Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Zaiah
My dad’s rumbly RV pulls to a stop in front of Knightley Hall. He honks the horn in rapid succession, the sound echoing through the air, and Len laughs, her dancing eyes finding mine as I squeeze her hand.
The RV door flies open, and Izzy jumps down the steps. She runs forward, arms open, and envelops Lenore in a big hug. I stare, wide-eyed at the way Izzy giggles and bounces on her toes.
“Hey, hey,” I tease. “You’re smothering my girl.”
Izzy whispers so loud I’m sure my parents hear her in the RV, “You bitch, I knew you liked him.”
Len hides a smile with closed lips.
I elbow her, the corner of my mouth twitching. “What’s this about telling her you didn’t like me?”
Mom saves her from answering. She’s half hanging out of the RV, waving at us. No, that’s not right. She’s waving at my girlfriend. “Lenore, I made you chicken and dumplings. Just like you wanted.”
The way Len’s eyes light up… “I thought that face was for me?”
Izzy’s nose scrunches up. “Ew.”
Len rubs her hand down my forearm. “If you knew how much chicken and dumplings meant to me, you wouldn’t be jealous.”
She barely gets the words out before Izzy tugs her toward the RV where my mother gives her a half hug, one hand still holding the railing. Izzy and Len go up around her, but Mom waits for me. She wraps her arm around my shoulders. “She’s a good girl, Isaiah.”
“Thanks, Mo—”
She lowers her voice. “I seem to have gotten myself stuck. I can’t wrangle myself in, and I don’t want to fall.”
I kiss her cheek, helping to right her on top of the RV steps again. “That excited, huh?” I tease.
“Infinitely better than the last one. Times a hundred.”
“Infinite is already the best number you can get.”
She smooths down her apron. “I’m just making sure you know we approve.”
“Are you calling me thick? Pucking unbelievable.”
She gives me the mom look, pointed and glaring. “We wondered there for a while.”
I sling my arm around her, chuckling and kissing her temple. When I look up, Dad’s embracing Len. “Hi, Sweetheart.”
My smile widens.
He pats her on the back before letting her go and saying, “Let’s get this train a rollin’.”
“Remember, only a short one today, Dad. I have to be back in time for the game tonight.”
He salutes me, then pulls his jacket apart to show off his T-shirt, a huge grin transforming his face.
Is that…?
No…
I squint, taking in a cartoon me in my Warner Bulldog jersey riding a unicorn that poops out blue hockey pucks.
“You can’t be serious.”
My mom swats him. “Those were a surprise.”
“I got excited,” he explains. He takes one look at her disappointed stare then turns his back and heads to the driver’s seat with an overexaggerated cringe face.
“Well, if the cat’s out of the bag.” She takes off her apron, showing the same shirt.
“Wait for it,” Izzy says.
My mom turns slowly. Mom is spelled out across the shoulders. Izzy maneuvers her jacket down and turns to show off the word sister .
My dad bounces his hand off his forehead. “I forgot. This one’s for you.”
Lenore nearly gets blindsided by a shirt sailing through the air because she can’t stop laughing. I catch it before it hits her and hand it over. She jumps up and down, the RV rocking with her excitement. “I’ve never been happier to wear something in my life.”
She immediately pulls it on, her smile wide.
“Yeah, girlfriend ,” Izzy enunciates, playfully punching her arm.
“Is that what mine says?”
I turn her around and trace my fingers over the letters spelling out girlfriend on the back. “What else would it say?”
She lifts her shoulders, but the laughter has died somewhere inside, replaced with something else. She goes quiet. Stoic.
“Alright, get saddled up, unicorns,” my dad announces. “This train’s about to jet off to a park!”
I lean into Len’s ear as I guide her toward the couch. “I hope you’re not quiet because you don’t want to be my girlfriend.”
“That’s not it. I’m worried people will make fun of you.”
She thought the shirt was hilarious before she found out hers said girlfriend , so this isn’t about the shirt itself, this is about her.
While my mom and sister buckle in, I sit her in her seat, pull the lap restraint over her, and whisper, “If we weren’t with my parents right now, I’d fuck that worried look off your face, sweetie.”
Her eyes flash to mine, desire and heat overtaking the mixed emotions.
Standing up, I ask, “You in?”
She nods, and I sit as the RV starts rolling. I lock my seat belt into place and grab her hand, interlacing our fingers. Her palm is sweaty, and she moves incrementally closer to me.
“Look at them,” Mom says to Izzy, poking her with her elbow.
Izzy grins. “He did good for once.”
I scratch my face with my middle finger, and my mom pretends not to see Izzy return it subtly.
Keeping to his word, Dad doesn’t go far. After a few minutes of Izzy talking about her recent game, he pulls into a park. Mom serves up the chicken and dumplings, and we eat, talk, and laugh through lunch. Lenore fits in seamlessly, like she was always a part of the James puzzle.
“So, what are you writing right now?” my dad asks her.
“Oh, she’s not giving it up,” I warn. “It’s some sort of top-secret document.”
“Oh really?” he asks, clearly intrigued.
“Well, only to your son. I’ll be happy to tell you later when he’s playing.”
My dad winks at her, and I scoff, “Are you kidding me? I didn’t know that.”
She shrugs, and Izzy holds out a fist, “Well played, sis.”
“Aww, I always wanted a sister,” Len muses as she touches her knuckles to Iz’s.
Izzy’s eyes widen. “Me too!”
My mom starts laughing. “She once wrote me a document with bullet points of all the reasons why we should have another daughter. When I pointed out we couldn’t guarantee the baby would be a girl, she dropped it.”
“I didn’t want to be outnumbered.”
“I always wanted two,” my mom says, reaching out her hands to both Izzy and me and squeezing.
“Too bad only one is going to make you proud,” I quip. “And you are outnumbered because I’m twice the size of you.”
Izzy shoots her napkin at me. “I’ll have you know Mom made me fudge because I aced my math test.”
I gasp with over-the-top exaggeration, placing a hand on my chest. “ Blasphemy .”
Iz shrugs with all the poise of a powerful queen.
“You know how she struggles with math,” Mom whispers.
“Hey,” Izzy contests. “It’s hard, okay?”
“Lucky for you two…” Mom gets up, going to the back of the RV. She’s gone for a few seconds and comes out with two baggies. I’m about as excited as a meth addict on a downward spiral when she hands me a bag of fudge.
“Thanks, Mom.” I know I shouldn’t before a game, but one piece can’t hurt. I drop a chocolate square into my mouth, and the sweet, chocolatey fudge nearly dissolves. It reminds me of my grandmother. Sitting out on her porch as she sneaks me a piece while we look out onto her vast yard. “So good.”
“Mmm, that is good,” Len says. I peer over to find her chewing and nodding. “Very good.”
We sit and talk for a few more minutes until I give my dad the signal that we have to leave. They’ll meet us at the game later, but I have to attend a team meeting and then get ready.
My mom does a quick clean up while we buckle ourselves in. “Len, we’re going shopping if you want to come with us?”
“At the outlets nearby,” Iz clarifies.
“I wouldn’t take fashion advice from my sister,” I warn, trying to give her an out, or at least something she could grip onto if she didn’t want to spend the day with my family.
Instead, Len smiles. “Well, I should be working on something, but that sounds like fun.”
My mom claps her hand once and then moves to sit and buckle herself in. “Excellent. We’ll only drop Isaiah off, then.” To my father, she yells out, “One for the bus stop!”
“Who’s outnumbered now?” he shouts back.
I interlace my fingers with Len’s, surprised she wants to go with them. She seems content, though, she and Izzy already talking about what they’re shopping for. Izzy’s telling her she needs a new pair of shoes and who knows what else.
Soon, Dad comes to a stop in front of Knightley, and I turn to give Len a kiss on the cheek. “See you there?”
She pulls at her shirt with my cartoon face on it. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
I wave to everyone else. “See you in a few!”
Dad meets me at the stairs, patting my back. “Good luck tonight. Remember, unicorn sparkling poop pucks, play well.”
“You got it, Dad.”
He locks the door behind me, and I turn to wave as he guides the big boat away from the curb. No one pays attention to me. With a shrug, I jog up the steps and head to our suite. It’s quiet without Len. The absence of her presence hangs heavy while I throw my stuff into my gear bag and leave for the Warner arena.
This past week while Len was working on her super-secret article, I watched tape of our upcoming opponents. They’re going to be a tough team to beat, but I’m jazzed about the game.
Halfway to the practice rink, I spot Adam, and we slap hands. “Haven’t seen you around.”
“Yeah, I locked shit down with Len.”
“I knew it. Dude,” he smiles, “I like her. How have things been?”
“Really good, actually. She’s in the Swaggin’ Wagon with the fam.”
“The Swaggin’ Wagon!”
I laugh, knowing he’d appreciate that. My teammates dubbed the RV with that moniker, and I’m pretty sure my dad secretly loves it. “You’re not going to believe the shirts they have on today.” When he looks at me expectantly, I shake my head. “You’ll have to wait. You need to see it in person.”
“How’s your family so cool?”
“Luck of the draw.”
We talk a bit more, but we’re silenced when we walk into the practice rink and are greeted by the coaches and our teammates’ loud banter.
Coach gives us a rundown lasting almost an hour, and then we’re rushed to the bus for our skate time at the city arena. After practice drills, we’re led into the home locker room that’s not even ours, and today, it hits different. I stare at the other players’ names on the cubbies, shaking my head. I’m better than this. Most guys on my team are better than this, and it pisses me off all over again that Warner hockey is a joke.
Before I can go down the rabbit hole, the PA system turns on, and the bass echoes even in here. Every game, the annoying noise is a subtle reminder of the pregame ticking down.
Coach stands from a lone metal folding chair. “It’s almost go time.”
He launches into his pregame speech, which always varies by opponent. He’s fantastic at getting the juices flowing, pacing in front of us, clenching his fists, using his words like a battle cry.
Eventually, he ends with, “One, two, three!”
And we all scream, “‘Dogs!”
My skin buzzes, electricity coursing through me while I walk through the tunnel. I smile when my right blade hits the ice. Crazy to think that the last time I was here was with Len.
I find my family in the stands. Once again, Len is all in with them, ringing the cowbell and jumping up and down. My heart leaps in my chest.
“James!” Coach yells as I skate to the opposite end of the rink, but I only have one thing on my mind.
My family gave her a shirt with girlfriend on it, but I can do better.
My teammates catcall.
Lenore sees me coming and tilts her head. I point at her, then down at the area where I can meet her. Izzy pushes her forward, and she starts walking, my parents hugging her as she passes them. She gets down to the ice level, and I skate next to the wall while she walks the perimeter until we meet where the Zamboni comes in.
She faces me. “Shouldn’t you be with your team?”
Behind me, I can still hear them calling out incoherently. Everyone knows what this is. “I got something for you.”
“What? You don’t like my shirt?”
I grab her shirt and pull her forward, sealing my lips to hers. My team goes crazy, and she starts laughing so hard I have to end the kiss far sooner than I wanted.
I hold my blue jersey out to her. “Since you come from hockey royalty, I don’t need to explain to you what this means.”
“You like me?” she asks coyly.
“Understatement. You put this on, you’re telling the whole world—or a couple hundred people,” I say, peering around at the audience, “that you’re mine.”
I hold it out to her, heart thumping, suddenly so nervous my hands shake.
She takes it from me. “You know, I never really understood the jersey thing, but now that I’m standing on this side, I get it.” She pulls it over her head, and behind us, the crowd applauds. In my ears, it’s an eruption.
“You want to be mine?”
“I’m already yours, Isaiah James. I was from the moment I saw you outside my window.”
I swallow. “We have some time to make up.”
“We do.”
Taking her chin, I guide her toward me, kissing her again. This time, a short, sweet brush of lips. I don’t trust myself not to dive in and embarrass us both.
I tug the jersey as I skate backward. Seeing my number across her chest makes my stomach flip. “Looks good on you, Len.”
Eventually, I run into a thick wall of muscle as my teammates celebrate behind me, patting my helmet, my shoulders, knocking sticks with mine.
I blow her a kiss, and Adam calls out, “Let’s take this game for Z!”
“For Z!”