“Well, the guest bathroom has extra toiletries in the drawer. I’ll let you get some rest,” I say, and then I spin on my heel before he can add anything else and head right into my room next to his.
Only one wall between us.
Where I now know Hudson will be sleeping naked.
This is definitely not how I thought my day would end when I woke up this morning.
Does it make me a completely horrible person if I’m happy that someone I care about is getting divorced?
Do I even care if it does?
I grab the emergency chocolate I always keep stashed in my nightstand and immediately pull out my phone to update my group chat with my friends. I want to shout from the rooftops that Hudson fucking Roy is sleeping in my guestroom tonight, that he hugged me and said I was one of the most interesting people he’s ever met!
But I don’t think anyone would actually hear me since the city ispretty loud.
So my friends will get to hear about every little detail of my night instead.
3
HUDSON
Early October
“Ready for tomorrow?” Oliver Bell, one of my favorite guys on the team, asks as I sit next to him on the bench in front of my locker to unlace my skates. “Your final home opener.”
“Yeah, the crowd is always great for the first game, I love it. What about you? No longer your rookie season, anything you want to do differently?”
“Oh, thank god I caught you,” a very out-of-breath Adrian interrupts before Ollie can respond, and I glance up to see him leaning against the doorframe.
“Hey, Charming, did you want to drive home together?” I ask, trying to remember if I forgot something we’d talked about. Living with Adrian has been amazing. We were just gone for another away preseason game, but the few days in Chicago have been so much better spent with him at his condo than if I’d been stuck alone in a hotel. He’s always happy to hang out with me,and I’ve loved the distraction of his company. When he’s there, it’s easy to forget that my life is kind of a mess right now.
Admittedly, finding a new place hasn’t exactly been a priority with everything else going on, but Adrian doesn’t seem to mind having me around.
“What? No, we both drove our own cars today,” he reminds me.
“Well, we should look at our schedules and see if we can ever do that,” I suggest. No need for us to both waste the gas, and it sounds way better than sitting in my car alone.
“Um, yeah, sure. But that’s not why I practically sprinted across the building to find you. And let me remind you, I am not an athlete, I feel like I’m dying.” He puts his hand over his heart, chest still heaving, and I can’t help but smile at his theatrics.
“Well, you look great,” I assure him. And he does, his hair is still perfectly styled, and his stylish suit isn’t even wrinkled. Adrian always looks so put together; I don’t know how he does it.
His eyes widen a little, and then he shakes his head like he’s trying to clear it before he stands to his full height. “I ran here because we need to go to HR before they’re all gone for the day.”
HR? I can’t catch a break. “Did I not turn in all my paperwork? Am I in trouble?”
Adrian lets out a short laugh. “No, you’re not in trouble. But we should let them know you’re living with me. A few days is one thing, but as far as I know, you still haven’t had any luck with your realtor, so we need to let them know we’re roommates.”
Haven’t had any luck with the realtor, haven't called him yet… Same difference.
“We actually have to do that?” I ask, not doubting Adrian so much as I’m surprised that it would be a thing. “It’s not like we’re dating.”
“We’re obviously not dating,” he agrees quickly, cheeks growing red. I love that I seem to be able to break through hisseemingly perfect act that he puts on for everyone else, that I get to earn those little reminders that, as put together as I might think Adrian always is, he’s also just a regular guy like me.
Even living with him, I still feel like I barely know anything about him. He’s always so upbeat and positive, but I’m hoping that with a little more time, he’ll be comfortable enough to let me get to know more.
“We probably don't need to, but living together, being roommates, is still a type of relationship that we should notify them of,” he explains. “It would be different if we were both players or both back of house, but we don’t want anyone to accuse either of us of taking advantage of our job to pressure the other into anything.”
“See, this is another one of those things I never would have thought of. Thanks for always being five steps ahead.” He smiles softly and nods at my gratitude as his cheeks darken even more, a hint of his dimples shining through. “I need to take a quick shower, but I’ll meet you there in fifteen?” I offer.
