Chapter 10 - Emma #2
I scoff. “You have no idea what you’re agreeing to. But okay, if you’re offering. It’ll be easier to face them if I’m not alone. Thank you.”
“No problem, I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think. Anyway, I gotta get to practice.” He walks over to Gracie and kisses the top of her head. “I’ll see you soon, Buttercup.” He then looks at me with an expression I can’t quite place. “Later, Bunny,” he says quietly and leaves.
Later that evening, I’m packing everything into Cecilia’s SUV to go watch the boys’ hockey game. “You sure you got everything?” she asks me with a snicker.
I look at the back of the car that is now filled with things I probably won’t even need for Gracie but brought ‘just in case’. We’ll be in the seats, but Greyson said if it gets too much for Little Tulip, we can head up to the private box where it’s quieter.
This is Gracie’s first hockey game, and I think I may be a little nervous. Gracie is usually an amazing baby in public, but hockey games are loud. I don’t know how she’ll react to that, so I brought more than enough toys to keep her occupied, as well as a pair of pink noise-canceling headphones.
“Yup, I think so.” I nod to myself as I close the trunk.
“You know you won’t need all of that, right? But I get it. Silas was the same when he packed my car for Dante’s first game. He even brought the playpen.” She laughs, shaking her head.
“Oh! That’s actually a good idea!” I turn to head back into the house, but she grabs me by the elbow before I can make it.
“Em, breathe. You already have everything you need. You don’t need anything else. It’s going to be fun. You’ll see. Plus, all the girls are going to be there. You won’t be alone. If Gracie gets fussy, we’ll pass her around.”
“Okay, yeah. Everything’s going to be fine.” I do as she says and take deep breaths to settle my nerves.
An hour later, we're finally making our way to our seats, where Morgan, Aubrey, and Ronnie are waiting for us. We’re right behind the glass, which means we’ll get a front row seat to all the action.
“You guys are right on time, the boys are about to hit the ice,” Morgan informs us as we settle down. Veronica is at the end, followed by Aubrey, then Morgan. I place myself beside her with Gracie on my lap, and Cecilia does the same to my left with Dante.
I’m just setting the headphones on Gracie’s head when the boys skate onto the ice, beginning their pregame drills. Silas comes to the glass first, knocking his gloved knuckle against it to gain his son's attention.
Dante looks up, a beaming smile taking over his little face as he reaches out and says, “Dada!”
Silas yells, “I love you!” to his wife and kid and blows them a kiss.
He skates off just as Clay stops in front of Morgan, telling her something I don’t quite catch. To which she answers, “You better!” and finishes with a kissing motion.
Greyson finally gets up to the board beside Clay as I stand with Gracie in my arms. “Look, Little Tulip. It’s Daddy!
” I tap my nail on the glass while Greyson crouches down slightly and waves in her face.
I know she probably can’t hear me tapping, but it still gathers her attention, and she smiles at her dad.
Grey takes one of his gloves off and bends down to pick up a puck from the ice. He then pushes it against the covered hole in the glass panel in front of me, telling me to open it. Once I do, he passes the puck over for Gracie to hold. I’ll have to clean that before giving it to her.
He waves ‘bye’ as I grab her hand to wave back. Grey then looks up at me, a small smirk playing on his lips. I feel heat rising to my cheeks and offer a shy smile. What the hell is happening to me? I don’t blush, and I certainly don’t get shy… EVER! He chuckles and winks before skating away.
As I sit back down, confused with my reaction to him, I hear the girls question what that was all about. I wasn’t planning on telling anyone what happened, but right now, I feel the need to talk about it. Maybe they’ll understand better than I do.
“I had sex with Greyson last night,” I tell them, staring straight ahead as I bounce Gracie on my lap.
“I told you guys it would happen,” Cecilia says while Morgan laughs.
“Ugh! No, Em! Not you too?” Brey groans from her spot beside Morgan, dropping her head back.
“Wait, who else has slept with your brother?” Ronnie asks, leaning in to see all of us from her end.
“The whole female population, that’s who,” Aubrey answers.
“And Cecilia,” Morgan and I say at the same time, making all of us laugh.
“Hey! It was a long time ago! I was eighteen and didn’t know who he was. That doesn’t count,” she says, glaring at us, which just makes us laugh some more.
“All right, all right. We get it. Settle down, ladies. But seriously, Em, what does this mean?” Cece asks the question I’ve been wondering myself.
“I don’t know, that’s my problem. I’m not ready to jump back into a relationship, and anyway, Greyson isn’t the settling down type.” I look at all of them as they nod. Everyone knows Greyson’s history with women.
“So what? It’s just casual sex?” Morgan questions.
“No, I told him it can’t happen again. I don’t want to complicate things between us with Gracie. It just sucks because the sex was so good,” I whine like a child whose parents won’t buy them candy at the store.
“Ew, I don’t need to hear about my brother’s sex life!” Aubrey covers her ears, face turning red as I giggle.
“Okay, so then what’s the issue? I don’t understand?” Morg looks at me quizzically.
“The problem is I feel like things are different now. He keeps looking at me differently and smiling. And I know I’ve been trying to get him to smile, but now it’s just…
I don’t know, strange.” I groan and rub my face with one hand while holding Gracie with the other.
“He agreed that it was a one-time thing, but I feel like there’s something he’s not saying.
And it doesn’t help that now my body reacts to him every time he’s near,” I add.
“It’s still pretty recent, I think it’s normal that you two are still reacting to what happened. Certainly, if it was that good,” Morgan replies resolutely.
“It was. Just ask Cece, she would know.” I giggle, knowing my girl will react to my comment.
Cecilia turns beet red. “I shall let you all know that I am happily married and very satisfied. I’m literally holding my husband’s son at the moment. There’s no way I’m answering that.”
“That means it was good,” Ronnie keys in.
Cecilia gasps loudly. “I did not say that!”
We all laugh and watch as the game starts. “What about you, Brey? You gonna find yourself a hockey boy, too?” Ronnie questions Aubrey with an elbow to the side.
“More like a hockey coach,” I mutter just loud enough for my girls to hear. They giggle while Aubrey turns a bright shade of pink.
At that exact moment, I look to our side and find Shane looking directly at Aubrey from behind the bench. “Aw, look. Even during a game, he can’t keep his eyes off baby Brey,” I say as I wave over to the head coach.
Ronnie, Morgan, and Cecilia all look, while Aubrey hides behind her hands. They all wave in return, and Shane frowns but hesitantly waves back before returning his focus on his players.
“Ugh, this is mortifying!” Brey complains into her hands.
“What? Is it true? You holding out on me, Brey? You never told me you were shacking up with your brother’s coach!?” Ronnie looks astonished.
“I’m a virgin! I’m not hooking up with anyone! There’s nothing going on between me and Shane. You guys need to drop that.” She lifts her chin to the air and straightens in her seat, as if she’s proving a point that will erase our suspicions. It won’t.
“Not yet, you mean,” I add in. “And you, Ronnie? Got your eye on any of these fine specimens?” I waggle my brow at her.
“Oh no. Professional athletes come with way too much drama. I do not need that kind of attention. No, thank you. Anyway, one man could never satisfy me. I like variety.” She shrugs with a mischievous look in her eyes.
Cecilia, Morgan, and I all eye each other, thinking the same thing. The twins.
We spend the rest of the night chitchatting and watching the game. Of course, Little Tulip is an angel per usual and only fusses once. All I had to do was give her a snack with her sippy cup, and the trick was done.
Greyson ended up scoring two goals tonight. The first, he looked directly at his daughter after getting slaps on the back by his teammates. It warmed my heart that he was thinking of her at that moment. He’s such a good dad.
The second time, he looked at me… I don’t want to think about what that meant.