2. Drew
TWO
DREW
The blinding brightness of the sky and ocean, the heat of the sun filtering through the cabana roof, is only spoiled by my sister’s eyes flickering to me every so often. I keep my eyes trained on the book in my hand because I’m not going to give Vin the attention she so clearly wants.
She has a husband for that now. There’s a pile of shells sitting on the small side table, which Roman collected for her. He’s off collecting more right now.
If there’s one thing Vin and I have learned in our existence as redheads, it’s that no matter how much sunscreen we put on, we will burn. That’s the reason we’re sitting in this cabana while Jules and Roman wander the beach and why I’ve still got my shirt on.
Honestly, I’ve never been big on beaches. The sand gets everywhere and I’ve always believed that large bodies of water should be admired from afar, and not meddled with up close.
With a sigh, I lower my book and turn to Vin when she looks at me again. “What do you want?”
She claps once, turning to me with a wide grin. “Oh, good! We can finally talk! So, how have you been?”
“Vin, we see each other practically every day,” I say. “Besides, if something was wrong with either of us, the family group chat would know before we did.”
Vin rolls her eyes in annoyance. “I know that, but how have you been? Tell me what’s going on in your life. What’s new and exciting?”
“Literally nothing,” I say.
Lavinia sighs, and I don’t blame her. She’s always been the more friendly one, the outgoing one, the one all the teachers loved because she never did anything wrong.
I sound bitter, when I’m not. Lavinia is amazing.
“How’s Bailey?” Vin asks, inquiring about my dog.
“You saw her two days ago when I dropped her off at Mom and Dad’s.”
Her nose twitches, her sunglasses sliding down a little. She’s got her hair piled up on top of her head and it’s taking everything in me not to point out it looks like a rat’s nest.
“Are you excited about the playoffs? Hopeful?” Vin asks.
I shrug. “The team's playing well. There’s always hope.”
I don’t want to fucking jinx us by talking about it too much. If we win, that’s great. I know my guys are going to fight with everything we have as soon as we get on the ice. One thing we’re not going to do is get cocky and let our expectations disappoint us.
Also, if we lose, we can never return to Boston because the fans will eat us alive.
Lavinia places her chin on her hand. “What do you think of the Campbell trade?”
“Holden hasn’t shut up about it since it was announced. What are we going to do? It’s not like we can stop playing against New York. We’ll be professionals about it.”
“Campbell is a good player,” Vin muses.
“He’s fast and he plays to win,” I agree. “ Just last season he scored fifty-six goals and assisted in twenty-one with a plus-minus of thirty-one.”
I’m worried about what's going to happen when Holden Archer, one of my d-men, has to face his rival. The two of them grew up together, played in the same junior leagues and they’ve always been neck and neck. As in, they probably want to tear each other’s necks out.
“Sounds impressive, but nothing compared to our guys,” Vin says.
If there’s one thing I can be sure of, it’s Lavinia’s loyalty to the Titans. It’s our home team, but we also grew up in the Parker Caine Arena, home of the Boston Titans, since our dad also played for the team. It’s where we both got our love of hockey.
“The Renegades were good even before they added Campbell to the roster,” I say. “They just don’t have what it takes to win the cup.”
I’m not being cocky. The New York Renegades are good in spirit, but when it comes to leading their team to victory, the players always fall short. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to give it our all when we play against them. None of my guys are going to half ass their way on the ice.
“I’m seeing tough competition from the Toronto Knights,” Lavinia says.
I scoff, giving her the side eye. The Toronto Knights are good but I’m not worried about them. They just traded their best two players as far as I’m concerned.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I say. “They’ll never win without Lefevre and I’m surprised their coach and GM made such an asinine decision.”
Lavinia hums in agreement because she knows I’m right. She falls silent and I return to my book. I know she’s getting antsy when her foot starts bouncing and any second now, she’s going to turn to me with something else on her mind.
“Sooo…” Lavinia draws out the word. I lower my book and turn to her.
“Are you dating anyone?”
I roll my eyes and turn away from her, going back to my book. “Just because it worked for you doesn’t mean it’s going to work out for everyone.”
“You haven’t even tried it,” Lavinia accuses.
“The next time we play in Vegas, I’ll be sure to carry a ring with me,” I say. She and Roman got married after a drunken night in Vegas, a fact I wasn’t happy about. It took me a long time to realize Roman is an asshole to everyone but my sister.
“If that’s what works for you, great,” Lavinia says. “You can also just try dating someone the normal way.”
The normal ways of dating don’t work for me. I’m not successful at dating and it’s something I’ve generally given up on. I’ve got hockey, my family, and Bailey. That’s all I need.
“Fine, I’ll try it,” I say, just to get her off my back.
“Really?” She’s animated. “Because I know someone who’ll be perfect for you.”
I whip my head around to look at her. “I’m not dating Jules!”
Lavinia snorts. “Please, I don’t want her to date you.”
It’s the way she says it that rubs me the wrong way. She’s protecting Jules from me because I’m not good enough for her.
“Thanks for that vote of confidence,” I say, a bite to my tone.
Lavinia looks properly chagrined. She turns, looking out towards the beach. I follow her gaze to Jules and Roman. The two of them are standing side by side as Jules points to something in the distance across the water. There’s enough distance between them for a whole person to stand.
Jules has her long, blonde hair braided down her back, the bright blue of her bikini standing out against her sun tanned skin.
I look away before I can notice anything else about her.
Jules is Jules. She’s loud, bright, and she gets a sick kind of pleasure in arguing with me.
She might be a permanent fixture in my life, that doesn’t mean we have to get along.
We never have, and probably never will. Our differences are too vast.
“I mean,” Vin says, turning back to me. “You and Jules aren’t right for each other. I don’t want to be stuck between that relationship. The two of you fight enough without being exes. Can you imagine what family dinners will be like if you two break up and one of you starts dating someone else?”
“Probably a good thing we’re never going to date, then.”
“Who’s never going to date?”
I look up to see Jules walking into the cabana. Roman is right behind her and settles on Lavinia’s lounger, leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek. My sister practically glows with affection.
Jules settles onto the edge of their lounger, reaching for a towel which she wraps around her shoulders. Loose strands of her hair blow across her face with the breeze coming off the ocean.
“You and Drew,” Lavinia replies to her.
Jules looks stricken for a second before laughter bubbles up out of her. She laughs so hard she almost falls over and has to put out a hand for support.
“I know!” Lavinia says, laughing along with her. “Drew brought it up.”
I glare at her in betrayal. As if Jules needs more ammunition.
It only makes Jules laugh harder, her face growing red as she tries to catch her breath.
“I know I’m irresistible, but it’s never going to happen, Andrew,” she says, between gasps of laughter. “Please get it out of your mind.”
“You’re the one who got us married,” I say through gritted teeth. “If anyone should stop thinking about it, it’s you.”
Her eyes, as blue as the ocean and sky meeting in the distance, and full of mirth, meet mine. “Whatever makes you sleep at night.”
“This is my vacation, too, and I don’t have to put up with the two of you,” I say. Getting off my lounger, I grab my book before walking back to the resort. Behind me, I can hear Jules and Lavinia’s laughter.
The two of them are menaces. It’s been like that since we were kids.
The teachers had to keep them separate because if they sat next to each other, they’d talk nonstop.
Too bad there isn’t a way for me to keep them apart.
I realize how insane that sounds as soon as the thought enters my mind.
Jules makes my sister happier than even Roman can.
The two of them are soulmates and I’d be the villain in their story if I kept them apart.
I walk into the resort’s lobby, the cool air from the air conditioning a blissful comfort. I walk past the people checking in and to the pool exit on the other side of the lobby.
It’s louder out here. There’s music, people swimming in the pool, sipping cocktails. Not the most ideal situation. But I’d rather be here than listening to Jules.
My family loves her. For them, Jules can do no wrong, and they’ve never quite understood why I hate her. The truth is, I don’t. Why would I hate someone I don’t even truly know? Jules has been Lavinia's best friend since we were in kindergarten.
I don’t hate her.
I just don’t like her.
I don’t think about her, and I’m pretty sure she argues with me just to see if she can give me an aneurysm. There’s a lot of history between us. A lot of shared moments that no one knows about, most of them bad, some of them…
Some of them leave behind this tight feeling in my chest.
The farther away I stay from Jules, the better for both of us.
“Hey.”
I’ve been reading my book for thirty minutes when Roman appears in front of me. He’s tanned from staying out in the sun, his dark hair windswept.
“The girls are off for their couples massage,” he says, sitting down next to me. Waving down a server, he orders two beers.
Someone jumps into the pool, splashing water everywhere. Roman lays his head back on the lounger, his eyes closed. A woman walks by, her eyes lingering on Roman before shifting to me. I’m thankful for my sunglasses but I still lower my eyes to my book.
I’m not interested.
Hockey is a popular sport and I get a lot of women offering me the best sexual experience of my life. When I was younger, I never hesitated to take them up on their offer. It was consensual, we both got what we wanted and it was over after one night.
I look back now and cringe over how easy it had all been. There was no connection. Hell, I’m not even sure I bothered to ask them their names most of the time.
The woman walks by again, a bounce in her step that makes her ass jiggle.
“You know she’s going to keep doing that until one of us talks to her,” Roman says easily.
The server drops off our beers and I take a sip from mine. “If you want to talk to her, go ahead.”
“I’m not going to talk to a woman who’s not my wife. How dare you even suggest it?” Roman says. “By one of us, I meant you. The one whose single.”
“I’m not interested,” I say, not bothering to raise my eyes from my book.
“Vin thinks it’s sad.”
“Vin thinks it’s sad when the seasons change.”
Roman laughs softly. “She’s so cute.”
The way he says it makes me shake my head. I always suspected he was obsessed with her, even when we were kids, but I had no idea how head over heels in love he was.
It’s fucking weird that people start setting you up as soon as they get into a relationship. They get it right once and suddenly they think they’re the experts.
“You know she’s going to be focused on this now?” Roman says.
“She has a million other things to do,” I say. “Why is she suddenly obsessed?”
“She loves you and thinks you’re going to die lonely.”
I roll my eyes. “I’ll talk to her.”
Roman laughs. “Good luck with that.”
Yeah, I’m probably going to need it. Lavinia isn’t strictly meddlesome, but something has to be said about the environment in which you grew up. Because if there’s one thing our family does best, it’s meddle, especially when they think ‘it’s for the best’.
I start to reply to Roman when my phone buzzes. Pulling it out, I see a message in the family group chat.
Aunt Constance
Can one of you boys get a shirtless pic for the group chat, pretty please?
“I have so many questions right now,” Roman says. I look up and find him with his phone in hand. I assume he got the same message because he’s been added to the family group chat. Hell, Jules has been there for ages.
“Whose shirtless pic does she want? Why does she want a shirtless pic? Which group chat?” Roman asks, looking up at me in question.
“You’re asking me like I know.”
“She’s your great-aunt.”
“That doesn't mean I know why she wants shirtless pics,” I respond.
“You know who’ll probably have a shirtless pic?” Roman raises his eyebrows. His thumbs are already flying across the screen before I can tell him to stop. I sigh as my phone buzzes with his message.
He’s just texted the HoBros group chat aka, our team members and friends.
Angel (Roman)
Anyone have a shirtless pic for Aunt Constance?
His stripper name makes me scoff. He’s no angel. When we began the chat, Reese, one of our wingers, decided we needed stripper names for our group chat.
The replies are immediate.
**The HoBros**
Crystal (Reese)
What kind of shirtless pic? Something tasteful or risqué?
Sassy (Drew)
It’s for my great-aunt
Trixie (Ford)
Why does she want a shirtless pic?
Sassy (Drew)
I’m not asking.
Crystal (Reese)
Let me ask her.
Kandi (Kai)
How do you have her number?
Crystal (Reese)
We’re in a knitting group together
Destiny (Holden)
What kind of knitting group needs shirtless pics?
Sassy (Drew)
Reese, how did you even end up in a knitting group with my great-aunt?
Crystal (Reese)
She saw me knitting and asked if I wanted to join. Who doesn’t love to listen to a bunch of eighty year olds talk about their lives?
Destiny (Holden)
Literally a lot of people.
Kandi (Kai)
I’m offended you didn’t invite me.
Destiny (Holden)
Offended? I’m heartbroken at the betrayal. How dare you not tell me? We promised to never keep secrets from each other.
I set the phone aside as the group chat devolves into messages of heartbreak and betrayal.
“You had to sow seeds of chaos,” I say to Roman.
He puts his hands behind his head as he lays down. “All I did was share Aunt Constance’s request. I’m her favorite for a reason, you know.”
“Yeah, the reason being my sister is in love with you. No need to get an ego boost.”
He grins without looking at me. “The fact that Lavinia is in love with me is an ego boost.”
I can’t deny I’m relieved that he loves Lavinia as much as he does. She deserves someone who’s head over heels for her and after the last guy she almost married, Roman is a huge step up.
I shake my head, going back to my book. This isn’t how I was planning on spending my vacation.