He slows right before arguably the most iconic house in the Canyon, at least still standing, and turns onto Stanley Hills Drive. I swivel my head to look back and try and catch a glimpse of the famous house. “Joni Mitchell lives right over there.”
He hooks a right into the first driveway and gravity pushes me back in the plush leather seat as we climb. “Well, this place caught my eye and I came to see it with the agent. I really like it so I asked if I could come see it at night and get the vibe after dark. The agent gave me the keys since it’s empty.”
“Real Estate agents do that?”
"Maybe not with just anyone but with a relatively famous local athlete with a five million, all-cash budget, yeah. It happens." Crew rolls the car to a stop and I peer out the windshield at the beige stucco beauty in front of us.
“Is this a Spanish or…” I climb out of the car and catch sight of the turret with the oblong windows peppered like dominos across it. “Something else?”
“The agent referred to it as a Spanish Victorian. She said it was built in the mid-sixties and that the architect was experimental, like everyone who lived here back then.”
Crew reaches for my hand again and I gladly give it to him. For the next twenty minutes, I am in silent awe as he unlocks the front door of the house and guides me through, explaining what he’s been told about the features of each room. The house is amazing. Inside are wood beams colorful tile floors and pale stucco walls. There's an amazing, huge patio off the back that Crew says he'll install a cold plunge and a hot tub on as well as a grill for barbecues. He walks back in and stands in the middle of the den. I lead him over to the wall of windows and point. You can just see the tips of the forest green-colored house. "Joni Mitchell's house. The woman is an icon. This place is a dream and it's right in the middle of history."
"Well, now I really have to buy it.” Crew moves to stand behind me and wraps his big arms around my shoulders. I lean against his chest and whether it’s the drink I consumed, or him, I feel grounded and calm for the first time since I left Tate’s house. “Joni is Canadian you know. We can make this the Canadian block of the Canyon.”
I laugh. “Rumor is she’s never really here anymore. Spends most of her time back in Canada.”
“And you?” he asks quietly. “You running back to Maine when school is done?”
“Nope. California has better schools for the kind of teaching I want to do right now,” I reply. “And I’m happy here. When hockey is over you running back to Canada?”
“Hell no. I mean, thankfully that’s about a decade away,” Crew says, squeezing me a little tighter. “I love Canada but I don’t really know if I’ll move back. We’ll see what happens next when this career ends. I’m open to anything.”
His words hit me because he really has been open, and fearless, in following this thing between us wherever it went. And now here he is, trusting me with his feelings, letting me into his life when he swore he wouldn't let anyone else in, and I’m shutting him out.
I tip my head back against his wide chest and the words tumble out of my mouth much easier than I’d ever thought possible. I tell him about the attack. About how I’m still confused as to why it happened and what his goal had been. I explain how bruised up I was, how scared it made me, and how lucky I was that my punch connected and that couple jumped in when they did.
It feels good spilling my guts. It’s like I’m shedding weight I didn’t know I was carrying with every word. By the time I stop talking I feel lighter. Crew kisses my temple and whispers, “I wish I could kill the guy.”
“Get in line. Tate’s first.” I sigh. “I’m just lucky he’s going to be prosecuted so he doesn’t attack someone else. I am freaking out about having to face him but I have to testify because he's trying to deny the charges. Did you know half of these types of cases get off because the courts are so clogged and either a witness doesn't show up or they get time served because the prisons are too crowded?"
“What are you going to do if his sentence is time served?” Crews wants to know and I shrug my shoulders because I don’t have an answer.
He moves and turns me in his arms. We’re face-to-face now. “Thank you for finally confiding in me.”
I tip my head so our lips can connect in a brief but sweet kiss. "I told Tate something tonight that I didn't realize was true until I said it. The one good thing that came out of this ordeal was you and me. I wouldn't have gone to Vegas, hell-bent on losing my virginity, if that monster hadn't tried to jump me. And I'm very glad I did."
“I am too, but I still wish that had never happened to you.” He kisses me, longer and deeper than the time before. “You still up for a sleepover?”
I nod but I’m fighting a yawn. “I might actually just sleep though. That drink relaxed me a little too much. I’m exhausted.”
He wraps an arm around my shoulder and guides me to the front door. "That's not just the drink, it's your adrenaline dropping," he explains as he pauses to snap the lockbox on the door back into place as we make our way down the stone path to the drive. “It’s okay, we’ll go straight to bed, for sleep only tonight. And then in the morning, I can be your first-morning sex."
“Another first?” I say, acting both shocked and annoyed. “When will it ever end?”
“I’m hoping never, Fireball.” He chuckles as he lets go of me to open my car door.
I like the sound of that more than I care to admit. But I can think of one first I don’t want to experience with Crew, a first big breakup. But I feel so solid in this thing with him now that I doubt that will happen. I’ve told him my big secret and he’s still here, still holding my hand, still making me feel like a queen.Hisqueen.
All is right with the world.
Chapter24
Crew
“Where is your brother?” I haven’t heard my mom sound this agitated in probably over a decade.
I watch her pace the small holding room where the camera crew asked us to wait before they interview us. They’re interviewing my dad right now. Then they’ll interview my mom and then me and Nash together for clips they can splice through a montage they’re doing tomorrow night before the game when they retire my dad’s jersey.
