Page 13 of Scoring Grey

I hold my hand up and shake my head, knowing exactly what his next question will be. Why? “We have time. Can we just have this for now?”

His eyes soften before he runs his fingers through his short blond locks. “Sure. For now, but, Eloise, not for long. We can’t move forward if we’re still holding onto the past and all the hurt that lives in it.”

“I know.” I nod in agreement as I slip my hands into the front pockets of my jeans.

“Get your stuff and meet me back here.” He starts toward his room. “And don’t forget your gloves this time.”

I smile. “I thought you enjoyed warming my hands.”

“I do, but it’s cold as fuck outside, and I don’t need your fingers getting frostbite because there’s something I want more.”

“All that talk about wanting to touch me, and now there’s something you want more than that?” I cross my arms as I make my way toward the front door.

“Yeah, that painting.”

“My painting… seriously?” I curiously tilt my head to the side.

“I don’t tend to joke about things I want. The last time your brush touched that canvas, you were thinking about me and our first kiss.” I shake my head with a smile. He’s not wrong. “Gloves,” he calls over his shoulder before disappearing into the master. He’s digging a hole, and it’s deep. He wants me to fall. All he’s doing now is ensuring I don’t want to climb out.

4

CALLUM

“What are you doing, blondie?” I ask restlessly as I check my watch and tap my foot in my very empty condo. We agreed she’d grab her purse and meet back here, but that was almost fifteen minutes ago. I don’t want to rush her. Eloise is always worth the wait. However, she was already dressed and ready to go. Primping takes less time. I put my hands on my hips and stare at the door, willing it to open. I know I’m impatient, but it can’t be helped. Not after the moment we just shared. I glance toward the kitchen and consider pouring myself a stiff drink to calm my nerves, but my eagerness gets the best of me. “I can just as easily pour a drink at her place while I wait.”

I swipe my phone and wallet off the entry table and step out my front door, only for my ears to immediately perk up when I hear a laugh I’d know anywhere float across the hall. They say laughter is therapy. Her laugh is mine. It makes my heart happy to know she’s smiling. The anxiety that plagued me seconds ago is only temporarily silenced because the second I key in the code to her door and push it open, there’s another man with her, and he’s the one putting the happiness on her face.

Right away, his eyes flash up to mine. “Cal, long time no see, man,” he greets as Eloise turns, her smile slightly faltering when she sees me.

“It’s been a few months,” I say, my eyes never leaving his, speaking a million sentiments with zero words, ensuring my ex-best-friend knows exactly where we stand. “I thought we were going to dinner?” I question as I join Eloise and wrap my arm around her waist, making certain there’s no mistake she’s mine. Her body is stiff but only briefly before she relaxes into my touch, which settles my nerves slightly. She’s not pushing me away. I’m her guy, not him.

“Yeah, I was surprised when I opened the front door and found Arlo standing there. I told him you and I were getting ready to grab something to eat, but now that he’s here, maybe we can order in?” Knowing his visit was unplanned makes me feel a little better when she pulls out of my embrace to open the refrigerator. “I have a twelve-pack of ale in here.” Then, turning to Arlo, she says, “Boneless wings and pizza?”

“You know I’ll never turn down beer and pizza. It’s been a minute since we had a Sunday ritual.”

Sunday ritual? I fucking hate that he has any type of ritual with my girl. She’s mine.

“It’s not Sunday,” I state.

Eloise shrugs with a smile. “It doesn’t have to be Sunday to have pizza and wings. We can catch up.” I don’t want to catch up with Arlo. I want to go down the street and share a booth at the restaurant around the corner, just the two of us. “Besides, Arlo is going to stay with me tonight. It makes drinking and crashing convenient.”

I bite my tongue and place my fists on the counter, finding some semblance of calm before leveling him with a glare. He doesn’t even live in Toronto. It’s not like he just happened to swing by after work. The fucker would have had to hop on a plane and spend a day’s worth of traveling just to have stumbled across her doorstep in a condo she’s only been in for a few days. His presence is no accident.

“Why are you here?” I ask.

His eyes narrow slightly on mine. “I was visiting family for the holidays.” He crosses his arms and tilts his head slightly. “Did you forget my dad’s family is from this area?”

Forget? No. Did it slip my mind seeing him standing in here with my girl, the same one he’s had no problem cozying up to after she left the night we clinched the playoffs all those years ago? Yes, but I’m not trying to start anything, not yet anyway.

“How’s your father? Did Zander make it up here with you?” Zander is the spitting image of his father, and because I keep tabs on Eloise, I know where Arlo goes, Zander does too.

“My dad’s great. Still eats, sleeps, and breathes hockey. Zander’s with him now. The ponds around his place are frozen solid. Trying to pull Zander away is like pulling teeth.” He grabs his phone out of his pocket and hands it to Eloise. “That’s him on my dad’s pond in the backyard.”

“Look at that smile.” She gushes. “Pulling him away in a few days isn’t going to be any easier.”

“A few days?” I question, my blood slowly starting to heat.

“Yeah, I have some business to take care of down here, and then I’m going to head back up, and we’ll fly back to Copper Falls together.”

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