Page 131 of Best Man
Sasha, lying in the lounger next to her with Yana asleep on his bare chest, grit his teeth. “Uh-oh.”
“This won’t end well,” Piper said, lying on Paulina’s other side. Jax laid out next to his wife, with their baby girl, Ivy Cameron, in his arms.
“Careful, Frenchy!”one of the Devils yelled.
Thankfully, Parisi somehow managed to climb to the top of the ladder without falling. He wobbled his way to the end of the diving board, which began to bow beneath his weight.
“What are you doing?!”
“Câlisse!”Parisi shouted back. “What’s itlooklike I’m doing! I’m taking a dive! Moron!”
“Yeah, but you’re shit-housed!”someone else yelled.
“You’re gonna kill yourself!”
“Fuck youuu!” he yelled back, raising two lazy middle fingers. “I’m fine!”
The diving board flexed beneath him as he began to bounce. He threw his arms up in the air and yelled, “CANNONBALL!” Pinching his nose shut, the fourth line center launched himself off the diving board. But Jean-Gabriel had apparently taken one too many sips from the Cup today and had forgotten how to do a proper cannonball. Hurtling towards the water face-first, his belly smackedthe surface of the water and a fleshycrackrang out.
The crowd reacted with a mix of groans and laughs. When Parisi resurfaced, he was immediately peppered with insults and sarcastic comments from his loving teammates.
“Wow! Nice cannonball, Frenchy!”
“I’m impressed!”
“Hey, Frenchy! Maybe you should’ve taken up Olympic diving instead of hockey? Looks like you’ve got a little more skill goin’ for ya!”
“Bahahahahaha.”
Sasha chuckled quietly, trying not to wake the baby, and turned to Paulina. “If I ever say I miss drinking, I want you to remind me of this summer, okay?”
Paulina stifled a laugh of her own. “Sure thing.”
The team had been in perpetual party mode ever since the Devils won the Cup a month ago. When a team wins the Cup,every single player on the roster gets twenty-four hours to spend with the trophy to do whatever he wants with it. Inevitably, each player concludes his day with the Cup by throwing a party, which all the other members of the team attend.
The result? Every day, the boys get wasted, reliving their Cup victory, only to do it again the following day.
Perhaps Sasha would’ve felt a little bit left out of all the partying if it weren’t for a certain infant occupying all his time. These days, all his time and energy went to caring for Yana. He was a great dad. Caring for his daughter seemed to come as easily and effortlessly as did the game of hockey. Paulina loved to watch him with Yana, especially when he sang to her the same Russian lullabies his parents had once sung to him.
It was the same story with Jax and Piper. Their daughter, Ivy, was born in the wee hours of the morning after the Cup victory, just down the hall from where Piper had given birth to Yana.
Regardless, today was Sasha’s day with the Cup. His first consideration was to take the Cup back to Russia and tour the schools and rinks he’d attended as a young boy. Although he wanted to inspire the kids back in Moscow, he realized his life washerenow. He wanted to spend his day with the Cup here in Texas instead, so he could throw a poolside bash at their house for all their family and friends.
The Cup arrived at Sasha and Paulina’s house at six in the morning. Paulina cooked Sasha a hearty breakfast of eggs, hash browns, and bacon, which he naturally ate right out of the trophy’s bowl. After breakfast—and after giving the Cup a good wash in the sink—they drove the trophy over to their local children’s hospital to spread some cheer. Sasha carried the Cup from room to room, the faces of those precious kids lightingwith pure joy. More important than the kids seeing and touching the Cup, though, was how Sasha goofed around and talked with them. He was so sweet and caring, and they were so in awe of him—he was a real-life superhero in their eyes. Paulina was fighting tears the whole time. One thing was for sure; they made a lot of lifelong memories that day.
After the hospital, Paulina and Sasha headed back home to throw the big party for their family and friends. It was a perfect day for a party—there wasn’t a cloud in the blue sky. They had catered food and a DJ. And, when the dry Texas heat got too oppressive, you could take a quick dip in the big pool. And everyone, hockey player or not, took turns drinking out of the Cup.
***
The sun began to set, their day with the Cup drawing to an end already. Sasha smacked his head. “I just thought of something!”
“What?” Paulina asked.
“Before the sun goes down, we should get a photo with Yana and Ivy sitting in the Cup together! And with Big Rig and Piper, too.”
“Sure. That’d be cute!” Paulina agreed.
“Okay. I’ll go get them,” Sasha said, going to fetch Ivy and her parents.
