that you can’t let it go?”
I throw a punch at his upper arm. It’s not hard, but it gets my point across. The amber liquid in my other hand sloshing from my sudden movement. “I won’t be answering that question. As for the other one… I just can't stop thinking about her.”
It's the truth. I've tried to get her out of my head ever since the morning I left her in that cabin. I got up at three and watched her sleep for a solid twenty minutes as I thought about what we could be. When I walked out the door, I told myself that there was no future for us.
But every time I see a new charge on my card for an Uber at some ungodly hour, I can’t stop myself from imagining what she’s been up to all night.
My mind also wanders back to our brief time together. The way she laughed when we sped off on that snowmobile. I think about the way she looked at me like I was the most interesting thing in the world. How she felt underneath me, like even though she could be wild and free, she was mine.
“She's twenty-two,” Holden says quietly. “You're thirty-eight, man.”
“Thanks for repeating what I already know.” I regret my snarky retort almost instantly, but I don’t take it back.
“Do you? Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like you're about to do something really stupid.” He lifts his hands in surrender, like that will lessen the blow of his words.
I meet his eyes. “I’d still do it if I had the chance.”
Holden sighs, shaking his head, but there's a hint of a smile on his face. “Well, if you're going to be stupid, at least wait until after we win the Cup.”
“I can’t promise that, but I can try.” It’s all I can offer him.
Kai raises his beer. “To Daemon being stupid. We’ve all been there. I mean, I did sleep with my best friend’s sister.”
Truett clinks his glass against Kai's bottle. “Cheers, to bad decisions.”
I don't toast with them. I just tip my cup in their direction before downing the rest of the contents of my glass.
I know that they are right. Anything I do with this would be a bad decision.
Gianna is chaotic, and I'm trying to hold my life together for the end of my last season.
I don't have time for distractions. I don't have time for a twenty-two year old party girl who steals snowmobiles and uses my damn credit card for months. I don’t have time for a girl who makes me feel things I haven't felt in years.
When Maxton comes back with our drinks and slides my whiskey across the table, I catch a glimpse of the door. My chances at the Cup flash before my eyes as the object of my distraction appears before me.
There she is.
Gianna.
She’s walking into Rookie's like she owns the place.
Her dark hair falls in wild curls around her shoulders. Those eyes of hers are bright and mischievous. She's flanked on either side by two guys. One of them is tall and lanky. The other one is someone I know.
Why is she here with Keegan Lambert, the goalie for the Boston Bears, and Truett’s nemesis?
She hasn't seen me yet, but I can’t take my eyes off of her. And just like that, every rational thought I've had for the past four months goes straight out the window.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.
Holden follows my gaze. “Who is that?”
“The reason Maxton looks like he wants to beat my ass.” I tip my head in his direction, but my eyes never leave Gianna.
Kai grunts, “Oh, this is going to be good.”
Maxton groans, “I'm going to need a lot more alcohol.”
The guys continue to joke and grumble around me, but I barely hear a word they’ve said. My brain is too busy following the stunning woman walking through the bar, like she didn’t just completely change my plans for tonight.