“Girlfriend.”
Chloe walks into the kitchen with Emily and Bri. She rushes to me and throws her arms around me.
“God, you two are obnoxious,” Shaw says from beside me.
We had our exhibition game tonight and a party at The White House after is protocol every year.
“Want something to drink?”
She nods, and I grab her a cup.
“Where’s Sydney?” Shaw asks my girl.
“She’s coming. She had a date with that tennis guy she met last week.”
Shaw mutters under his breath, takes his drink, and storms off. Damn, something went sideways there.
I nod to Emily and Bri. “Can I get you guys something to drink?”
“I got it. I got it.” Datson sweeps in front of me and winks at them. I chuckle but leave him to it.
“Come on, Gabby’s outside. She’s been waiting for you to get here.”
I hold her hand tightly as we join my friends outside. They’ve pulled chairs into a circle off to the side of the party. Blair and Wes, Joel and Katrina, Mario and Vanessa, and Gabby all greet us as we join them.
As I predicted, Gabby tries to steal Chloe, but I hold on tighter. “You’re not stealing her tonight.”
Gabby pouts and I give in. I love that my best friend and my girl are close, but she gets five minutes before I’m taking her back.
Gabby talks a mile a minute about our upcoming trip to watch Zeke play, and I just watch them, completely in awe that this is my life. Great friends, great girl. Even the family situation has improved. Mom’s still struggling more days than not, but she’s showing up more and when I told her I was going to start talking to somebody about the nightmares, she agreed to talk to someone too. Everything is moving forward, and I’m finally looking ahead more than one day at a time.
I take the flask out of my pocket and catch Chloe’s eye. Lifting it, I give it a little shake. Haven’t pulled this thing out in a long time, but I think tonight might be the night to get stupid. Tomorrow, she’s definitely not pulling a fast one on me and kicking me out. Or vice versa. She fakes left; I’ll be waiting right to catch her.
She walks toward me, eyeing the flask with humor and mischief. “Whatcha got in there? Everclear?”
“I want you to remember how awesome I’m going to be later when I fuck you senseless, so I went for something a little less potent.”
She takes it from my hand and tips it back so the liquor flows into her mouth.
“Champagne?” she asks after she’s had a taste.
I nod. “Everclear is for forgetting; champagne is for the nights you want to remember.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me. Our tongues tangle, and I can taste the sweet alcohol lingering between us.
“Mmmm.” I pull back and nip at her bottom lip. “Could blow off the party early.”
“Can’t,” she says with a smile.
“Why’s that?”
“I have a little surprise for you.”
“A dirty surprise?”
She laughs and wrinkles her nose. “Definitely not and when I tell you what it is, you’re going to regret saying that.”
“Alright, I give.”
She checks her phone. “Ah, perfect timing. Come on.”
I follow her back into the house and toward the front door. It opens and Heath steps through.
Chloe turns to check my expression, which has to be shocked because I’m totally blown away.
“How? When? What?” I ask as Heath steps to me. We hug and then I pull back and look him over. I haven’t seen him in months. I get home once or twice a year because the flights are so expensive, and driving takes damn near forever. “Damn. Little bro, you got tall.”
Chloe steps forward and hugs my side. “Hey, Heath.”
Heath gives my girl a once over and blushes. “Hey, Chloe. Thanks for getting me out here.”
“Were you at the game?” I ask him.
“Yeah, got in this afternoon. After the game, I went by to talk to Coach Meyers. He’s going to let me skate with the guys tomorrow morning.”
“That’s awesome.”
He nods.
I squeeze Chloe and look down at her smiling face. “You did this?”
She shrugs like it’s no big deal.
“Thank you.” I take her mouth. My heart beats so wildly I think it might bust out of my chest to get to the owner. And she fucking owns it. “Fuck, I love you.”
Heath groans. “Can I at least get a beer before you two suck face?”
“No booze for you.”
“Lame.”
“Come on, let me introduce you to some people.”
Chloe
Watching Nathan and his brother together makes me happier than I imagined. And I imagined it being pretty great.
“Guys, this is my brother, Heath.” Nathan introduces him to everyone, and the pride in his eyes is easy to see.
“Baby Payne.” Joel stands and shakes Heath’s hand. “Let’s get you a beer.”
“Negative,” Nathan says.
“Come on,” Heath whines.
Joel adds, “One beer isn’t going to hurt him.”
“Oh, okay. Let me just give Michelle a call and see if she wants to join him.”
“Leave my little sister out of this.” Joel puffs out his chest, and I bite back a laugh.
Nathan hands me the flask discreetly. “Shit. I gotta stay sober and look out for him, don’t I?”
I sneak another look at Heath. He looks so much like his brother. Not quite as tall as Nathan, but he’s already filled out more than most guys his age, probably from the hockey I know he plays. His hair is darker than Nathan’s, but they have the same bright blue eyes.
“You’re a good brother,” I tell him.
“Yeah, yeah.” He takes the flask back and takes one last drink. “Wait, where’s he sleeping?”
I bite down harder on my bottom lip, and Nathan shakes his head. “Cockblocked by my own brother.”
I press against him. “Tomorrow night, I’ll make it up to you.”
That brings a smile to his lips.
I leave the party a little early and head back to my dorm to give Nathan and Heath some time together.
“What are you guys doing back already?” I ask as I spot Bri and Emily in the living room. They’ve got the couch pushed away from the wall, all but blocking my way into the living room.
“Rearranging,” Sydney answers as she appears from our bedroom.
“We were thinking the TV should go on that wall.” Emily points.
“What happened to your date?”
“It was fine.” She pushes past me and sets our speaker on the coffee table.
“Fine,” Bri mocks. “A ringing endorsement.”
“Can we just focus on the living room?” Sydney looks to me. “Chloe, where should we put the chair? And where’d you put the rug you bought? I couldn’t find it.”
“Under my bed.”
Her eyes light up, and she runs to get it. We try every piece of furniture in every spot before we get it just right and collapse down in exhaustion.
“It’s perfect now.” Emily drops on the couch.
Sydney falls to the other end and Bri sits in the chair.
“What do you think, Chlo?” Sydney asks, and they all look at me.
I jam myself into the small space left in the chair next to Bri. “Feels like home.”