by Kat Obie
"What happened?" I’d just had a few drinks and some of the best sex ever. Nothing to get worked up over.
"Colandra is out for the rest of the season because of some lunatic, and you two were last seen with him and his girlfriend before the shit hit the fan."
"Oh," I said simply. That was unexpected. I knew I needed more details about what happened but K could catch me up soon enough. This wasn't because I was drunk or had sex with K. There was a part of me that wanted to say ‘awesome’, but that would have gone over like a bunch of lead balloons.
"Your dad and I were talking about what would be best for the team and for us." I was glad to hear him talk. He was calm and sounded normal.
"That better include us getting to be together," I said. I wasn't going to let it be any other way. I’d waited too long to date K, and I wanted to continue doing everything with him.
Dad nodded. He folded his arms across his chest and continued to pace. "Of course it will. That's not the issue. It's more how public you guys want to be about things since it will get out that you were at the party with K. You still have to go to the police department for your statement. Everyone on the team saw you two together, but that can stay in-house as much as possible."
"Oh . . ." I felt like I was truly behind the eight ball. I didn't need to save K from my dad. I really wasn't expecting that, especially given how mad Dad was when I first came into the room. I looked towards K and asked, "What would you want?"
"I want to date you properly. Sit next to your parents when you compete, if I can go. You know I can't go to your international competitions with my job. I want to continue working out together when I'm in town. I don’t care if it means we are seen holding hands all the time or not. I'm cool either way. I just want you." K was clearly nervous—he was babbling.
"You want to watch me skate?"
He looked at me like I was so oblivious. All things considered, I was even thinking that. He said, "Of course I do. I love it when you skate. Besides, I thought you liked having your Special K with you at competitions."
"I do, but you haven't been to a competition in years." I couldn't believe he’d brought up the nickname that I’d texted to him when I first became a senior and was nervous about competing at the US nationals. It was the first time he couldn't watch me in person at a big event due to his career. Like Dad, I could be superstitious, so I texted him saying how I wanted him there. He didn't see the text until afterwards, and I had a disastrous skate and popped my ACL that day. Since then, he would always text me, saying, ‘Special K wishes you luck,’ as I was warming up backstage. It seemed like he always knew whenever I was super jittery and needed a pep talk.
"Actually, Kiddo, he has," said my dad. I was shocked. I looked at K, not believing my dad.
K took a deep breath and played with my hair as he said, "Yeah, Alex, I go to as many as I can. Your dad has helped me with the dates and tickets over the years."
"Wait, is that how you always knew when I had the jitters? Why didn't you say anything?"
He nodded. "I wasn't your boyfriend. It wasn't my place to be there all the time. I didn't want to be creepy, but I knew you liked it when I came before. So, yeah, I would go to most of the US competitions and knew what to text you based on your warm up. Your mom would warn me if you seemed nervous and I couldn't go. I know you are superstitious. You thought it was okay as long as I texted before you skated. If you thought I was there, I could have messed up things. You didn’t need me there anymore, but I still liked going to support you.”
I kissed him. That was literally the sweetest thing I’d ever heard.
My dad cleared his throat and was clearly not in the mood to see his daughter kissing anyone right now. At least he was okay with me and K dating. That was huge, ‘cause I didn't think anyone would be good enough for me to date in my dad's mind.
I drank some more of the Gatorade and tried to focus on everything. "What happened to Colandra? Why do I need to speak to the police and K doesn't?"
"You weren't lying when you said she didn't know what happened?" my dad asked. He sounded so relieved.
K kissed my ear and just held me close as he said, "He got shot last night, shortly after we left the party. I already gave my statement to the police while you slept."
"So, why aren't we at the hospital?" We always went to the hospital whenever a Sound player got injured or someone was giving birth. It was one big family. I'd been trained that that was what you did.
"I asked K to keep you guys here while I cleaned things up downstairs. I knew you were safe here and, quite frankly, that's all I cared about until I knew how bad things were. I didn’t even know if they arrested the guy." The look on my dad's face said everything. He hated when he had to put on his GM hat as well as his coaching hat. He did it remarkably well usually, so it was never a big deal. "We'll set up a meeting with the cops through our lawyer. They are going to want to just confirm what happened and if you saw anything before coming up here. I don't know if it will be today or tomorrow. But you are a dumbass for drinking so much, and don't even think you are going to get out of practice today because you’re hungover. You did this to yourself." I nodded solemnly. It was our family rule. If you got drunk, you still had to show up for practice. I'd seen my dad do that a few times back in the day.
K said with a lightness in his voice, "So, about what we were discussing earlier—you wanted to have a plan before going to the hospital. What about Webs as Captain, and we make Killer an A?" K and Weber were both assistant captains already. Gerald "Killer" Miller was a good, solid, veteran defenseman but could be unremarkable at times too.
"That's dumb." Oops, I’d said that part out loud. That wasn't going to go over well. Normally, I knew when Dad wanted my opinion, and right now wasn’t the right moment, especially if he thought I was drunk.
"What was that, Alexandra?" Yup. Dad didn't want my input. I also hadn't been called by my given name this many times in a row for a while. Normally, he would call me Lex or Lexi.
"I think it's dumb to make Weber a captain." I said it simply. My dad glared at me, so I continued, "The captain is the most valuable player and leader on and off the ice. That's K."
"Thanks, Alex, but it's not that simple. We are trying to avoid any signs of favoritism."
My dad continued, "I don't want the team to think that he gets special privileges."
"But you already give him those." ‘Cause letting him date me was one hell of a perk. I’d seen him intimidate rookies for so much as flirting with me.
"Quoi?"
I should have kept my mouth shut. So much for keeping Dad calm enough to stick with English.
K whispered, "You aren't helping, honey." That was the first time he'd ever used a pet name for me. I liked it. I never thought I would see the day that he would do that.
"You haven't killed K because he took me out on a date. That's a privilege you don't give anyone else. Not that you get much of a say about who I get to date. Sure, you could assign him to the AHL or trade him, but K's needed for your playoff plan. He's not expendable. But I'm more talking about this whole situation right here. Name me one other player you currently have that you would be discussing your options with for the leadership team. Hell, I don’t think I’ve seen you talk to any player like you are doing right now."
"Yes, I like to talk to Klaus about things going on with the team, but that doesn’t mean he should instantly become captain. We can just use 3 As since I don't know about the captain slot just yet but I like Killer as an A. You two need to get dressed. We should get to the hospital sooner rather than later."
"Um . . . Alex can't," K said softly. He knew that we were going to be getting into trouble about that one. There was no good way to say that I didn't have a fully functional outfit. At least K had an extra T-shirt for me.
My dad glared at us. "Explique."
I quickly whispered the translation that we needed to explain ourselves to Klaus since I knew he’d never studied French a
nd wasn’t sure how much he understood my dad when he was like this.
"I kinda ripped her dress off."
"You don't just kinda rip a dress off of somebody. Especially not my daughter's." My dad's face was about as red as our hair. I couldn't exactly blame him for being pissed.
Much to K's credit, he didn't move or budge. He just held onto me, and I could feel the warmth radiate off his body. He didn't seem to be at all intimidated. Yet, K wasn't talking either. So it was left to my drunk ass to talk to my dad and not make things worse. "I asked him to. I was stuck in the damn thing, and I didn't want to sleep in a tight dress with fabric everywhere. It's not like I'm naked. He had a shirt I could wear."
It didn't seem to have much of an impact on my dad, nor did I really expect it to. It was the truth, minus the whole ‘we also really wanted to have some sex’ part. I didn’t think he was ready for that news, even if I loved it.
"I was going to purchase some pants for her in the morning so she would have something to wear home. But it's 3 a.m. There's nothing open," K said quietly, and he placed a soft kiss on the back of my neck. I know I probably cracked a smile when he did it. "I could go to your house to get her something."
Dad looked down and stuck his tongue to the top of his upper lip as he thought. Then he said, "Klaus, go get some clothing for Alexandra. Then the two of you will meet us at the hospital. In the meanwhile, Alexandra, you need to finish that Gatorade and then drink some water."
Then my dad walked out of the hotel room and slammed the door shut. I swear the wall shook from the force. I looked towards K and said, "Well, that could have gone worse."
"No kidding. Although you need to learn to keep your mouth shut sometimes. You weren’t helping as much as you thought you were. I don't think I've heard him call you Alexandra so many times in one hour," he said with a teasing smile. Then his face turned serious and he asked, “Do you regret anything?”
“God, no. It was great. I want to do it again.”
He looked relieved. It was actually sweet he was concerned that I might have been too drunk and regretted our first time. "Good. I should go. We don't want to make your dad any angrier."
7
Klaus
I was taking my time getting to Alex's place when I was surprised by my dad calling. I immediately accepted the call through my bluetooth speakers. "Hey, Dad."
"I wanted to warn you: you need to avoid Scotty for a while."
Great, now my dad knew about everything, which meant Scotty called on his way to the hospital. This was just getting better and better. "Um, any clue on how to avoid my coach?"
"Just give him space. He's more than a little pissed right now at you and Alex."
"It wasn't my fault."
"You are saying you didn't get Alex drunk or tear off her dress so you guys could have sex?"
I blinked in surprise. I never told Scotty the last part. We were careful not to mention it. We might have implied it, but it was never said. "Okay. That was my fault, but we never said anything about sex." There was no reason to lie to my dad.
My dad just started laughing into the phone. Once he was done laughing, he said, "It doesn't take a genius to know what you were up to if you were ripping off each other's clothing."
He did have a point. It was the most logical reason for the dress removal. This whole thing just kept getting better and better. I didn't say anything for a moment, and my dad said, "I take it you are now finally in the market to get your own place here in Cleveland so you can have some privacy. That is, if Scotty doesn't kill you tonight."
"Yeah. I still don't want to sell my New York place, though." I loved that apartment. It overlooked the city, and I missed the city. It was pricey, but I felt that it was worth it. It just made it hard to want to get a second place when I already had a multimillion dollar home, even if I wasn't there most of the year.
"Call Petey in the morning. He'll cut you a deal on his place."
I liked the idea of getting a deal on a place, and I wouldn't have to move far. It would only be next door. But I’d talked to Petey when I first signed in Cleveland. He’d been renting his place out on a regular basis since he retired and moved back to Vancouver. "I thought he was renting it to one of the basketball players."
"I was talking to him earlier tonight. Apparently, that didn't work out and they moved out last week."
Then I realized something: if Dad was talking to Petey, there was a strong chance Petey had heard about my dating life. "Don't tell me you told him about me and Alex."
"I didn't. Scotty did. I only confirmed it."
"You guys gossip more than your wives."
"Hey. We're happy for you guys. Well, Scotty was until the whole realization that you guys had sex. Now he needs time."
I shook my head, but I knew I couldn't do anything about it. Then my dad continued, "Oh, and that realization has cost you the interim captain's job."
"I didn't think it was mine in the first place. I’ll do my job regardless of what letter is on my jersey.” I didn't actually care if I wasn't a captain or an assistant captain. I knew I could help lead the guys on the ice either way. It was sweet that Alex was trying to get me the captain's job, though. I pulled into the driveway of Alex's place. "Well, Dad, I got to go. I'll talk to you in the morning."
I pulled out Alex's keys and was about to unlock the front door when Alice opened up the door. "Hey, Alice."
She handed me a bag and said, "I think this is what you are here for. Also, FYI, Scotty's pretty angry at you guys. As if he wasn't dealing with enough tonight."
"I know." I looked in the bag that Alice had packed. She seemed to have everything that Alex would need: leggings, socks, and sneakers. "Thanks for having this ready." Alice pursed her lips. She was thinking about saying something more. I looked at her and asked, "How badly did I screw up?"
"Only a little bit. It's just a lot for him. Lex is still his little girl. So, while you guys did nothing wrong, he's not happy. You know?"
I nodded ‘cause I did know. Even if I didn't, everyone was making sure I knew. I knew it wouldn't be easy for Scotty, yet he’d been the one urging us on. I stared at Alice for a moment.
She reached out and gave me a hug, "It'll work out. Now, you better get those to Alex and get to the hospital. Don't even think about trying to do a quickie."
I gasped. I wasn't ready to hear that from Alice. While the thought might have crossed my mind, I knew it was a terrible idea even before warnings from everyone.
Alice smiled and said, "Give me some credit. I know what it's like to be newly in love. But I don't need my husband doing anything dumb."
I nodded and said, "I'm not going to do anything else dumb today if I can help it. Thanks."
"Don't worry so much. I'll see you soon."
When I got back to the penthouse, I found Alex curled up in a ball sleeping on the sofa. Her head lay on her knees. As I got close, I realized she had a bottle of Gatorade in her lap. Thankfully, it had a cap on, but I still took it from her lap. I kissed her ear and then down her neck. Her eyes fluttered open, and she said, "Mm hmm. I like that."
"I thought you might." I handed her the bag that her mom had given me. "Come on, time to get ready."
"Why do you look so . . ."—she paused as she searched for the word—"upset?"
"Nothing for you to worry about," I said.
"Nope, don’t do that, K. Tell me what's on your mind." That was Alex. It was why I loved her. She wanted to know if she could fix it, and if she couldn’t, she needed to at least know what was going on. She pulled on the leggings, then did some sort of magic trick that allowed her to put on her bra without taking off her shirt while she stared me down. I was glad that she kept my t-shirt on.
"Your dad is just really pissed at me right now and apparently knows about us hooking up."
"But you knew that already," she said with a cheeky smile as she slipped on her shoes.
"Yeah. It was more hearing it from my dad and then your mom
that wasn’t ideal. I know it will work out. I'm just kinda in my head right now since everyone knows. Also, it doesn't help that I'm tired."
Alex came up and pressed her lips to mine. I immediately opened my mouth and slipped my tongue into her mouth. When we pulled back, I threw a bottle of red Gatorade for me and a blue one for Alex into my backpack while she went to get her phone. She said, "I know most guys get all protective of their cars, but I can drive if you want me to. I promise I'm not drunk."
It was sweet of her to offer. but I knew she’d been a little drunk not too long ago. "Normally, I would say yes, but you, my dear, had a little too much to drink last night. But you can drive after we find out how Coldy is holding up."
Alex
I could see that K was utterly exhausted. As we were getting to the hospital, I said, "Do you want me to handle my dad? I might be able to talk him down. Let you catch up with Webs and Shoresy for a bit?"
"Sure."
As soon as he parked the car, I leaned over and gave him a deep kiss. "Don't worry so much."
He forced a smile. While I'd seen him get into his head a couple times over the years, it was always weird when he did. Then again, he was so used to being liked by everyone and never really got into any real trouble. So when it did happen, he would internalize it.
We walked into the hospital with our fingers interwoven. It was clear that we were a couple and everyone else could think what they wanted. I said, "We got this."
K knew exactly which lobby everyone was in. As soon as we walked into, we separated. I walked up to my dad, and K went over to his friends. I watched how they gave each other typical bro hugs.
I sat next to my dad. "So, how's it looking for Colandra?"
"Stable and they got the bullet out of his back. We’re just waiting to hear if he woke up."
"Um, what happened to Cindy?"
"She's in worse condition, but she should live."
I knew my face paled. No one had mentioned anything about her, but that must have been to protect me or because they didn’t know. I worried about finding the guy who’d done it.
