Page 22 of When Alec Met Evie
Parker skates to the center of the rink where Eli, Logan, Camden, and the rest of the team are waiting. Three against twelve is hardly a fair matchup, but that’s the point with stuff like this. Parker knows what gets clicks, and usually, the stupider we look, the better.
She skates back our way, pulling to a stop right in front of me. “Also, one more thing,” she says. “I just told the twins they can crash at your place for a little while. They’re young and homesick and they aren’t doing great living on their own and you have that big old house that’s basically empty, so it makes the most sense. Good? Great. I knew you’d agree.” She pats me on the shoulder, then spins on her skate and hurries away before I can protest.
“Uh, what just happened?” I ask, looking over at Nathan.
He shrugs. “I think you just got two new roommates?”
I alreadyhavetwo new roommates, but I don’t have time to protest because Parker blows her whistle, and a wall of offense advances toward us at full speed.
I grip my stick a little tighter, ignoring the tightness in my knee as I prepare for what’s coming. I’m not necessarily opposed to having the twins stay with me. It’s the way things generally operate with the Appies. The older players are expected to look out for the younger, newer recruits. And Idohave a big empty house. But it’s a lot less empty with Evie and Juno around, and the last thing I want to do is make Evie feel uncomfortable.
I fend off a shot from Van, then circle the goal and steal a puck from Camden, sending it sliding in the opposite direction before Logan plows into me, pinning me against the boards, while Eli flies by and makes a shot over Felix’s shoulder.
This is when I know there’s more to this exercise than I thought because Logan doesn’t let me go. Instead, he pulls my stick out of my hands, tosses it to the ice, then spins me toward Theo, who’s twirling a lasso over his head in perfect circles. An actual lasso. The kind you’d see at a rodeo, not in a hockey rink. I have no idea where he got the rope, but he clearly knows how to use it because when he sends the lasso soaring, it falls perfectly over my head, then tightens around my shoulders, pinning my arms to my sides. Fifteen feet away, Nathan is getting the same treatment from Carter.
In a matter of seconds, they’ve hauled us both to right in front of the goal where they tie us together, back to back, before throwing their arms over their heads in victory.
Parker’s still filming, and she zooms in on the twins.
“That’s how they do it in Texas,” Theo says, his smile wide.
Right.I’d forgotten the twins were from Texas.
Behind me, Nathan sighs. “We probably should have seen this coming.“
“We definitely should have.”
The twins are skating circles around us now, cheering loudly while the rest of the guys look on. They’re a defensive pairing just like Nathan and me, so it makes sense Parker would think up something like this. The rookies are solid players. I’ve been watching them play in our preseason games, and I can see them both having lucrative careers. But I’m not worried about them taking playing time away from me and Nathan, even though it honestly might be good if they did. For my knee, anyway, if not for my stats. Either way, it’s easy to take this as the good-natured prank Parker meant it to be.
It also helps that the twins, for all their youthful cockiness, aren’t jerks. Carter especially seems eager to learn and grow and figure out what it truly means to be an Appie.
I breathe out my own sigh.
Had Parker asked me—told me?—a few days ago that the twins were coming to live at my house, I might have protested. But after my conversation with Evie last night, I find myself more inclined to say yes.
Maybe because she said I was a good leader, and I want to live up to her assessment. Maybe because she reminded me that there are things I can do besides justplayhockey. Or maybe it has to do with the fact that I’m supposed to view Evie as a sister, and having two more people around might make it easier to keep anynot-so-sisterlythoughts out of my mind for good.
I’ll put the twins in the bonus room over the garage—there are a couple of futons up there, plus an enormous television they’ll love to use—so they won’t be in Evie’s space at all. And Idothink it’ll be good for them. Maybe good for me too. The pessimism that’s clouded my judgment the past few weeks seems to have cleared a little bit, though that could just as easily be Evie’s influence.
“Listen,” Logan says later in the locker room after I’ve showered. “Parker didn’t know you already have people stayingat your house. If the twins need to crash with me until Evie leaves, I don’t mind. I’ve got enough room for them.”
“It’s fine,” I say. “We’ll mostly be on the road next week anyway. By the time we’re back, Evie’s house should be almost ready, and then she’ll move out. It shouldn’t be a big deal.”
Before I leave the Summit, I give the twins my address, then call the security guard to add them to my list of approved guests.
The twins have been staying in an Airbnb near the Summit, so they’re coming over tonight, just as soon as they pack up, which only gives me an hour or so to let Evie know.
I don’t expect her to care. But I still feel nervous about mentioning it. Or maybe I’m just nervous about seeing her generally?
I have no idea what it means, but I’m choosing not to overthink it when my heart jumps at the sight of her car in my driveway.
Before I get out of the car, I notice a new text message from Riley. I haven’t heard from her in weeks, so it takes me by surprise. But I’m more surprised by my lack of interest in reading the message. It’s a stark contrast to how anxious I am to get inside and see Evie.
I pocket my phone without reading the message and head inside.
I find Evie in the kitchen, her hair piled on top of her head and Juno strapped to her chest in some kind of colorful fabric sling looking thing. Music is playing from a portable speaker on the counter, and Evie is dancing around the kitchen.
She spins one more time, her hands cupped around Juno’s feet, and finally sees me. She yelps and jumps back, her arms wrapping around the baby like I’m some kind of predator.
