Page 29 of Power Forward

“I don’t think we’ve met. Hi, I’m Nate,” he says, laying the charm on thick.

“Nate,” Alex warns.

“What? I’m introducing myself.”

“I thought you’d be all over our goalie,” Zach says.

Nate chuckles. “A guy can dream, but in all honesty, we’re not suited. Could you imagine the chaos we’d cause together?”

“Yes,” Alex chimes in quickly. “Plus, I warned you to stay away from him.”

“Eh.” Nate waves his hand dismissively. “That only encouraged me. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s hot as sin, but our personalities would clash too much, and he’s not the kind of guy you have a one-night stand with.”

Blaine visibly shudders. “Please don’t talk about fucking my twin in front of me.”

“Who wants to play drunk Twister?” Peyton shouts, holding up a plastic mat with colorful dots on it.

“Aaaand that’s my cue to leave.” Twister and bad joints are a recipe for disaster. I down the remnants of my drink and place the glass in the sink. “Thanks for the fun night.”

“What? You’re leaving already?” Nate coos, placing his hand on my chest.

I look down at his hand, then back up at him. He’s bold, I’ll give him that.

“Nate!” Alex scowls. “I swear I am never bringing you again.”

Nate flashes a flirty smile and saunters off while Alex gives me an apologetic look. I give him a wink, letting him know it’s okay, then make my rounds to say goodbye. When I head outside, my ride share is waiting. I slide into the back seat and rest my head against the headrest, watching the bright lights of downtown Chicago pass by. I’m feeling oddly… content. I wasn’t sure how tonight was going to go, especially turning up in this costume, but I’m glad I did.

My phone vibrates ten minutes later as the door to my hotel suite closes behind me. I slip it from my pocket, and my heart lurches at the sight of Jackson’s name on the screen.

Jackson

I meant what I said earlier. I’m glad you’re here, Cas. You’ve always been important to me. No matter what happens, I want you to remember that.

I raise my hand, shielding the smile that threatens to split my face in two. I don’t think Jackson fully understands how much those words mean to me.

Especially coming from him.

Chapter Eleven

Jackson

We lost our home game last night 3-2, meaning the mood on the plane to Dallas early this morning was shit. We were all tired and achy, and the last thing any of us wanted to do was to get up at the ass crack of dawn to catch a flight to play a second game in twenty-four hours. But here we are, in the underbelly of the arena in Dallas, getting ready for game one of five on our eight-day road trip.

Something that my kids werenothappy about and made sure to let me know yesterday morning, when my mom came to pick them up for school, by making things as difficult as possible. It doesn’t get any easier. The guilt clawed up my throat, festering all day. I don’t blame them for my piss-poor performance on the ice last night, but I can’t deny my head was not in the game.

“Is everything okay?” Zach asks from my left, where he’s getting his shoulder taped. “You’ve been uncharacteristically quiet the last few days.”

I turn my head to face him, making sure I don’t disturb Greg, who’s currently working on my hamstring.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just have a lot on my mind,” I say quietly.

And isn’t that the understatement of the year.

I haven’t been able to get Hayden’s words out of my head since Peyton’s party.He tried toend his life. Every time it replays in my head, I get this sharp pain in my chest that takes over my entire body. I knew there was something he was hiding; I just never expected it to be that. It’s shifted something inside of me, and I know there’s a lot I need to consider. I can’t be reckless and jump straight into something with him again. I need to make sensible choices. Not just for the safety of my own heart and for my kids but for Hayden too.

And like I told him, it’s not as simple as saying yes or no. My heart sings for him like it has for no other, but it’s bigger than the two of us now.

I’ve had so many questions running through my mind. Like what if I introduced him to my kids, and they fell in love with him, and he tried again? What if he was successful in his attempt that time? The kids haven’t experienced loss in that sense, but they’ve gone through loss in the form of Laura’s and my divorce, and look how well I screwed that up. Plus, I don’t thinkIcould cope with the loss of Hayden again, in any shape or form.

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