“Back to meee,” Adrian cuts in, making us all laugh. “My favorite player is the sexy as fuck captain, Hudson Roy,” he says with a dreamy sigh. “Sadly, he’s not only straight but he’s married to a super pretty blonde woman who’s literally an ex-model.”
“You’re super pretty and blonde,” I point out, trying to cheer him up.
“Iamsuper pretty and blonde. Thank you for reminding me,” he sits up straighter with a big smile. “I knew I was going to like you, Cody.”
Beck’s friends really are amazing.
After warmups, we head back into the suite for more snacks and to hang out with the rest of the family. Oakley and Parker are super funny, and they keep finishing each other’s sentences. It’s obvious with the way they move around each other and do small things like grab the other a refill or toss the other’s empty plate that they care about each other and have been best friends for a really long time.
We cram as many people as we can onto the balcony for the start of the game, and when the Werewolves quickly score, it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced at a professional sports game. The crowd explodes, people sing along to their goal song, others wildly clap, and there’s a lot of howling, which I think is supposed to resemble a wolf.
It's incredible to witness such a display of excitement and unity amongst thousands of people, all brought together by their love for this team. I’ve only been to Chicago a few times for work, and the trips were always quick, but this city is quickly becoming one of my favorite places.
The game itself is a blur of excitement. The Werewolves score twice more in the second before Buffalo gets one past our goalie.
Yep,ourgoalie... I’m a die-hard Werewolves fan now, so I’m claiming it.
Buffalo scores again at the start of the third, and things get pretty tense for a while with Chicago only having a one-goal lead. Luckily, Buffalo pulls their goalie too early in an attempt to tie the game, and Roy is able to send it into their empty net, securing the W for the Werewolves and advancing them to the next round of the playoffs.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Beckett
I’m fucked.
Tonight was perfect. My team won, we’re going to the semifinals—closer to the cup than we’ve been in years. It was a home win, too, which is always more fun to experience.
And Cody was there.
He was with my family and friends, fitting in like he’s always been part of our lives. Sitting next to me, laughing, smiling, looking at me like I’m something special—it made me so damn happy.
And I. Am. Fucked.
Because how am I supposed to give that up? How do I bring him back to my place, where he wants me to be his first, and then say goodbye tomorrow with no idea when I’ll see him again?
My feelings for Cody have already far surpassed anything I’ve ever felt for anyone else. I’ve never wanted something real.
There was always this nagging fear that someone would be more interested in my last name than in me. But Cody? He wanted to get to know my family because they matter to me, not because of money or influence.
I know that if I fuck him tonight—if I truly know what it feels like to be inside of him instead of just fantasizing about it—I will be a complete goner for this man.
I’m scared I’ll wake up tomorrow and insist on flying back to Montana with him, abandon everything I’ve built here to be with him.
The fear that I’ll have to choose between Cody and my life in Chicago is constant, and even on a night when hockey, my job, and my family and friends were all such positives, I’m afraid that I don’t know what my answer would be.
We’re not even really together; we’re exclusive, but he hasn’t asked to be my boyfriend. He hasn’t talked about wanting more or a future between us. I don’t think it’s necessarily that he doesn’t want those things, but we’re both just so stuck with work that any future feels so unlikely.
I can’t get the images from tonight out of my head. Cody hugging my parents. Cody joking around with Oakley and Parker. The look on Adrian’s face when Cody told him that he was pretty.
I want more of that.
I want him at all of the home games. I want him at family dinners at my grandparents’ house, chasing their dog around the backyard with Parker. I want the feeling of his hand in mine, like it is right now, as we enter my building and are greeted by the doorman.
But I can’t ask Cody to give up his whole life to fit into mine. Even if he does seem to fit so perfectly.
He loves his job, his town, and his friends. I could never ask him to give up what makes him happy.
Maybe when I visit Linna, I’ll figure out a solution that works for both of us.
