His fingers barely fist Killer’s shirt before Coach is bellowing down the plane for him to behave.
I smirk, watching everything pan out, glad to have the heat off me for a few minutes.
Rett growls in Killer’s face before he drops back into his seat.
“That’s a good boy,” Killer taunts like an asshole.
I can’t say that Rett’s trade was a surprise. I had a feeling that our GM had his eye on him. I just didn’t think we’d lose Brit for him. But we can’t deny that Rett’s arrival has caused some drama. The guy has a temper like no one I’ve ever met before. One second, he can be laughing, and the next, it’s like someone has flipped a switch and it all changes.
From what I read about his last few months in Seattle, he seems to have calmed down a little. I guess joining a winning team will do that, but the dude still needs to learn how to rein it in before he sends Hailee into early retirement. She’s good at her job, but she can only cover up so much bullshit before it really hits the fan.
They all settle back down, and when the flight attendant’s voice floats through the speakers that we’re about to start our descent, Linc spins back around and drops into his seat.
“You should tell her, you know,” Killer says quietly.
“I can’t. She…she deserves so much better than me.”
“Maybe she should be the one to make that decision, don’t you think?”
“It’s just a stupid crush because she’s living in my home and cooking me food. It’ll pass.”
I don’t realize what I said until he rears back, his brows practically touching his hairline.
“Living with you?”
“Uh…well, no. She just stays occasionally to save her driving all the way back to her parents’ place just to come straight back in the morning.”
“If that were the rule we lived by, we’d all be calling the arena home,” Killer points out.
“I like having her there, okay? The place feels less…lonely.”
“It would feel that way if you invited your friends there too, but that apparently isn’t a thing.”
My stomach tightens. I never really stopped to consider how it made them feel, keeping them out of my private life. We hang out often; they know me. They just…have never been that close. Having Freya in my apartment just goes to show I had nothing to be worried about.
Family.
“It was a habit,” I explain. “Keeping people out. It…” I shake my head, not sure how to explain it in a way he’ll understand without having to dive into my past. “Survival mode, I guess.”
“Bro, you don’t owe me anything. Live your life however you’d like. It’s no skin off my nose. But I can assure you, keeping people away, keeping those walls up, is what makes you lonely.”
Shit.
I lift my hand, rubbing at my tight chest.
Maybe he sees more of me than I thought.
“If she makes you happy, then you need to stop hiding. Life is fucking miserable if you have no one to share it with.”
I narrow my eyes at him, wondering where these wise words are coming from.
“Let her see you, man, because you’re fucking awesome. Even if you only let me see a small part of you.”
My guilt grows.
Silence falls between us as we make our final descent. Our touchdown is smooth, and no sooner have we landed than cell phones begin pinging with incoming messages.
“Oh shit, I forgot about this,” Killer says, staring at his screen.
