Page 89 of Actions and Reactions
The asshole only nods and smiles encouragingly, like that’s gonna do me any good.
Coming back from a seven-day roadie,the only thing I want is my bed.
It never disappoints.
It’s perfect—soft but firm enough, my bamboo sheets keeping me at the perfect temperature, my pillows molded perfectly for support.
And the best thing?
There’s no morning practice after we fly into town late, so I can enjoy my beautiful bed for as long as I want.
I’m awake, though I don’t know what woke me up, but I need my rest. The last two weeks have been insane, and thankfully we have a two week stretch where we’ll only have home games, so I’ll be able to catch up on sleep as much as I ever can during the season.
Laney loved the idea of shuffling things around, and as predicted, everyone was confused by it—us included.
But Jules, damn him, was right.
We got our feet under us by the second period of that Philly game, and we’ve managed to keep the efficacy of the first line by some miracle, but best of all? The second line has stepped up in a big way.
We’re now no longer in danger of losing our winning record, we have some cushion, and I really believe?—
“I know you’re awake.” That deep voice has me springing up quickly as if I wasn’t just waxing poetic over my bed.
He’s...rightthere. In jeans and a black T-shirt, bare feet. He looks just the same but also not.
I see his smile and then look into his eyes, and there it is, the one thing I’ve been wishing for since I was a teenager.
Before I can second-guess anything, I lunge.
22
Silas
It feelslike I’m re-entering the planet after being away for way longer than three months when I get into the car my parents rented and we drive to the airport.
I’ve been doing so well the last two weeks since our talk with Dave that my parents don’t look nearly as worried when they drop Annie and me off at the airport.
The whole thing with Annie moved faster than anything I’ve ever seen.
Dr. Conway assured me that Annie’s attachment to me wasn’t in any way hurting her, and that our friendship was genuine and helping her. I still feel like at any moment something I say or do could trigger her, but Annie says that knowing I’m gay is very helpful to her.
I’m happy about that? I think?
I talked through every concern I had with Annie in Dr.Conway’s office, especially about the fact that I work for a hockey team—a male hockey team—and Annie assured me she’d tell me if something made her uncomfortable or triggered her.
In any case, I really don’t want Annie to have to go back to that college where they didn’t treat her as well as they should’ve, or back to her parents’ house where she would’ve had an even worse time, so I agreed.
The next day Mom assured me she’d gotten all of Annie’s stuff from her dorm and that Dad had been all too instrumental in her quest—those were her exact words, and I don’t want to find out what he said or did.
Mom and Dad are staying a few more days in Chicago, though I suspect that’s only so they don’t have to fly down with us. We’ve worked through a lot of what our relationship will look like in the future, and the one thing I want for them more than anything is to focus less on me.
Annie is as tired as I am when we walk into my apartment, and she’s trying hard to keep her impressed face to herself, but I don’t mention it and instead show her the guest bedroom, then we turn in for the night.
I’m wide awake at seven and have to stop myself from running out of the apartment to finally go see Vinny. I want to be here when Annie wakes up to show her around the place, give her a damn key in case she wants to go out ...
But when she comes out, she rolls her eyes at me.
“What are you doing here?”
