“I’m sure she’ll be okay with that. She’s about to move in with me, so text me whenever you want to take him for a run.”
“Thanks.”
I’m all for whatever will help the kid. Apparently, he’s done with conversation now because he pulls out his phone and a pair of earbuds. I lean my head back and look out the window. My thoughts stray to Deanna and some of my teammates. Some of them were pretty quick in getting married. I don’t think Deanna and I will be. It’s an ultimate goal, but that is something I don’t want to rush at all.
Moving in relatively quickly, I’m okay with. I’m confident with that happening right now. I plan to get married only once in my life. I’ve seen and heard too many horror stories about marriages going sour and divorces turned worse than ugly. No, thanks. I want no part of that. Deanna and I will take our sweet time going down that road. Because once we start on it, I don’t want us turning back or dividing to go our separate ways.
Aside from that, I think it’ll be a while before Deanna is ready for something like that. She was caught completely off guard by my wanting her to live with me. She’d likely faint if, within the next year or two, I asked her to marry me. Hell, she might run away. Okay, so I don’t think she’d actually run, but I think she’d say not yet at the very least.
Once she moves in, it’ll be slow going for us. It’ll be the best kind of slow going, too. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to be in a relationship as much as I do now. I’ve never wanted a woman as much as I want Deanna. And I want her as much as I’ve wanted my career all these years. It actually feels nice to have both.
We soon land and get settled into the hotel. We don’t technically have anything on the agenda today, but a volleyball game is on the unofficial schedule. There’s a gym next door to the hotel, which includes a volleyball court. Scotty and I are captains of teams and we alternate choosing players for our teams.
Despite my personal judgment, I pick Marco and Zane to be on my team. Better to have Marco on my team to chirp the opponent than to be the one he’s annoying. I pick Zane because I figure with everything that’s happened, it’ll be good to keep working together. Things haven’t been smooth, and they need to be. The utter look of shock on his face confirms that he never thought I’d pick him, which just adds on to the fact that it was a decision I needed to make.
The game starts with a serve by EJ, who is obviously on my team. As a friend and since I know he’s great at volleyball, the latter of which was most important, he was my first pick. The ball sails through the air, back and forth over the net, while guys from each side talk trash. God save us all when Marco spikes the ball, earns us a point, and celebrates for five minutes afterward. It probably wouldn’t have lasted so long had Noah not been the one to have the ball hit the ground in front of him.
“Keep on, Marco,” Rams says, “and you’ll pull a muscle celebrating. You won’t be laughing then.”
Marc rolls his eyes and tosses the ball to Zane, who is up to serve. We have a good game. We win, of course, but no one brags as much as Marc. It doesn’t matter. The point was to get the guys together for some fun, and we did that. We’ll be in a good mood for the game tomorrow.
Once I make it back to my hotel room, I call Deanna.
“Tell me,” she demands when she answers. If it wasn’t for how often that command has been used between us since the first time I said it, I wouldn’t know what she’s talking about. But I do.
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Today has been hectic. The shop has been insanely busy for some reason and on top of that, someone clogged our toilet so bad, it flooded the bathroom. The plumber is here working on things now. I’m ready to go home. See what happens when you leave me, Brayden?”
I laugh. “I’m sorry. If I was there, I’d take you into your office and finally make your fantasy come true.”
She snorts. “Yeah, right. Mr. Tightwad, who doesn’t want to do anything unless we’re safe and sound at home, would not voluntarily have sex with me in my office.”
“You could convince me; you always do.”
I practically hear her smile and the pride in her voice as she says, “That’s true. Maybe next time you stop by then. How has your day been?”
“Fine. We landed, played some volleyball, and are relaxing for a bit before the team goes to dinner.”
Someone calls her name in the background. It takes her two seconds to say, “Brayden, I’m sorry, but I gotta go. Have fun tonight and we’ll talk later. Love you.”
“Love you too, darlin’.”
She hangs up without another word to deal with her mess back home.
In the first period, Zane makes a hit on someone. It’s a hard hit that riles up the home crowd and pisses them off, especially since their player leaves the period early. He returns for the second and third to play. But that one hit seems to spur a higher energy not only in the crowd, but within the players of both teams. We have no choice but to react to their energy. We need to match it and keep playing our game to stay in it.
It is a tight race. Momentum swings back and forth easily, but we win, thanks to a goal assisted by Z. The crowd is not happy. They are vocal tonight, particularly with Z. He is booed every time he does anything on the ice.
So, afterward, when EJ and I find out he’s spending time at the bar across the street, EJ says, “We need to check on him.” He walks through the lobby without waiting to see if I follow along. “I have a bad feeling, Brayden,” he adds as we cross the street. That doesn’t make me feel good at all, considering how he is about listening to his gut.
Turns out, he has reason to have a bad feeling. We walk into the bar to find a fan of the other team, easily known thanks to his jersey, swaying on his feet and standing before Zane. He cusses and makes comments about how Zane’s hit was dirty.
And Zane, the idiot, argues back with a beer in his hand. “You weren’t on the ice, so keep your fucking opinions to yourself. Or grab a stick and play.” That apparently pisses the fan off and he’s a step closer to Zane. Now, they both run their mouths at each other. I grab Z’s arm and yank him a few steps back from the guy. He glares when he sees it’s me.
The fan continues to go on and on about the hit and how now we’re rescuing Zane. To EJ, I say, “Make sure his tab is paid. We’ll meet you at the hotel.” To Zane, I say only one word. “Disengage.” After putting his beer down on a random table, I drag him out of the bar. He yanks his arm away halfway out.
“Don’t you know you don’t pull that shit?” I ask once we’re outside.
“Why do you even care?”
“Because he was clearly plastered. What if you pissed him off enough that he decided to hit you? You don’t argue with fans. You should know better than to egg him on.”
He stares straight ahead as we cross the street. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
“You’re my teammate; I’ll have your back no matter what. That should be obvious. I don’t know why you would think otherwise.”
He turns his head to look at me. “Yes, you do.”
Deanna. Right. Of course. “Are you saying you wouldn’t have my back?”
He hesitates in answering as we walk into the lobby. “On the ice, of course. Off it?”
I can’t help but chuckle at his uncertainty. If the roles were reversed, I can’t say I’d be certain I would feel the same as I do now. “Your history with her or the fact that you’ve texted her since or talked to her at the bar,” his eyes widen since he apparently thought I didn’t know about the latter two things, “doesn’t change the fact that you’re my teammate and we have to work together.”
Z shakes his head. “You’re better at pushing things aside than I am.”
I laugh. “No, I just focus on what I can control, that kind of thing.”
Two girls walk in, glance our way, and giggle to one another on their way to the check-in desk. “Maybe that’s what I need to focus on,” he comments. I don’t say anything. That’s not
for me to decide or to encourage. EJ walks in and Zane nods at us both. “Thanks for saving my ass.”
I shrug and EJ leaves him with a, “No big deal.” We head toward the elevators while Zane hangs out in the lobby. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s to talk to those girls.
“Hey, Dad.”
Otis and I stand a few feet away from the door where Deanna stands in front of her dad. We’re at her house, packing, and all of a sudden, there’s a knock on the door.
“Hey.” His gaze flicks to Otis and me. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Not really. We’re packing because I’m moving in with Brayden. That’s him, by the way. Do you want to come in? We’re due for a break.”
“I would like to speak to you for a moment if that’s okay.”
“Yeah, sure.” She leads him into the kitchen, throwing a quizzical look my way. Otis gives up and wanders in there, but I stay put to eavesdrop. He hasn’t exactly been father of the year since her mother died. What’s so wrong with being on standby just in case he upsets her?
“Sorry for popping in like this, Deanna, but I didn’t want to wait.”
“That’s okay, Dad. What is it? Is everything okay?”
“No. I’m sorry for treating you like I have since your mother’s death. We had been together so long and suddenly, she was gone. I didn’t know how to react; I still feel like I don’t. Not having you there at Christmas hurt, but I realize I should’ve listened better, too. I also realize that we never quite had a good relationship and,” he pauses for a moment, “lord help me, but I blame your mother for that. I allowed her to rub off on me. Your mother dying and reading those diaries of hers made me realize, too, that I didn’t know her nor you as well as I thought I did. She’s gone now and there’s not much I can do but miss her. But with you?” He sounds choked up now. “I hope we can get to know one another better. And I can get to know that boyfriend of yours.”
“Of course, Dad,” Deanna quickly agrees. “We’ll all have dinner sometime soon.”
“Great. That’s great. Okay, well, I best be going. I don’t want to interfere with your day.”
Footsteps quickly follow his words and he frowns when he sees me in the same spot as before, but I don’t care. Deanna says goodbye to him and then he’s gone. She turns to me with a smile on her face.
“Can you believe that? I’m assuming you heard?”
“I did. You look happy.”
“I am. A little skeptical, but happy.”
“Good. I’m happy for you.” I hold out my hand. “Let’s get back to work.”
Not thirty minutes later does she stop packing.
“This will take forever,” Deanna complains with a groan as she plops onto her bed. “I don’t want to move anymore.”
I laugh. “Too bad. We’re doing this.” All we’re doing so far is packing the things she’ll need to take to my house while also discussing what she wants to get rid off. “Hey, do you rent or own this place?” I can’t believe I hadn’t thought to ask before now.
“Rent. I didn’t want to buy simply because I didn’t want to have to fix things that broke. If I rent, the landlord has to do it. I wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility.”
Makes sense. She lies on the bed for another five minutes, looking around the room and shaking her head, while I continue to pack her clothes. “This is a lot of work.”
“Which I’m currently doing alone,” I point out.
“How did I get all of this shit anyway? When I moved in, all I had was this bed and three boxes of clothes.”
“Deanna.” She needs to get up and help.
“This is a big deal, Brayden.” Her voice turns soft. She glances around the room as if she can’t believe what she’s doing.
Tossing the clothes in my hand into the box, I walk over to sit next to her and take her hand. “Yes, it’s a big deal. You still want to do it, don’t you?”
Deanna quickly snaps her gaze to mine. “Yes, of course. I just...can’t believe I’m doing it. I can’t believe I’ve lived on my own for all of these years with no help from my family. That I struggled until I could make it work. That I’ve had so much fun. That I liked living alone more than I thought I would. I was scared at first, you know? What if I got lonely? What if I couldn’t make ends meet? That kind of thing worried me for a long time when I first moved here.
“And now, I’m leaving this place to live with someone other than my parents for the first time. To live with a man for the first time. Now I have to figure out how all of that works without messing up too much or too badly.” She takes a big breath. “This is huge.” It’s like the enormity of what we’re doing has grown by three and suddenly hit her.
I squeeze her hand and lift it to kiss her knuckles. “Huge and great. It won’t be perfect. Things haven’t been so far and they won’t be in the future.” She frowns at this. “But look at us, darlin’,” I insist quietly. “Still here, still together. Life doesn’t have to be mistake-free for us to last.”
“I know. Thank you for reassuring me, but I promise I don’t actually need it. I’m just overwhelmed at the moment, especially with all that has to be done.”
“We’re in no rush. How much time is left on your lease?”
“Two months.”
“So, we have two long months to get everything settled. But we certainly aren’t getting anything accomplished by sitting here.”
I smile when she rolls her eyes at me.
“All right. Let’s do this. But under one condition.” She sets her phone onto a small stereo system. Music starts to play and she faces me. “You have to sing to me.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Do you want me to help?”
“It’s your fucking shit.”
She shrugs as if that doesn’t matter anyway. I grab the pillow and throw it at her, which earns me a growl from Otis.
“Fine. Just remember that you’re not always getting your way in the future.”
“Mhm,” she hums.
She has gotten her way a lot, if not all, of the time. Yet I haven’t complained once. Why would I? It keeps her happy, and it for damn sure makes me happy. Deanna can have whatever she wants. She wiggled into my life, revived lifelong doubts, erased those doubts, helped me relax, and then had me fall in love with her.
I’m thankful to have her in my life, especially during my concussion and finding out about Coach Hall. Deanna might drive me a little crazy at times, but she can also ground me. That’s important.
And now, she’s moving in. I’m sure it’s going to be a crazy, but fun experience. It is a huge step; she’s absolutely right about that. Neither of us should have any concerns, though. As long as we go all in, it’ll be worth our while, and I have no doubts that we’ll do just that.
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Acknowledgements
Thank you, Kristalyn Thornock. I hope the day never comes where I work on a book without you!
Thank you, Angie Wells, for being a beta reader for me! I very much appreciate your help.
Thank you, Shannon Page, for editing my work. I enjoy working with you.
Thank you, Robin from Wicked by Design, for a great cover and for being great to work with.
Thank you, Julie from JT Formatting. You are the best!
Thank you, reader, for taking the time to read this story. I'm able to do what I love because of you, your support, and your love of reading.
***
Lindsay Paige is the author of multiple Young Adult, New Adult, and Sports romances. She also enjoys writing books with characters who deal with anxiety and depression, issues which are close to her heart. Lindsay is a North Carolinian who loves watching hockey, sharing puns, having conversations with her miniature Schnauzer, re-watching episodes of MASH, and living her dream of writing books for a living.
If you would like to hear news before anyone else, interact with Lindsay, and have a place to discuss her books with fellow fans, join Lindsay’s League (https://www.facebook.com/groups/lindsaysleague/) on Facebook.
Author Links:
Website: lindsaypaige.com
Twitter: twitter.com/lindsaypaige11
Facebook: facebook.com/authorlindsaypaige
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lindsaysleague/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorlindsaypaige/
Lindsay has written the following books/series:
Bending Under Pressure (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/bending-under-pressure/)
Bold as Love series (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/sweetness/)
Bracing for Love series (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/bracing-for-love/)
Carolina Rebels series (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/carolina-rebels-series)
Don’t Panic (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/dont-panic/)
Sanity series (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/driving-me-mad/)
Without a Doubt (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/without-a-doubt/)
You Before Me (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/you-before-me/)
She has cowritten the following series:
The Penalty Kill Trilogy (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/breakaway/)
Oh Captain, My Captain series (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/looking-for-you/)
The Ninth Inning series (http://www.lindsaypaige.com/feli/)
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