Page 45 of Accidentally Joining His Cult

Goldie

Wanted you to at least wake up to a text and not a dropped call.

Goldie

Thanks for last night. Can’t wait to spend the night with you again in person!

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

Cody

I’m buzzing with excitement as I approach the Caldwell Center for Saturday’s game.

As Beck put it, the “Hockey Gods” weren’t on our side this weekend. Chicago faced Buffalo in the second series, winning both games in New York. We hoped for a sweep back in Chicago, but Buffalo won games three and four. That meant Beck was still in New York for game five when I arrived in Chicago on Thursday night—and I still haven’t seen him.

Then, to make it worse for our timing, a network issue forced back-to-back games, so the teams stayed in New York overnight and didn’t land here until after I was already at work today. But at least they managed to scrape by with a win last night.

Now, the Werewolves are fighting to close out the series with a win tonight. If they lose, they’ll have to head back to New York for game seven.

And I thought my work travel was crazy! These hockey schedules make mine look like a walk in the park in comparison.

On the bright side, Beck invited me to watch tonight’s game with him! I’m so excited to see him in person again. He told me to go to gate six and a half to check in and give my name. I thought he was joking at first about the “half” thing, but apparently, it’s real.

When I walk up to the gate, an intimidating man in a suit asks for my ticket.

“I don’t have one. I’m so sorry, my friend said to give my name. It’s Cody Richardson,” I rush to explain when he seems annoyed by my lack of ticket. At the mention of my name, though, he perks up.

“Richardson is here for Mr. Caldwell,” he says into the headset he’s wearing.

Moments later, a short man with stylish blonde hair appears from behind him. He’s wearing a Werewolves jersey that’s slim fit to his small frame and tight black pants that make his butt look great when he steps in front of me to flash his badge at the man I was talking to.

“No need to call anyone, he’s with me!” the man says excitedly.

“Go ahead,” the security guy confirms, waving me toward the metal detectors that lead inside.

After I’m cleared by security, I stick my hand out to introduce myself to my new friend, who apparently knows who I am and is very happy that I’m here, but my words are cut off before I can even begin.

“Cody, it’s so great to meet you!” he squeals, practically jumping into a hug. He’s much shorter than me, so the height of the hug is a little awkward, but I quickly lean down to adjust to his size and hug him back firmly.

I’m still confused as to why we’re hugging, but ever since I learned that the princesses at theme parks aren’t allowed to end a hug first, I’ve decided to follow suit. You never know when someone else needs that connection. I’d hate to cut it off and leave them feeling neglected.

When he finally pulls back, he leads me toward the elevators in the lobby we’ve entered.

“It’s great to meet you, too?” I say the end like a question, hoping he'll also introduce himself.

“Oh shit, sorry! I forgot you don’t actually know me. Beck’s been talking about you so much that I feel like we’re already friends,” he explains. “I’m Adrian, his best friend slash assistant, in that order.”

“Oh, I do know you! Beck’s talked about you too,” I confirm. “It’s great to put a face to the name.” I smile brightly at him as we board the elevator up to the 100-level suites. I had no idea that this would be such a fancy experience, but I probably should have assumed with Beck’s family being the owners.

We exit into a long hallway with numbered doors on one side that must lead to the suites. There’s another member of security standing there to recheck tickets, but they wave us through when they see Adrian.

“Beck is going to be so bummed that I got to you before him,” Adrian says with an evil grin. He heads into the suite labeled 01, and I immediately smile at the loud laughter filling the space. It’s full of at least twenty people of varying ages.

Oh my god, do I get to meet Beck’s sitcom family?

As soon as I step into the room, I see Beck across the space and our eyes lock. It’s like everything else fades away, and it’s just us in the room. I’m sure that my smile is bordering on obnoxious, but I’m just so excited to be in the same place after weeks of endless texts and video calls across state lines. We’ve gotten into the habit of falling asleep with our video call still going, and every morning I feel so lucky that I get to wake up to his sleeping face.

We both rush toward each other, and I wrap him up in a huge hug, lifting him slightly off the ground. He squeezes me back just as tightly, and we’re both laughing by the time I lower him to the floor. He steps back, and I realize that the rest of the room has gone silent.

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