Thirty-Seven
Blaine
Alex’s soft snores are soothing compared to the chaotic mess running through my mind. A whirlwind of emotions rattle in my chest as I scroll through the pits of social media. Endless gossip and people talking nonsense, but there’s something in my gut telling me to keep going.
Scroll.
Refresh.
Scroll.
Refresh.
I don’t usually give social media the time of day, aside from the occasional post on Instagram when Colleen reminds me to be more active, and don’t get me wrong, social media can be incredible, but damn, people can be assholes. They’ll happily tear into you without a single thought.
They don’t care that you might be having an off day, or what struggles you might be facing mentally that can affect your game.
They don’t care that you worked on those drills for seventeen hundred hours—you bounce the puck off the post once and suddenly you’re a shit player.
They’re just sitting in their armchairs, berating hockey players, and most of the time they’ve never picked up a stick and stepped foot on the ice themselves.
So I stay away from it.
But today, there’s something in the force telling me that I need to keep scrolling.
Alex rolls onto his side. His lips part, and I can feel his warm puffs of breath against my bicep. He looks so peaceful—the complete opposite of what I’m feeling inside.
Just put the damn phone down.
I curse at my internal thoughts. I want to, I really do, but as I argue with myself, I refresh my feed again, and my heart plummets into my stomach when a tweet catches my eye.
Posted three minutes ago.
@TheWarrenPost: brEAKING NEWS just in from Chicago Thunder!! Blaine Olsen has been traded to Buffalo, and Chicago receives Jackson Wilde #ByeByeOlsen
I feel sick to my stomach. I drop my phone into my lap, closing my eyes, and hit my head back against the headboard. Sweat beads at my temples, my hands tremble, and my heart is beating so hard it could crack a rib.
Shit.
This can’t be happening.
I thought I’d done everything right; I cleaned up my act and kept my name off the blogs. I’ve been fucking stellar on the ice, and even done something I never in a million years would have ever expected to happen. I fell in fucking love .
I’ve achieved my dreams of playing in the NHL on the same team as my brother, and just like that, it’s all gonna be taken away from me.
Alex won’t leave his brother to follow me to Buffalo.
Elliot’s tied to a four-year contract.
I’ve been on such a high these last couple of months that the impact of hitting the bottom is going to be catastrophic.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Alex’s sleepy voice breaks me from my spiraling thoughts.
He sits up and rests his hand on the side of my face, his thumb wiping away a tear I didn’t realize had fallen.
“Blaine, talk to me, what happened?”
My words get stuck in my throat. I feel like a hollow shell. Trades are inevitable; they happen to almost every hockey player. You’re always at risk of being traded unless you have a clause in your contract.
And while I see this team as my family, it’s still a business at the end of the day. The head honchos don’t care that I have found family here. They don’t care that I’ve fallen in love and met my soulmate.
I’m just a chess piece that’s no longer needed on their board.
Alex moves to kneel in front of me between my legs. His soft, warm hands cup my face, tilting my head up.
I open my mouth, but the words get stuck in my throat. I squeeze my eyes closed, trying to find the strength to say what I know will break his heart.
“It’s happened… I’ve been traded,” I croak.
My heart cracks in two as his eyes fill with tears.
He takes a shaky breath and asks, “Where?”
“Buffalo,” I manage.
“Buffalo…” He repeats, confusion lining his forehead. “New York?”
I nod.
He frowns, dropping his hands from my face to pick up my phone that’s still lit up with that fucking tweet. He reads it, and when he looks up, his expression is full of determination.
“We can make this work.”
I shake my head, letting out a small laugh. “I couldn’t expect you to move for me, and it’s over five hundred miles…”
“Yeah, I might not be able to move right away, but now that Jacob and I are able to hire some staff, I’ll be able to visit.
” He types away on my phone, then holds up a list of flights.
“It’s only a four-hour flight… and why wouldn’t I move to be with you?
You’re not alone in this, Blaine. I love you, and if this is what I need to do to be with you, then I’ll follow you wherever you go, every single time. ”
A choked sob gets lodged in my throat. How did I get so lucky to find the most incredible man, willing to up his life and follow me to another state?
I’m about to open my mouth when my phone begins to ring in his hands.
He holds it up, and Hayden’s name flashes on the screen.
With a shaky finger, I swipe to accept and put the phone on loudspeaker.
“Hey.” I clear my throat.
“I’m so sorry, Blaine.” He begins, causing my heart to plummet once again. “I have no idea where that person got their information from, but it’s incorrect. You’re not being traded; you’re staying exactly where you are.”
“What?”
“It’s Petford who’s been traded, not you.”
I feel like a prized asshole for thinking this, but thank fuck it’s Petford.
“Between you and me, Petford’s been a naughty boy. It was a very last-minute trade that’s come about within the last couple of hours, and nobody knows yet, but I’m guessing it’s someone in Petford’s inner circle that’s shared the info to try to give him some time.”
“So I’m staying in Chicago?”
I know he’s just said it, but I need the reassurance that I’m not imagining things.
“Yeah, you’re staying in Chicago, probably for a long time too. I was gonna tell you tomorrow and surprise you with the news, but given the shitstorm, I’m telling you now. If you want it, Thunder have offered another eight years, including a no-trade clause.”
I look up at Alex.
Those beautiful blue eyes are still glistening with tears, but now they’re sparkling with happiness and relief too. I’m unable to resist, so I lean in and kiss him, just a quick press of my lips to his. Like I need his kisses to give me life.
“Fuck yeah, I do.” I say with a grin.
Alex’s bright smile as he gives me a thumbs up squeezes my heart.
“Awesome, I’ll meet up with you tomorrow to sign the new contract, and Blaine?”
“Yeah?”
“I wanna meet Alex. Make a reservation for lunch because it’s time I meet the man who has turned you into a sap.”
We both laugh.
Alex leans in and says into the phone. “I’d love to meet you, Hayden.”
“You might regret that!” Hayden sings through the phone.
I laugh. “Don’t be a dick.”
“I won’t, scouts’ honor. Anyway, I gotta go, but keep your lips sealed about Petford until the team announces it.”
“Wait, how do you know?”
“It’ll all make sense when you find out, but for now, keep it a secret, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
We say our goodbyes, and when I place the phone back on the nightstand, a huge sigh of relief escapes me. Dropping my head into my hands, I take a moment to come to terms with everything.
“Fuck,” I say into my hands, “I’ve never been so fucking scared in my life.”
“I know, baby,” he whispers, crawling into my lap and wrapping his arms around my shoulders.
His palm rubs soothing circles across my back, and I hide my face in his neck, breathing in his scent, and wrap my arms tight around his waist. I’m afraid to let go in case I wake up and this has all been a dream.
“I meant what I said,” he mumbles into my hair.
“Are you trying to say the trade deadline didn’t really matter?” I ask.
“It never did. I would follow you to the ends of the earth if it meant I got to be with you.”
I lift my head, meeting those gorgeous eyes that captivated me that first night. “I love you.”
And I fucking love the pink flush of his cheeks, and how his ears turn a deep crimson every time I say those three words.
“I love you, too.”
I press my lips against his, and what starts as a gentle kiss ends up in a heated assault of tongues and muffled moans. My hands graze over the soft expanse of his back before cupping his neck as our mouths fuse together, exchanging kisses like oxygen.
We’re gasping for breath when we part, and I lean my forehead against his.
“I love everything about you, every inch of your body. I love the way you smile, the way you laugh. I love the way you blush all the way to your ears. I love how curly your hair goes when it's wet and how you press your freezing toes against my leg in bed.” I begin.
He lets out a small, choked laugh as a single tear falls down his face.
“I realize now that it was you I needed in my life to complete me. You’re the reason my relationships and dates didn’t work out, because the universe knew it was you . I was meant to be with you. I was scared I wasn’t worthy of love, then you walked into my life.”
“Blaine.” Fat tears roll down his cheeks, and his smile makes me feel like the luckiest man on the planet. “You are everything to me.”
“I adore every little thing about you, and I am so in love with you it hurts to be five feet away. You are the sun to my moon, the light to my darkness, and the love of my life.”