Helena broke into a giant smile. “Tell me how this happened.”
“What?” I wasn’t about to go into details. We were close, but not that close.
She giggled. “How you ended up with a man, Dean, not the gory details of the cum and blowjobs.” Then she exploded into laughter. “Your face! You’re so red. I’ve never seen you look so embarrassed before!”
I had never wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole before, but here we were. “You’re hilarious.” I gritted my teeth and shifted on my seat, moving my phone to the opposite hand.
“Oh, shit. You really like this guy,” Helena whispered. “Hold on a second.” She climbed to her feet and walked into the office she shared with Ryan. She flipped open her laptop and then I heard her typing. “He’s cute. Thirty-eight, huh? You like your men older, Dean. I can see why.”
I rolled my eyes. “Stop Googling him.”
I wondered what else was out there but shut that thought down before it got out of control. There was probably a lot of shit out there about me, too, that Beau didn’t want to know about. Like the time I got so drunk, I stripped off all my clothes and streaked through the hotel in Toronto before jumping into the pool. I was lucky they hadn’t arrested me for that. But pictures were taken, and even though I paid a lot of money to have them taken down, the internet is forever. People got a good look at the goods, if you know what I mean.
“You two are following each other on Insta already? And is that his son who tagged you in a picture?” Helena was fast as she scrolled. “Start telling me how this happened between the two of you.”
So, I did. How Beau approached me at the bar, exchanged numbers, and Jackson’s freak out. Helena got a big kick out of that. Finding it sweet, too, that he wanted to protect me. And then I told her how I had reached out to him, intrigued and curious about his interest in me. I told Helena as much as I could without getting into the sexual details. Because that’s what she had done when she met Ryan. Because we were always open and honest with one another.
“You went to him?” Helena gasped. “Have you always been bi-curious?”
My throat suddenly felt too tight, and even though I was outside in the cool New England air, I was sweating. “Y... yes,” I stuttered. “I have.”
“And how does Beau feel about you? Because if I have to come up there and kick his ass, I will. Just say the word. I’m not scared of him. Just because he’s six-foot-four and two hundred twenty pounds, I don’t care. I’m a nurse. I’ve seen scarier things than some hockey player.”
I stood up to go back inside the apartment. “He’s not out, and he isn’t ready to be.”
“Fuck that guy,” Helena spat. “You deserve someone who wants to be with you, no matter what.”
I sighed. “His son is his number one priority, and I can respect that.”
“Then maybe Beau shouldn’t go sticking his dick in my best friend.” She narrowed her eyes as I felt a flush creeping up my neck.
Sometimes I forgot she was Killian’s sister and then she reminded me when she said shit like that.
“He hasn’t. Done that yet.”
“But you want him to.” Helena leaned back in her chair and waited for me to deny it. “Damn, you really are into him.”
The sound of the front door opening had me nearly jumping out of my skin. Maverick walked in with his arms loaded with bags. He beamed at me when he saw me, placed the groceries on the counter, then dashed over to see who I was talking to.
“Helena! Hi!” He gushed happily, waving into the camera. “You look lovely. Tired, though. How’s life as a nurse?”
Helena smiled. “It’s good, thank you. Maverick, you look... Well, hell, you look like you’re madly in love. And where is that sexy goalie of yours? I haven’t seen Jackson in forever.”
“He’s on the road right now, but I’ll tell him you were asking about him.” Maverick turned cherry red. “We’d love to have youcome visit sometime.” He bumped me lightly with his hip. “And bring that new boyfriend of yours.”
Helena nodded. “I’m sure that Ryan and I could swing a trip to Boston some weekend. It’s only a couple of hours’ drive. I’m so happy for you, Mav. You’re glowing.”
Maverick giggled and ducked his head. “Thank you. I’ll let you two finish up.” He squeezed my shoulder before saying goodbye to Helena and walking back into the kitchen.
It was amazing to see the change in my brother. Because of Jackson. And I wanted what they had. If Beau wasn’t ready to give that to me, then I would have to find someone who would. Man, woman, I didn’t care. I was ready to settle down and be happy. No more partying all night and sleeping all day for me. The rockstar lifestyle had grown old. I wanted to be like Killian and Matthias, Maverick and Jackson, Helena and Ryan.
I wanted to find my soulmate.
Chapter Eleven
Beau
Iwas getting too old for this. There was no other way to explain why I was so exhausted, grumpy, and moody during this road trip with the Terriers. I just wanted to get back home to Boston, my son, and Dean. No, not Dean. We weren’t a couple. We weren’t... Well, I didn’t think we were anything. But we were texting a lot more than we probably should have been. And he posted a lot of pictures on his Instagram account that I liked even though I shouldn’t have. I hardly used my own account. I posted an occasional photo around the beginning of the season, reposted things to my story from the official Terriers account, and a few odds and ends from time to time because it was something I was expected to do. Yet now I found myself uploading pictures from our road trip. Little things that caught my attention. Things I thought maybe Dean would like.
