“Tyler, your dad has the hook-up,” Isa commented as we all walked into the box her father owned for the season above the Washington Capitals ice hockey rink. “This is an incredible view.”
Tyler laced her fingers with mine and leaned into my side. “Thanks. There are plenty of snacks over on the side table and a fully stocked bar. Everyone help yourselves to whatever you want.”
Me, Tyler, Kari, Rachel, Isa, Eduardo, and my friend Samira were all filing into the box that still had more than enough room to invite ten more people if we’d wanted to, which in fact, we had.
Between Tyler’s friends and mine, it was going to be a meet-and-greet for everyone important in our lives—not including family or Mila and Ari, who were in New York right now. But Lukas, Ari’s stepson, was already here. He was currently pouring himself shots while on TikTok Live and answering questions from his fans. He annoyed the living shit out of me, but Mila and Ari loved him and insisted I invite him out to more things so this was his pity invite for the year.
Ari’s brother, Aston, was also here with his fiancée—I would be a bridesmaid next year in the wedding and was looking forward to it—and his mother, Nomi. Inviting Nomi meant, of course, that I had also invited Chicky and her new husband, Reverend Steve Wilson. I’d also been a bridesmaid in that wedding, and I had never seen a bigger wedding in my life or ever seen anyone make out so hardcore at the altar before. Nomi had actually been Chicky’s maid of honor because she and Mila had had a fight about floral arrangements, but they’d worked it out eventually.
Families are complicated, man.
“Do you think everyone will get along?” Tyler whispered to me as we walked over to the bar area.
I grabbed us both a can of hard seltzer and opened the top for her. “They seem to be so far. You have to introduce me to your friends. Who is that talking to Lukas?”
“Who’s Lukas?” Tyler asked.
I pointed him out and quickly filled her in on his weird role in our life and friend group. He was taking a selfie with someone with the ice rink in the background.
“That’s Riley, my producer.” Tyler pointed to the beautiful trans woman smiling next to Lukas in the photograph. “She works for the company that owns my podcast and makes every episode perfection. I honestly don’t know how she does it.”
I gave her a courteous smile and nod as Tyler waved to her. “I definitely need to meet her. What about that guy by the door?”
Tyler followed my gaze to where a short, plump man was deep in conversation with Rachel and Isa. Eduardo was standing partially behind Isa like he was trying to get a word into the conversation but she wasn’t giving him an inch.
“That’s Sanchez,” Tyler explained. “He leases the retail space next to yours.”
“The bike shop?” Where the bar was going to be situated was also next to a bike repair and sales shop that was pretty popular in town. “That’s cool that you guys are friends.”
“Sanchez is more than a friend,” she added.
I glanced at her with one brow raised, but she laughed.
“I mean, he also helps fill in for me as assistant property manager when I’m busy or out of town. He gets a slight reduction on his lease because of that. It’s really helpful, because it’s such a huge building, and I just can’t do it all on my own.”
That made a lot of sense, but I don’t know why I’d never thought to ask much about her property manager duties before. “Oh. Wait, why can’t I get a discount on my rent to help with that? I’ll help, too.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “You’re a hard enough sell at full price, Yas.”
“Gee, thanks.” I laughed. “Come on. Let’s go meet everyone.”
We spent the entire first period just going around and making introductions. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be getting along and mingling easily. The drinks were flowing, which probably helped with that, but I was counting my lucky stars either way.
“I scored a press pass,” Tyler whispered in my ear after we’d made the rounds and talked to everyone. “Want to sneak out with me, and I’ll give you a tour?”
I grinned and nodded, because that sounded like a hella good time.
She took my hand, and we casually slipped out the door into the hallway. Aside from a random person walking to or from the bathrooms, it was pretty empty since the game was currently going and everyone was in the stands. I followed her through the maze of concrete hallways until we came to an Employees Only marked door, which Tyler waltzed through like she had every right to. Another hallway down, we passed a security guard who barely acknowledged us after Tyler waved her press pass at him.
And then we were in the empty locker room.
“For some reason, I thought it would be bigger,” I mused as I walked around the benches. “Like Ted Lasso’s locker room or something.”
“It’s never like the movies,” she commented, taking a seat on one of the benches in front of marked lockers.
“Nothing ever is,” I said with a sigh.
She reached out a hand to me, and I took it, letting her lead me to sit on the bench next to me. Our fingers were interlocked and resting on her knee, and we were just quiet for a moment.
“Our friends all get along,” she mused after a quiet moment. “You’ve met my dad. You’re moving into my building.”
When she laid it all out like that, it began to make me feel nervous, but I pushed the butterflies down. “And to think we didn’t even know each other last month.”
“I kind of like where this is going,” she continued. “I don’t know how you feel about everything, and I know this wasn’t really meant to be anything. It doesn’t really feel like a business tactic anymore though, unless that’s all we want it to be.”
We weren’t looking at one another, rather just sitting quietly next to each other. “It’s a little bit more than just business,” I admitted. “I was actually thinking that maybe you should meet my family. Make things fair, you know?”
She looked at me now, surprise etched on her face. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. My dad wants to meet you since he’s been helping with the business planning side of things, and I think you’d get along with my brother and sister really well.” I beamed whenever I talked about my family. I couldn’t help it, but the feeling of love and warmth overflowed my heart anytime I thought about them. “I mean, no pressure or anything. It doesn’t have to mean anything. Business-related, you know?”
She didn’t respond immediately to that. “I’d like to meet them, and I also think I’d like to be more involved in the bar if you’re looking for that. Maybe from an investor standpoint? I could plug the opening on the podcast.”
That might actually be really helpful, but I didn’t give a firm yes or no in that moment. “We should definitely talk about that.”
A player walked into the locker room and was lifting his shirt up over his head when he paused as he saw us sitting there. “Uh, hello?”
“Sorry!” Tyler jumped up from the bench, pulling me along with her. “We’ll get out of your way.”
I laughed as we scurried out of the locker rooms and wove our way back up to where we were supposed to be in the box with our friends.
“You’re going to get your press pass revoked,” I teased her. We tried to slip back into the room as seamlessly as possible. Half of our friends were watching the game, and the other half were engaged in lively conversation, so it actually was pretty easy to go unnoticed.
Tyler interlaced her fingers with mine as we held hands, and things just felt…nice. Even though things between us had been subjected to a bit of a rocky start, the physical connection between us had been undeniable from day one. But now it felt like it was more than just the way my body reacted whenever I looked at her. There was definitely something deeper happening here, and as much as part of me wanted to run the other direction, another part of me just couldn’t let go of her hand.