14. Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Nate
W e’re up two to one in the third, and I’m on the bench when Doug asks, “So what’s the deal with you and Adalie?”
I glare at him. “Focus on the game. Just because we’re up, doesn’t mean they can’t tie in the next ten minutes.”
“We’re not on the ice. I just want to know why she’s sitting on the edge of her seat looking like she’s about to hop into the rink and take you out of here before you get hurt. She’s seen a hockey game before, right? We’re not even playing that rough.”
My eyes find her on the bleachers with Patricia and Raine. I admit, I’ve looked at her more than a few times in the last hour. She does seem tense. But I’ve also seen her smiling and laughing with the other women and she cheered when Zach scored and again when another of our teammates, Matt, scored. She even booed when Tim scored for the opposing team.
She sees me watching her and smiles, lifting her hand in a small wave. I wave back, because it’s only polite.
Doug shoves me with his shoulder. “She’s cute.”
“There’s nothing going on.”
We change out, taking our positions on the ice when there’s a good moment. I find Tim, Frozen Fury’s best player, and send him into the boards when he gets control of the puck. He loses it and Doug gets it from him, taking it back up the ice. I follow, ensuring none of the Fury players can get to him. I note Taylor on the other side of the rink doing the same. Doug passes to Mace who’s right by the net. He shoots, but the Fury goalie saves it. He doesn’t get control, though, the puck bouncing off his pads and coming straight toward me. I stop it, taking in my teammates’ positions and the goalie who hasn’t recovered from the last save. So I take the shot.
The puck sails over his left shoulder finding the back of the net. Taylor is the first one to me, crashing into me in celebration. I can hear the women cheering and I glance over to find Adalie on her feet, clapping and whooping with the others. I watch her watching me until I can’t because my other teammates have piled on.
With this goal, we’re in a good position to win the game and everyone knows it. We set up a face off and the Fury win it, taking the puck to our zone. They’re desperate now, taking shots before they’ve lined them up, slamming into our players when we have the puck.
No one says anything unless it has to do with the game as the time ticks down. There’s only another minute of play when a Fury defenceman cross-checks one of our left wingers, Nick, sending him into the boards. I drop my stick and gloves, grabbing him by the jersey before he can skate away from the incident, even though the referee has already whistled for play to stop. Taylor is next to us in an instant, keeping the other Fury players away.
“What the fuck, man?” I ask, shoving the player. “He didn’t have the puck.”
“Fuck off,” he responds, pushing me back. “It’s a fucking game. Get over it.”
My hands clench into fists, but before I can hit him, the refs are there, taking him away.
Taylor hands me my stick and gloves.
“Is Nick okay?” I ask.
He nods and we skate to the bench. “Your girlfriend is worried though,” he says.
“She’s not my—” I cut off, finding her standing, her hands over her mouth, green eyes like saucers, watching me.
I sit on the bench, focused on the last seconds of the game. The puck is dropped and Aces wins it, playing a fast game of keep away as the time ticks down. The buzzer sounds and our team crowds onto the ice in celebration. There’s cheering from the stands, and Adalie is one of them.
After we’ve shaken hands with all the Fury players, we head to the locker room. My team is in high spirits. Matt claps me on the shoulder. “You should bring your girlfriend to all the games next season if you’re going to play like that every time she’s here.”
I’m tired of telling people she’s not my girlfriend, but I don’t have to as Taylor laughs.
“By that logic, shouldn’t you be playing well every night since your husband is on the fucking ice with us?” he asks.
Everyone laughs and Matt holds up his hands. “Hey now. I scored a goal. John saw me.”
John, Matt’s husband and our goalie, grins. “I sure did.”
“Is she coming to your place tonight?” Mace asks. A few of the guys are coming over for beers and burgers. “I’d like to ask her what she could possibly see in a grumpy dick like you.”
“When’s the last time you had a girlfriend, Nate?” Zach asks. “Wasn’t it like a year ago and didn’t it only last about two months?”
I don’t bother to answer, they’re just saying this stuff to bug me, anyway. But I consider Zach’s questions as I take a quick shower and change back into my clothes. It has been a long time since I had a girlfriend. As for how long it lasted, I’ve never had a relationship last more than two months. They’ve always failed for one reason or another, usually because of me. I’ve been told I’m too standoffish, too uncommunicative, not invested. I end up pushing people away or making some stupid mistake we can’t recover from, and it ends the relationship.
Which is why I shouldn’t try to start something with Adalie. I don’t want to hurt her.
When I’m finished getting ready, I make my way to the door where Taylor is waiting.
“I sent the others out to the car with my keys,” he says. “You should invite her to the barbecue.”
We leave the locker room and there she is, waiting for me. She comes over, absolutely breathtaking in that purple dress covered in tiny daisies, her hair a wild halo around her face that is lit up with excitement.
“That was intense,” she says as she gives me a hug. “When you grabbed that guy at the end, I thought you were going to punch him.”
A rush of desire sweeps through me at the simple embrace. I can’t help but remember the way she’d gotten carried away , as she said, the night I gave her a ride home. The feeling of her lips, so soft and willing.
She pulls away then hugs my brother next. I want to pull her back to me, but I’m not a caveman. She’s not even my girlfriend. I really need to start reminding myself of that.
“He probably would have,” Taylor says. “If the refs hadn’t gotten there so fast.”
We head out to the parking lot.
“Well, he would have deserved it,” Adalie says with certainty. “That was a cheap shot. Is your teammate all right? He hit the boards pretty hard.”
“Nick’s fine,” Taylor answers.
“He’ll be coming to our place now,” I say. “A bunch of the team is. If you want, you could join us.”
I don’t know why I’m so nervous asking. It’s not like I’m asking her out on a date.
Then she smiles and I feel like I could take on another twelve idiots on the ice and win, and something suddenly occurs to me. I am completely fucked.
“Yeah? I could probably come by for a bit.”
“We’re having beers and burgers,” Taylor says. “I think a couple people are bringing some chips and salads or something. Nate should have told you earlier because the hot tub will be open, too. I’m guessing you don’t have a suit with you.”
She laughs. “I don’t. But that’s okay. Should I stop somewhere and get something to bring?”
“Of course not,” I say. “Just bring yourself.”
We reach our cars, and Taylor drops his gear in the trunk where Zach is waiting with his keys.
“You coming over?” he asks Adalie. Apparently, everyone wants a chance to grill her.
“I am,” she says, rocking back on her heels. “I guess I’ll see you there.”
He and Taylor go over to their bikes. When they’ve ridden away, I turn to Adalie. “They’re going to be nosy assholes,” I warn her.
She laughs again, holding her arms behind her back, grinning up at me in that way that makes me want to drag her against me and claim her mouth in a kiss.
“I can handle nosy questions. You should come hang out with me and my friends. See how nosy they are.”
Then she turns and goes to her car. When we arrive at my house, the street is crowded with cars and a few motorcycles. Half the team is there, everyone with cups of beer. Taylor has the barbecue started, heating up. His bike is parked back here next to mine. When he sees me, he and the other guys go out front to grab their gear.
I take over at the barbecue, cleaning off the grill and turning down the heat.
Adalie comes up to me. “Do you need any help?” she asks.
“Sure. Come on.” I lead her into Taylor’s place, through his dining room into his kitchen. “There’s a bathroom there, if you need it,” I say, pointing toward it. “I’ll introduce you around once Taylor comes back to take over the grill. Can you carry this out for me?” I hand her the box of frozen burgers while I get the barbecue sauce, cheese, and onions.
She takes the box. “Patricia and Raine explained who a lot of people were at the game,” she says. “Of course, everyone looks kind of different without their pads, helmets, and jerseys on.”
We carry the things back outside where Taylor has returned to take over grilling. I introduce Adalie to a few more teammates and some girlfriends and wives who have shown up as well. Everyone is polite, but I’m certain they’re saving the nosy questions for later. Or maybe they’re just saving them for me. We return inside because she insists on helping me lay out the burger fixings and the other food the team has brought.
“Did you want a drink?” I ask. “I, uh, bought some peppermint tea the other day.”
I feel like a fucking idiot. I did when I bought the tea as well. But while I was at the store, I found myself in the aisle staring at teas, not having any clue what I was looking at.
“Really?” she asks, pausing in setting out a potato salad.
I scratch the back of my neck. “Yeah. It’s upstairs, but I could go get it.”
There’s that look again. The one that makes me want to do more nice things for her so she can smile at me like that, like I’ve just given her a bunch of diamonds instead of some tea.
“Thank you. Let’s save it for next Thursday. I’m okay right now.”
As I search in the fridge for the buns and condiments, I ask, “What was the meeting at Blue Vista about this morning?”
“Oh.” She takes the items from me, sorting them on the counter. “It’s kind of a long story, but the short version is we’re going to be changing the ownership structure. We’re going to be equal partners soon. I mean, we’ve always been equal when it comes to the running of the business. But Vic owns more of the actual equity.”
“Congratulations, I guess?”
She laughs. “Maybe when there’s not so much going on I’ll explain everything.”
I hand her a couple tomatoes and a knife while I work on separating the lettuce leaves. “It’s probably overwhelming meeting all these people at once,” I say.
“Not really,” she says, slicing the first tomato. “I’m pretty good with names. I like meeting new people.”
“I could tell.” She had seemed happy to meet every person I introduced her to. If it had been me, I would have been exhausted after the first one.
“You’ve known these guys for a long time?” she asks.
“Some of them longer than others. Doug, Mace, and I went to high school together. We were in this big friend group, but I didn’t hang out with them a lot.”
She grins. “Are you telling me you’ve always been a loner, Nate?”
I smile as well. “A little. We kind of lost touch after high school for a bit, then Zach mentioned to Taylor about starting a hockey team and he asked if I wanted to join. Zach and Taylor have always been friends. Actually, you’ll meet Mace and Zach’s sister Syn in a couple weeks. She and Zach work at the tattoo parlour with Sam.”
I’d texted her earlier in the week when I’d scheduled the appointment based on the dates Adalie had said would work.
She grabs the other tomato and continues slicing. “Mace and Zach don’t look much alike for brothers.”
I chuckle. “They shouldn’t. They’re adopted. Same with Syn and their other brother Everett.”
“All of them?” she asks, her eyes wide.
I nod as I take the lettuce to the sink to wash it all.
“But Everett doesn’t play on the team?”
“He’s part of the motorcycle club, but no. Not on the hockey team.”
She takes a plate and lays all the tomato slices on it. “Patricia and Raine said there’s a lot of brothers on your team.”
“Yeah. We have four sets in the main ten and one more among the casual fifteen.”
“It’s nice you have such a close group of guys. I could tell when you were playing that you make a good team. You trust each other. Sometimes it seemed like you knew where someone was without even needing to look.”
“We’ve played together a long time. It’s one of the reasons we won tonight and have such a good record.”
She brings the plate of tomatoes over to where I’m setting out some other things, a soft smile on her lips. “You’re really protective of them. Whenever someone hurt one of your teammates, you were right there, getting in the way.”
I don’t notice my hand is moving until I’m already touching her, tucking her curls behind her ear so I can see the warmth in her green eyes. They drift closed as she moves toward my touch. Instead of letting her go like I should, my fingers thread into her hair, tilting her face up.
“Burgers are ready,” Taylor calls from outside.
I snatch my hand back and Adalie takes a step away, her eyes flying open and her breathing a little ragged. Then she turns as the first of my guests come in to get their plates.
I step away from the counter, giving people room, but I’m watching as Adalie escapes outside. She glances over her shoulder at me, and I wonder if she’s just as disappointed as I am that we were interrupted.