Page 179 of Tangled up in You

He stumbled out of bed and headed for the kitchen to make coffee. The schedule for the friendlies was chaotic, to say the least. The commission scheduled the games between the skating competition. So, with Sasha and Wyatt hitting the ice in the morning, the team played in the afternoon. If the team still took part. Knowing the severity of the situation, if US Hockey sent them home, and called in a bunch of sanctions against Coach Jones and Trent... Well, it would serve them right.

He absently scratched his chest. The last four days had gone by in a flash and if the weather app told the truth, the blizzard officially passed them in the wee hours of the morning, allowingfor cleanup crews to head out and clear the roads, meaning, their time in Telluride was ending as well. And not a damn one of them had made their move to tell Sasha how they felt about her. Not that he didn’t want to. He figured no one wanted to leave her this time. However, after everything she’d been through, maybe it was for the best.

Sasha deserved a fresh start. If they could give her that at least, then everything else didn’t matter, including their feelings. Didn’t mean he loved her any less. She was always the one. Even when they played youth hockey. He could say the same for his friends. When the coffeemaker beeped, he grabbed a cup, then went to take a shower. A million thoughts filled his mind, including the fact the room felt so empty without Sasha.

“Hey man,” Cam muttered before stretching and pointing to Archer’s cup. “Any more of that?”

Archer hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Fresh pot. Just made it.”

“Trent’s gone,” Cam said, shuffling over to the full pot. “Just got the message.”

“What about the games?” He hedged, not sure if they should play or not.

“Still on for this afternoon and late tonight.” Cam yawned. “Seems the organization wants to show a united front and put their best foot forward.”

Archer grunted. “I think Wyatt and Sasha left earlier for last practice and to prep for the competition.”

“Do you want to go watch them?” Cam asked, cocking a brow. “We don’t have to be to the ice until three.”

“Sure,” he replied. “Let’s grab Brody too. Don’t want the surly bastard pouting because we didn’t wake him up soon enough.”

Cam laughed. “Too right.”

An hour later, they found their seats close to the ice, yet not up front so they wouldn’t be a distraction. The dancersbegan their warmups and practices on the ice. Wyatt and Sasha stayed to an open area away from others, while working more on snaping into positions than their lifts or spins. Both seemed fine, however stuffing down emotions came part and parcel with competitive sports.

Brody elbowed him. “She looks so damn hot out there.”

“Think she’d let us fuck her in that suit?” Cam asked, before running his tongue over his bottom lip.

Archer chuckled. “She doesn’t get replacements dipshits. That’s her costume for the full season. And, if she goes to the Olympics like we’re all hoping to do, she’ll need them for that too.”

“Why couldn’t you just say, hell yeah,” Cam muttered. “Why you gotta ruin the fantasy?”

He shook his head slouching down into the chair. The turnout for fans surprised him. Between what coach told them and the storm, he expected the place to be empty. Instead, there were more people than not. “Just cheer for our girl when she gets on the ice.”

“Our girl has a nice ring to it.” Brody smirked. Considering, she’d been their girl from the moment they met her.

“Yeah, it does. Wyatt’s not half bad either and he’s protected her.” Cam flicked his gaze toward Wyatt. “I think we’ll keep him too.”

“I’m sure us making plans for them will go swimmingly when Sasha finds out.”

Brody and Cam snickered. “We’ll tell her after the game tonight.”

“Even better,” Archer grunted. “When she’s exhausted.”

“Yeah, but her and Wyatt are going to win this, so she’ll be wired when we explain the situation. She’ll go for it. Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

Sure... Archer wasn’t worried.

Much.

The lights dimmed in the arena and the skaters left the rink. The welcome music began along with the introduction for the event. The announcer droned on about the unexpected blizzard and how they were excited to finally start the competition. Up first was the team from France. Archer didn’t care about their names or what their Rhythm program consisted of.

Team after team hit the ice and Archer zoned out through them. All he cared about was seeing their girl on the ice with Wyatt, winning the title and hopefully a place on the US National Team. Nervous energy wriggled through his belly. His palms sweaty. He hadn’t been this anxious since the first time he stepped out on the ice for a big game. Crazy how the feeling instantly came back the minute he wanted Sasha to win.

“I haven’t felt like this is years,” Cam mumbled. “Puke or shit... I ain’t even out there. Crazy, right?”

Nope. He felt it too.

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