Chapter Twenty-Two Lena
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lena
“Wait.” Willow spins around from where she’s washing potatoes in the sink and pins me in her wide-eyed stare. “You shot it? You really did it. And no freak-out this time?”
My smile is smug. “I did it, girl. I made that rifle my bitch.”
“Yes!” She rushes to me, her hands dripping wet, and hugs me to her, and I don’t even care that she’s soaking the back of my shirt. “I knew you could do it. I bet you’re so relieved.”
“I definitely am because now I don’t ever have to do it again.
” I snort and chop some peppers for the salad.
Willow and I are getting dinner ready while the guys are off doing something or other.
They weren’t specific. I enjoy hanging out with Willow.
She’s become an unexpected friend, almost like the big sister I never had, and I never feel like I’m walking on eggshells around her, even after our rough start.
She wouldn’t ask me to do something I’m uncomfortable with.
She wouldn’t encourage me to be someone I’m not.
She’s shown me what real friendship looks like, and it’s kind of sad to think that I’ve never had this before.
“Oh! Before the guys come back, I have to show you this. I want your take on it before I give it to Gideon.”
I wipe my hands dry and then rush over to my bag so I can pull out my sketchbook and open it to the page I’ve been working on for Gideon.
When I turn it so Willow can see it, she immediately crumbles into tears.
“Oh, God, I hope those are good tears and I didn’t butcher this.”
She nods and stares down at the page, taking it in.
“I love it so much, Lena. I love that you captured them when they were younger, from around the time when Ry and Gid came to live here. God, they look so happy.” Ray and Debbie are smiling at each other, his arm is around her, and they’re sitting on the big wraparound porch on this house.
“I thought it would bring happy memories.” I loop my arm around her shoulders, and she leans against me. “Do I need to tweak anything? Change anything? You knew them, and I want to make sure it’s as accurate as possible.”
“No.” She wipes her cheeks and continues to stare at the paper. “No, there’s nothing here to change. You’ll make the guys cry too.”
“I don’t necessarily want to make anyone cry. I just want Gid to like it.”
“He’s going to go crazy for it.” She takes one more look before I close the book and return it to my bag. “You know, his birthday is at the end of the month. That would be an incredible gift. If you want, I can order a frame for it so you don’t have to use his accounts.”
“That would be perfect. Thank you.”
We resume making dinner, and we hear the front door open and the guys’ voices carry through the house.
“We’re in the kitchen,” Willow calls out.
“Oh, good, you’re making my favorite.”
Willow gasps and spins, and then she’s crying again and running to Aiden, who’s standing just inside the doorway. She wraps her arms around him and squeezes him, and he wrinkles his nose, as if he’s only tolerating the hug because it’s from her.
“Surprise,” he says when she pulls back to look up at him. “I came home for a couple of days.”
“You don’t have a game this week?”
“Not until Monday,” he says and smiles at me. “Hey, Lena.”
“Hey, Aiden, welcome home.”
“So that’s where you two ran off to,” Willow says to Ryker and Gideon, who are both grinning at her proudly.
My man is seriously a smoke show when he smiles.
“Someone had to get the kid from the airport,” Gideon says as he ruffles Aiden’s hair and then walks over to kiss my forehead. “You okay?”
“I’m great. So how’s hockey?” I ask Aiden. “Do you love it? Is everyone being nice to you? Do we have to kick someone’s ass?”
Everyone stares at me for a minute, and I shrug.
“What? They better be nice to him. Because if they’re not, I have a lot of new skills that are going to waste right now.”
“Good girl,” Gideon whispers in my ear.
Ryker smirks at me. “He’s a rookie. They’re giving him all kinds of shit, Lena. That’s how it works.”
“But I’m also really good at my job, so they’re not giving me too much shit. It’s all pretty much what I expected. Met a girl.” He shrugs as if it’s no big deal, and Gideon and I grin at each other.
“Name. Age. Job. Tell me everything,” Willow says.
“Do you want her Social Security number and blood type too?” Aiden asks. “Maybe some tax returns and her family tree?”
“I can find those things out for you,” Gideon adds, and Aiden smirks. “It’ll just take one phone call. I don’t even need her full name.”
“That’s kind of scary,” I decide, watching my man, and he turns to me with a raised eyebrow. “Do you know everything about me?”
“You’re fucking adorable,” he says and kisses the tip of my nose.
“Is that a yes?”
Everyone laughs, and I decide to take the focus off me and shift back to Aiden.
“What’s your girl’s name?” I ask Aiden sweetly and wink at Willow.
“Miranda,” Aiden replies and finds a cookie in the pantry. “She’s forty.”
Now, we all stare at him because I know for a fact that Aiden is only twenty.
Willow sputters, and both of the guys start shaking their heads.
“Wow,” I say, the first to find words. “Okay. What does she do?”
“She’s some kind of entrepreneur. Met her after a game.” He bites into his cookie. “Super rich. So I decided that I’d quit hockey and let her be my sugar mama. The sex is fucking out of this world. Older women know what the fuck they’re doing.”
I start to laugh, but everyone else is stunned speechless.
Aiden’s smirking behind his cookie. “You guys are too gullible. She’s twenty-one, and she’s a barista. She works in the iceplex.”
“What’s the iceplex?” I ask as the tension in the room evaporates and Willow pulls out a bottle of wine, making me smirk. Poor mama bear just had a stroke.
“It’s where the team has practices and stuff,” Gideon tells me, rubbing circles on my back. “It’s big, with restaurants, shops, several rinks for practice. But it’s rented out for leagues and such as well. We’ll visit sometime when we go to watch his games.”
We’re going to watch his games!
“Count me in for that. Okay, so she’s a barista, and she’s . . . pretty?”
“Hot as f—hell,” he says, eyeing Willow. “I like her.”
“You never talk about girls,” Willow says, staring at her kid as if he’s grown a third leg.
“I guess there wasn’t anyone to talk about before.”
“That’s the sweetest.”
Aiden winks at me and plucks a slice of cucumber out of the salad, tosses it in his mouth.
“Are we having meat loaf?” he asks.
“Yes,” Willow replies.
“Awesome.” He kisses her head and then turns to leave the room. “Gonna go wash up.”
He strides up the stairs, taking two at a time, and Willow blinks back tears.
“I miss that little jerk.”
“I know you do,” Ryker says as he pulls her in for a hug. “He’s doing great. Mac told me that no one’s giving him a hard time, he likes his roommates, and he’s kicking ass on the ice. Mac must not know about the girl.”
“Who’s Mac?” I ask Gideon, trying to get caught up on all the who’s who.
“Teammate,” Gideon says. “Played with Ry from day one.”
“It’s Mac’s last year,” Ryker adds. “He was holding out so he could play a season with Aiden. The two of them have been close for the past five years or so.”
“I love everything about this.” I sigh happily and lean against Gideon’s side. “Thanks for including me.”
“Of course. You’re one of us,” Willow says, tilting her head to the side. “We got drunk and talked about how much sex we’ve had. You’re my bestie now.”
I snort and feel Gideon stiffen next to me.
“Oh, lighten up.” I smack his chest with the back of my hand, and he’s so fast, he catches my hand and lifts it to his mouth.
“No more talking about sex with anyone but me,” Ryker says to Willow, but I decide to be a smart-ass.
“I have no experience with that, so—”
“And you fucking won’t,” Gideon adds, his voice hard as granite as he pins me in his angry stare. “Don’t push me, Rebel.”
“Wow,” Willow whispers as Ryker hides his smile behind his hand.
“Or what?” I tilt my head, enjoying myself immensely.
Gideon simply picks me up and carries me out of the kitchen.
“Hey! I don’t want to go home. I’m hungry.”
“Not going home,” he mutters and carries me into an office and closes the door behind us. “Talk about sex with another man again, and I’ll spank your ass until it glows. I’m a jealous man, Lena. You may think it’s funny, but I don’t.”
“You don’t have anything to be jealous over, big guy.
I had no idea what all the fuss was about until you.
I don’t even think about anyone else. Willow and I joke around and talk because we’re women, and when you get some alcohol in us, that’s what we do.
But now that I know that it bothers you so much, I won’t do it when you’re around. ”
He’s glaring at me, his hands in fists, and I drag my palm up his chest and cup his rough cheek.
“You weren’t a virgin when I met you, either, you know,” I remind him softly.
“No one in this world matters but you,” he says, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “No one, Lena. It doesn’t matter if I fucked five women or five hundred—”
“I’m not one for sex shaming, but please tell me it wasn’t five hundred.”
“—it doesn’t matter because they weren’t you. No one has ever made me crave simply being in her presence like you do. Hell, I’m jealous that anyone else gets to talk to you.”
“Okay, that’s a little unhinged.”
“So don’t push me. I don’t care that you weren’t a virgin when you came here, but I don’t want to ever hear about it again. Unless any of them hurt you. In which case, I’ll make them pay.”
I blink up at him.
Is this a good time to tell him that Howey was an asshole in bed? I mean, it wasn’t bad sex, but now that I know how good it can be, I realize Howey was selfish as fuck.
Nah, I shouldn’t say anything.
“No need to go all murdery on me.”
He kisses my forehead. “Are you sure I can’t take you home so I can fuck that sass out of you?”