When I was satisfied, I finally took another shower.
Now that my body was sore and my mind was quiet, I let myself think about my next steps. I couldn’t hide out in this hockey house forever, but truthfully, I really missed being in this world. My old pack wanted me at home. The only time they really took me out was to hockey-related events and yearly charity obligations, dressing me up and flaunting me around. They loved to play the part of devoted mates, despite being absent.
Maybe I would talk to Conrad and see about that position he mentioned.
Sports nutrition became a necessity when Conrad started hockey. He mentioned wanting to bulk up and eat right, and I was the type to make sure he did it properly. Our dads were too busy to show him the ropes, and at the time, their team fed them.
And when they weren’t there, I’d seen my dads turn into angry messes when cutting.
When I realized I genuinely loved cooking and making healthier foods taste good for them, the more I wanted to do it. I even made some side cash from the hockey team, packing their lunches for school. The coach encouraged it, pitching in from time to time to make sure I could keep it up.
Helping my family and my pack was an important part of me, and I denied it for way too long.
By the time I collapsed on the soft couch in the living room, the front door crashed open as the team came in.
“Smells like a lemon in here,” Lennon noted, tipping his nose up in the air.
Conrad snorted. “That’s the smell of being clean. Clearly my sister didn’t like how dirty you fuckers are.”
“Hey, I am very clean,” Mason countered.
“And you’re about the only one of us,” Conrad agreed.
Kieran didn’t bother to chime in. I wasn’t surprised when it was his head that poked around the corner. His dark eyebrows furrowed when he found me there.
“Are you alright? What happened today?”
“Cleaning,” I said with a chuckle. “Clearly you guys haven’t heard of it.”
“Hey, now,” he protested. “Despite Conrad’s comments, I very much know how to clean.”
“Oh, do you? Because I smelled that home gym.”
He winced. “Yeah, I’ll give you that. We usually have a cleaning person come in, but it’s been a few weeks.”
“I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life,” I promised. “I just wanted to work out, and I couldn’t. It smelled horrific, so I started cleaning.”
“Well, thank you,” he said as he sat down, joining me on the couch. “Are you feeling okay after all of that?”
“Actually, yes,” I assured him. “It was kind of nice to get into something like this. Cleaning is my way to de-stress, along with cooking, and since it was just me, cooking wasn’t an option.”
That was enough talking about me, so I changed the subject quickly. “How did practice go? You have a game coming up next week, right?”
“Yes. Against North Crossing,” he admitted. “It’s going to be a bloodbath. Since the rest of the team heard about what happened, though they’re sworn to secrecy, they’re more than ready to wipe the ice with those assholes.”
I shook my head. “Don’t get in trouble. You guys don’t even know me that well. Not enough to risk your careers.”
“You’ve been with us for a week. I’m fairly sure we decided we like having you around, and this is only going to solidify that.” He gestured around at the sparkling room.
My cheeks warmed. It was nice to be wanted, and I genuinely liked the chaos of the hockey house.
“Who’s up for a round of Zombie Annihilator?” Mason called out as he walked in, his eyes lighting up when he saw me. “There’s our cleaning fairy. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’m going to scream if someone else asks me that,” I said with a fake smile that had him barking out a laugh.
Lennon walked in behind him, snatching up a controller.
Conrad was next, eyes falling onto the book in my lap and wincing. “If you want some quiet, I’d suggest going to the office. That’s where Wilder hides out to read.”
