“Connor.” I can hear the worry in his voice when he says my name. “It’s gonna be alright.”
“I know,” I say. “It’s just… a lot.”
“I wish there was a way I could be there with you.”
“You are,” I say and tug on the strings of his Team USA warmup hoodie I put on this morning before I left his place. When I put the hood over my head I’m bathed in his scent.
“I take it you’re still wearing my hoodie.” I can hear the smile in his voice.
I smile and laugh lightly. “I am.”
“I bet your old man loved that.”
“To be honest,” I sigh, “I think he was too disgusted by me to even notice.” Not that that was the point of me wearing the hoodie. I didn’t put it on to piss off my father. I wore it because I needed Gavin’s familiar protection with me. “Anyway,” I say, needing to change the subject. “Are the sports channels all over this?”
“Honestly, I haven’t looked.” He laughs.
“I’ll ask Bouchard.”
“That’s a good idea. You know he’s living for this today.”
My eyes finally stop leaking and a genuine smile lifts my lips. “Sometimes I think he wanted this more than we did.”
“Let’s not go that far,” Gavin says. I can hear shuffling noises coming from his end of the line, and what sounds like glasses banging together.
Curious, I ask, “What are you doing?”
“My dad and I are packing up my place.”
“Why? And no offense, but is that even a two-man job?”
“No. It’s not.” He laughs, answering the second question before answering the first. “I signed a new lease for us on an apartment in Bouchard’s building. There’s no way I’m moving you into this shithole.”
“How? I literally just got traded.”
“Bouchard’s been bugging me to move into this building for ages. I got in touch with the leasing agent after you left thismorning so I could sign us as soon as I got confirmation you were coming. It’s a nice place. I hope you’ll like it.”
“Is it gonna have you in it?” I ask, and my goddamn eyes are watering again.
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll love it.”
Gavin
Moving is easy enough. All my dad and I had to do was strap my mattress to the top of my Jeep and throw my clothes in the hatch. I left everything else, including the couch that now has a dip in it from three overgrown men sitting on it all day yesterday, for the next renter. They can consider it a consolation prize for the dents in the drywall and the chunks missing from the kitchen countertop.
Bouchard is, of course, thrilled. He has my dad already set up in his apartment three floors below mine and Connor’s, in an actual bed for the night. I felt bad that I didn’t have enough time to set up the guest room for him to stay in with us, but he said it was fine and that Connor and I needed our privacy tonight anyway. Which he’s not wrong about. And it’s not only because we need to have loud sex later. Granted that is part of it, but we also need some time for the two of us. We honestly haven’t ever had that, and after the forty-eight hours we’ve just experienced, leaving both of us vulnerable and raw, we need some time to decompress before we’re back in the spotlight again.
Practice tomorrow is going to be a disaster. I’ve been warned by our team’s PR manager to be on my best behavior. No snapping at the press and telling them to fuck off, and no sending slap shots into the glass in their direction no matter how badly I’d like to. As a matter of fact, I’ve been instructed to behave as Connor does when dealing with the press. Turn on the charm, smile, laugh, be approachable. So be anything but my usual grumpy self.
I smile as I step on the gas, getting on the highway to go claimConnor from the airport. I guess it won’t be that hard to do what our PR guy is asking of me. After all, Connor does bring out the best parts of me. Hell, my cheeks are sore from how much more I’ve been smiling since he became a part of my life. I never realized how much I neglected those muscles. Which is funny considering how much time and effort I spend on the rest.
A message from Connor pops up on my phone. I take a brief glance at it. His plane has landed. I’m going to be right on time to get him. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to kiss him. I can’t wait to get him in this car. I can’t wait to start my new life with him. My life where I have a reason to want to make a home. A reason to no longer feel so lonely when I’m away from Alaska. To have someone I care about enough to hold at night and relax in the comfort of knowing he will still be there in the morning.
He’s easy to spot wearing my Team USA hoodie and carrying his giant bag of hockey gear through the sliding glass doors of the airport as I pull up. I put the Jeep in park and jump out, then practically run to meet him so I can free him from his heavy bag.
“Thanks,” he says, and I kiss him before he can say anything else.
