Breakout Play

by Rebel Hart

  “Six o’clock.”

  “Why the hell are you calling me so early?” I growled into the phone.

  “It’s Kim. Have you seen her?”

  My eyes opened. Sunlight streamed through the wide open curtains. I grimaced and turned away. “Uh, why? What’s going on?”

  Keith sounded genuinely worried and guilt crawled around in my stomach as he spoke. “She didn’t come home last night, man. My dad called. He and Mom are starting to worry and he said you swung by the place last night to take her out. What time did you bring her home?”

  Shit.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  “I didn’t bring her home,” I said.

  This wasn’t the time to lie. Keith’s concern was probably doubly matched by Roger. How many missed calls would be on Kim’s phone? What time had Roger and Liz woken up and found their daughter hadn’t come home? How long had they been pacing the kitchen trying to track her down?

  Shiiiiiit.

  “What do you mean you didn’t bring her home?” Keith asked. “Did she go back to stay with Jade and Eugene or something for the night? I’m starting to really worry over here, man. It isn’t like Kim not to come home. Or not to let Mom or Dad know that she’s okay.”

  I rolled onto my back and looked over at the pretty girl sleeping beside me. She had her back to me. The sheets were pulled down, exposing bare skin, but she had them gathered up in front of her and tucked under her chin. I wanted to reach out and run a hand down her back, tracing the line of her spine, and ending with my fingers pressed into those two sexy dimples above her ass.

  I sighed. “She’s fine, Keith.”

  Keith was quiet for a minute. His steady breathing filled the line, and then his voice. “How do you know that?”

  I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. Here goes nothing. “Because I’m with her,” I said.

  “It’s six in the morning,” Keith said flatly.

  “Yep. I know. You woke me up, remember?”

  “What are you two doing together so early in the—” Keith broke off.

  I waited for the tongue lashing that was sure to come.

  Keith sucked in a sharp breath. “Is my sister in your fucking bed right now, William?”

  “Uh—”

  “What the fuck, man?”

  “Look. I wanted to tell you. Neither of us planned for this to happen. It just kind of—”

  “Stop. For the love of fucking God, stop. I do not need to know why or how my sister ended up in your bed. Did I not warn you to stay the hell away from her? I know how you treat girls, William. And Kimberly is not one of your little side fuck toys, you hear me?”

  My mood darkened. “Hey,” I said firmly, “back off.”

  Keith laughed bitterly into the phone. I held it away from my ear. “Oh that’s fucking rich. You have the audacity to be pissed at me after you went behind my back and screwed my baby sister? You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”

  Kim rolled over and frowned at me. “Who are you talking to?”

  I sat up. “I’ll bring her home, okay? You can rip me apart later.”

  “Oh you bet your ass I’m going to rip you apart. I’m going to…”

  I didn’t hear the rest of what Keith was shouting at me because Kim snatched my phone out of my hand. She sat up too, the sheets gathered up in front of her to hide her nakedness. All she wore was a hard scowl as she listened to Keith as he proceeded to yell, thinking it was still me on the line.

  Kim’s voice dripped with acid when she spoke. “Keith. You ass. You don’t get to decide who I spend the night with, okay? I’m a grown-ass woman. I can make my own decisions.”

  I heard Keith laughing on the other end again. It made me wince. When he spoke his voice was so loud I could hear his words crystal clear. “You mean mistakes, right?”

  Kim rolled her eyes. “You’re such a dick sometimes.”

  “Hey. I’m not the one who fucked one of your friends,” Keith barked.

  Kim shot me an apologetic look. “If you don’t like it you can keep your opinion to yourself, okay? This has nothing to do with you. William is—”

  “A player!” Keith bellowed into the line. Kim pulled the phone away from her ear with a grimace. Keith proceeded to yell. “He’s a fucking player, Kim! The guy has been with more chicks than he has hockey teams.”

  Kim scoffed. “Oh please.”

  “I’m not lying. And you know I’m not.” Keith let out a weary sigh. “Look. The least you could’ve done was called Mom and Dad and told them you weren’t coming home. They’re worried sick. So I suggest you either call them or get your ass back there asap before Mom snaps and puts in a missing person’s report. And to think. I’ve been calling all over the place trying to track you down and I find you in my best friend’s bed. Classy, Kim. Real fucking classy.”

  “Fuck you too,” she spat. Then she stared at the phone. “He hung up on me.”

  I sat there like an idiot staring at her as she stared at the phone. She lifted her gaze to meet mine and neither of us said a word.

  Finally, I found my voice. “I think I should drive you home.”

  She nodded with her lip pinched between her teeth. “Yeah. Probably.”

  We both slid out of bed and proceeded to collect our clothes from where we’d abandoned them on the floor the night before. She slipped into the bathroom while I finished getting dressed, and when we were both ready we made our way to the elevator.

  As we rode it down, Kim continued to shoot worried looks at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Don’t take what he said to heart. He’ll get over it.”

  I wasn’t convinced. “He sounded pretty pissed.”

  “He was being a jerk.”

  “He has every right to be angry with me,” I admitted.

  Kim took my hand. “No he doesn’t. He doesn’t own me, William. Or you. If we make each other happy, why can’t we be together?”

  “It’s different with guys.”

  “It shouldn’t be.”

  But it was. Keith had warned me for years now never to get involved with his little sister. He had every reason to be cautious because he was right. I was a player. I slept around in high school and that bad habit didn’t start when I was scouted and prepped to join the NHL. It just made it easier, and it exposed me to a whole new caliber of women I’d never expected to be able to share a bed with.

  But I had. Countless times over.

  But none of those women made me feel the way Kim did. None of them filled me up inside. Every night that ended with one of them left me feeling emptier—like it had cost me something to be with them. Not with Kim.

  She made me feel like I was worth something.

  Kim’s fingers tightened around mine as we rode the elevator down to the parking garage. We got into my car and I turned on the stereo. Music filled the speakers and we listened for the first ten or fifteen minutes of the drive, and then she reached out and turned the volume down.

  “Keith will cool off,” she said. “You just have to give him a bit of time to unwind. I’ll talk to him. I’ll make him understand.”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  Good luck with that.

  She frowned. “You don’t think he’ll hear me out?”

  “No. I don’t. I think he’ll forgive you. He probably already has—”

  “There’s nothing to forgive,” she said sharply. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Neither did you.”

  “Come on, Kim. Who are we fooling? Of course we did something wrong.”

  Her expression crumpled. “How could you say that what we did was wrong? You don’t feel like we’re wrong, do you?”

  “What? God no. Not at all. I mean… we owed it to him to handle this a bit more gracefully. He shouldn’t have found out like this. If we wanted him to respect this we should have sat him down and told him. We should have controlled the situation. Eliminated risk.”

  “You sound like a sergeant or somethi
ng.”

  It was the guilt talking. Keith had always been there for me. If not for Keith I never would have been saved by Liz and Roger. I never would have survived high school. Never would have made the NHL.

  Never would have had this moment with Kim.

  I would have withered away to nothing and been lost.

  I owed everything I had and everything I was to my best friend, and I’d gone behind his back and done exactly what he asked me not to. No matter what way I looked at this I came to the same conclusion: I did not deserve to be forgiven.

  31

  Kimberly

  William and I pulled into my parents’ driveway. I stared up at the house as my stomach swirled with nerves and guilt. Then I turned to the man I was falling head over heels for.

  “I don’t want to go in there,” I admitted.

  “It will be fine.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because. Your parents love you and they’re going to be relieved to see you. The rest of this will sort itself out. Now go on. Don’t make them wait another minute for you.”

  I nodded, leaned across the center console, and gave him a quick, light kiss. Then I slipped out the door and hurried up the drive to the front door of the house. For some reason I felt compelled to knock, as if this place was no longer my home too. I fished my key out of my bag and unlocked the handle, and then I slipped inside as William reversed out of the drive.

  I closed the door at my back and leaned against it. “Hello?”

  Seconds after my voice filled the house my mother’s head poked out from the entrance to the kitchen. “Kimberly!” she cried.

  She was racing toward me as my father hurried down the stairs. They came at me all at once, both of them wrapping me up in their arms and hugging me fiercely.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Or make you worry. I feel so stupid.”

  My mother held me at arm’s length. “Where on earth were you? We called you a hundred times!”

  My cheeks were already burning. “I was with a friend.”

  My mother stroked my hair and my cheeks with shaking hands. “Well. Friend aside. You need to tell us if you’re not coming home, sweetheart. I know it’s not normal for a twenty-four-year-old to have to keep her parents in the loop like that, but we can’t help but worry if you don’t come home without a word. You understand that, don’t you?”

  I nodded and looked back and forth between them. “I do. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

  My mother pulled me in for one last relieved hug. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”

  My father eyed me suspiciously. “So, this friend.”

  “Hm?” I asked innocently.

  Dad arched an eyebrow. “Does he have a name?”

  “He?” my mother asked.

  I rubbed my lips together and looked down at my feet. “I… I was at William’s last night.”

  My mother’s eyebrows shot halfway up her forehead. “You were?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Um. We don’t have to talk about it—”

  “Like hell we don’t,” my mother said, grabbing me by the elbow and leading me into the living room. She not too gently pushed me down onto the sofa and claimed the spot beside me, shuffling so close to me that our knees touched. She stared expectantly at me. “What happened?”

  “Please don’t answer that,” my father pleaded.

  I shot him a look. “I don’t plan to.”

  “Oh come on,” my mother said, looking back and forth between us. Then she smiled. “Did you kiss?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  My dad rubbed his temples. “Is it too early for a beer?”

  “Shush, Roger,” my mother scolded. Her attention returned to me. “When did this happen? Since when were you and William a thing?”

  I rubbed at my forehead. “We’re not a thing. I don’t know, Mom. It all happened so fast. But we both really like each other.”

  My mother smiled up at my father, who did not smile back. That surprised me. Was this going to change things for him and William?

  I hope not. William would never forgive himself if he ruined his relationship with Dad.

  My mother put her hand on my knee. “Your father and I have nothing bad to say about William. I think he’s a good fit for you, sweetheart. Just… be careful, okay?”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because,” she said simply. “William is Keith’s best friend. If things were to go south between the two of you and ruin that friendship that would be very hard for Keith to get past. It would be hard for William too, I imagine.”

  I swallowed.

  What if that damage had already been done?

  Maybe that’s why Keith was up my butt about being with William when he called this morning, I thought.

  “Just sort it out with your brother,” my mother said. “Right, Roger?”

  My dad nodded. “Right. You’re adults. You and William know what you’re doing. Just, please, for the sake of your father’s heart, keep the specifics to yourselves?”

  I smiled. “Promise, Daddy.”

  After a breakfast with my folks that wasn’t nearly as awkward as I’d expected it to be, I borrowed the car and drove to the rink for work. I worked the first hour by myself opening the rink and concession and cleaning up the stuff the closing staff didn't get to the night before, which was a common issue here.

  Eugene arrived for his shift at ten o’clock and sought me out to have a coffee. His hair was a bit messy and not as shiny as usual, and he looked a little dishevelled.

  I gave him a side-eyed look as we huddled around a table in the break room just the two of us.

  “What are you looking at?” he asked.

  “Did you have your date with that new guy last night?”

  He stared into his coffee. “Maybe.”

  I smiled. “I assume it went well?”

  “If you’re taking a stab at my hair I’ll—”

  “I’m not taking a stab at anything, you sensitive harpy,” I said, throwing my balled-up napkin at him. He swatted it away and I laughed. “I was genuinely curious. Did you like him?”

  “Like him?” Eugene scoffed. “I took him straight to pound town and—”

  “Okay. Okay. Enough information. A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would’ve done the trick.”

  He flashed me a white smile. “Sorry. But the details are where I shine.”

  I frowned. “Who told you that?”

  “I tell myself that every day.”

  I laughed.

  “What about you?” he asked, adding another half packet of sugar to his coffee.

  “What about me?”

  “Get up to anything fun last night?”

  I licked my lips. “Um. Yeah… you could say that.”

  Eugene could smell gossip from a mile away. As soon as the words fell from my lips he pushed his coffee away so he could lean in closer. He dropped his voice to a conspiratorial tone. “Did you hook up with someone last night too? My innocent, sweet, sporty Kimmy-bear?”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “Spit it out then.”

  I rolled my eyes to the ceiling for help. The only thing up there were fluorescent lights and the same leak stain that had been there for four years. I sighed. “Yes. I hooked up with someone. But ‘hook up’ isn’t the right term.”

  Eugene leaned back, looking impressed. “As in there are real feelings between you and this mystery man?”

  I nodded. “He’s not much of a mystery if I’m being honest.”

  “Oh?” Eugene’s eyes widened at the hint of a guessing game. “Who is he? Does he live in Long Grove? Does he make a lot of money? Is he hot?”

  “Oh my God, Eugene,” I grumbled, burying my face in my hands.

  “What’s his name? Tell me, girl. I won't shut up until you do. Does he like sports? Is he fit? Do you have any pictures on your phone? Wait. Even better. What’s his Instagram handle? I’ll stalk him f
rom my fake account.” He stared expectantly at me, waiting for said Instagram handle.

  I stared back at him. “It’s William.”

  Eugene’s mouth fell open and he gasped obnoxiously. “Are you kidding me? You’re fucking William Hughes?”

  “Lower your voice,” I hissed.

  “Sorry. Tell me everything. What’s he like in bed? Does he have a six or an eight pack? How big is his-”

  “Eugene.”

  “Right. Sorry. Toning it down.” Eugene took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I waited for what felt like forever for him to pull himself together. When he finally did, he offered me a calm smile. “Okay. Calm. No more inappropriate questions. Although at some point I do expect answers to all those questions I already asked,” he added under his breath.

  “Of course you do,” I grumbled. Then I slumped in my chair. “I can’t explain it. One minute he’s just my stupid brother’s friend and the next we’re naked and having sex. And this isn’t your standard, vanilla, same old routine kind of sex—”

  “Fuck vanilla sex,” Eugene said.

  “Right. Anyway. There’s something real between us. I’m not imagining it. I’m really into him. And I’m pretty sure he’s really into me, too. And he’s… I don’t know how to explain it. He’s in my corner, you know?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well. I’ve confided in him a lot recently. You know, about my knee and working here and how I’m feeling sort of lost.”

  “Go on,” Eugene encouraged.

  “And he looked me in the eyes last night and told me there was more out there for me than just hockey. A lot of people have said that to me. You included. But I never believed them. But when those words came from William I did.”

  Eugene smiled. “Well I’ll be damned. That must feel pretty good, hey?”

  I nodded. “You have no idea. It’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I mean, I still have no clue what I want to do, but I think I’m finally making peace with the fact that my future isn’t here. Or on the ice.”

  “I’m proud of you, baby girl,” Eugene said. “I’ve always thought you had so much more to give. You have so much to share with the world. So much wisdom and experience, especially after everything you went through with your injury and the surgeries. You could help people.”