The game ends and August’s team wins, scoring the last goal with only thirty seconds left on the clock. It was an intense game to watch, but it was enjoyable. I never thought hockey would be a sport I’d actually enjoy, but there’s something about the atmosphere and the adrenaline rush of watching the game.
I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that got nervous watching August out there. The players are ruthless and the way they hit each other and get slammed into the boards, it makes me nervous that he’s going to get injured. And falling on the ice like they do… I know they wear pads, but it still has to hurt sometimes.
Isla sighs as we walk out to her car, her shoulders hung in defeat as she pulls open her door and drops down into her seat. I follow, quickly shuffling my feet as the cold air burns my cheeks and I hop into the passenger’s seat.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her as she turns on the engine and we wait for it to heat up. The vents blow out cold air at first before switching to hot air as she cranks up the heat.
Isla glances over at me, checking the time on her phone before she drops it into the cupholder and puts the car in reverse. “Logan is supposed to be working on his anger and not fighting as much. He managed to get through the last game without hitting someone, but obviously that didn’t happen tonight.”
I purse my lips, frowning as I give her a sympathetic look. It’s one thing to be worried about August getting injured just playing the game, but it’s another thing to be worried when there’s fighting involved. And I’ve seen Logan fight other players out there and he’s pretty vicious.
“He doesn’t seem like an angry person,” I offer, shaking my head almost in disbelief. “He’s not like that with you, is he?”
“Oh, God no,” she says, a light chuckle falling from her lips. “Are you kidding? Do you really think that my brother would let him live if that were the case? When August first found out about the two of us, he beat Logan up and it was pretty bad.” She pauses for a moment, chewing on the inside of her lip as she pulls the car around the back of the building to where the players’ entrance is. “I honestly don’t fully understand his anger. I think part of it has to do with his father walking out on him when he was a baby and this is where he gets the aggression out. I don’t know, I don’t like to bring it up if I don’t have to.”
“Doesn’t it worry you, though?” I question her as we sit in the darkness, waiting for the guys to come out. “Him fighting like that… what if he got seriously hurt?”
“Of course. Sometimes I hate watching him play because I never know what’s going to happen.” She pauses, turning in her seat to face me. “Earlier this season, he took a pretty bad hit and was knocked out. He suffered from a really bad concussion and I was so fucking scared. He couldn’t play for a few weeks, but as soon as he was cleared, he was back on the ice.”
A gasp slips from my lips and my throat constricts. I know people get injured in sports all the time, but I can’t even imagine how she must have felt when that happened. I don’t know what I would do if it were August.
“There’s one thing you need to understand if you’re going to be with my brother, Poppy,” Isla says quietly, her eyes bouncing back and forth as they search mine. “Hockey is a part of them. It runs through their veins. Nothing will ever stop them from playing, unless they get seriously injured or die. It sucks to think about, but it’s the reality. Without hockey, I don’t know who they would really even be. It’s just something you have to accept as part of your life now, but if it’s too much, don’t be afraid to worry about yourself.”
I’ve known from the start that hockey will always come first for August, but after hearing it from Isla, it solidifies it and I’m not sure how I feel about that. We have a baby coming… his priorities should change. The baby should come first.
“It’s only going to get more intense too, after college when he starts to play professionally.” Isla’s eyes are sympathetic, but she needs me to hear this, to fully understand. “Our father played professionally and he missed both of our births. There were a lot of birthdays, parties, vacations that he ended up missing because he had games. Just know what you’re getting into, Poppy. You have to think about you and the baby too.”
Staring back at her, my voice is caught in my throat and I’m not sure how to respond. She doesn’t say the words with any malice or a threatening warning. Instead, she’s just offering insight for what to look forward to in the future. The thought alone shakes up my head and I feel like I can’t see straight.
Isla falls silent, her attention directed toward the building as we watch the guys start to file out. They’re all laughing, each of them appearing in good spirits as they pull their bags behind them, hockey sticks in hand. August is the third to last to come out, walking alongside Logan as they talk about something. He lifts his eyes, his gaze finding mine through the windshield of the car and I watch as a smile touches his lips when he sees me waiting for him.
The other guys all head to their own cars in the parking lot and Isla pops the trunk as Logan and August load their stuff into the car and hop into the back seat. Both of them are freshly showered and the smell of their soap fills the space around us as they laugh about whatever they were discussing before getting in.
“Hey, baby.” August’s voice is soft as he leans forward, his hands finding me from around the back of the seat. I put my hands over his forearms as he wraps them around me, his head sliding forward as he presses his lips to my cheek. “I hope you guys weren’t waiting too long.”
Logan reaches out to touch Isla, but there’s an awkwardness between them as she looks at him with a wave of disappointment falling over her expression. I hear Logan sigh and he disappears back into the back seat, no doubt recoiling from Isla’s coldness toward him. I can’t say that I blame her, especially when Logan isn’t supposed to be fighting and he just got into another fight during the game tonight.
“As if you guys could ever be fast enough in the locker room,” Isla mumbles, rolling her eyes as she puts the car in drive. “I don’t know what you guys could possibly be bullshitting about in there, but I swear, you take forever every time.”
Logan chuckles, apparently not too affected by Isla’s attitude toward him and August squeezes my arms before falling back into his seat. “You know how it goes, babe,” Logan tells Isla as she looks at him through the rearview mirror.
“Unfortunately,” she grumbles, her disapproval evident in her voice. “So, where are we going?”
“The guys just want to go to the restaurant and the bar that is at the hotel, if that’s okay with you guys,” August tells her from the back seat. “I looked at the menu earlier and saw they have some pasta dishes, Poppy.”
My heart swells at his words and even though they’re just about food, it means so much more than that. He knows how my cravings have been lately and he’s been nothing short of accommodating. He took the time to look at the menu, to make sure there would be something that would interest me before deciding on the place. He makes me swoon with one little freaking sentence.
“That works for me,” Isla tells him, pulling the car out onto the road as we follow behind some of the other guys. “I’m not trying to stay up too late anyway, since we have to drive back home in the morning.”
“I’ll drive, baby,” Logan offers softly, his voice warm and tender. “I want you to enjoy yourself tonight.”
She cuts her eyes at him through the rearview mirror again. “Well, I guess you should have thought about that before you went and did the exact opposite of what we talked about before your game.”
I hear August chuckle and I divert my attention back out the window, watching the rows of trees speed past as we head down the road. Well, this is going to be an awkward night. As if I wasn’t already nervous to meet the entire team, now the only person I’m actually friends with is pissed off. And August definitely isn’t helping with the way he finds her disapproval amusing.
“So, Poppy,” the one with curly brown hair, Cam, turns his attention to me as he takes a sip of his beer. “Tell me how someone like you could have possibly ended up with someone like August?”
I choke on my water, quickly recovering as I swallow it down, and all of their eyes are on me. August introduced me to all of the guys as soon as we arrived and got to our large table at the restaurant. I don’t like having all of the attention on me, but I’m the new person here, so it’s only natural that they’re going to question me.
“A lot of alcohol and good tip money,” I tell him, winking as the guys all start to laugh. I look over at August, his lips curling upward into an amused grin. “No, he came to the bar and wouldn’t leave me alone. And you know how it goes.”
Cam laughs, shaking his head. “Whitley, you better not fuck this up or I might have to swoop in and steal your girl. I like her.”
August cuts his eyes at him as a shadow passes over his expression. “You even think about it and I’ll turn your brain to fucking mush.”
“That wouldn’t be hard to do, considering he’s already practically there,” Hayden throws out as he tosses some fries into his mouth. August told me about the guys before I met them and I remember him telling me about Hayden.
He and Logan were best friends with him growing up, so they’ve known him for a long time. He only just recently transferred to their school and started playing on the team with them again. August didn’t mention why he transferred in the middle of their junior year… only that something happened where he last was and his parents were able to get him out of there with a lot of money.
Tilting my head to the side, I study him for a moment. He seems like the rest of them with the whole frat boy persona. He cracks jokes and talks shit, seeming to be pretty laid-back and easygoing. I watched him when they were playing, and although he appeared aggressive, it didn’t seem like there was an underlying anger like with Logan.
He’s honestly a mystery and I’m curious as to how he ended up here, but it isn’t my place to ask. I scan his face, the way his wavy brown hair falls effortlessly across his forehead. His face looks like he’s the pretty boy of the team, his cheekbones and jawline defined. As he turns his head to the side, I notice a small scar on his forehead and it piques my curiosity. As his light gray eyes meet mine, he narrows them suspiciously and I quickly divert my gaze elsewhere.
August leans over toward me. “You see something you like?” I don’t miss the jealousy in his tone, the way his words bite out at me with venom lingering on the tips of his teeth.
I look over, cutting my eyes at him. “If you’re forgetting, your baby is growing in my stomach. I don’t have eyes for anyone but you. I was just trying to figure him out and what his story is.”
Logan overhears us, chuckling as he leans into our space. “Good luck on that one, because we’ve known him for a lifetime and still can’t figure him out.”
“What’s so funny, Knight?” Hayden growls at him, smacking the table lightly. “You guys talking shit or something? Let the rest of us hear it.”
Logan narrows his eyes at him from across the table. “Just trying to figure you out still. Why don’t you share with the class why you were able to transfer in the middle of the year?”
“Logan, let it go,” Isla warns him, her voice low and threatening. “That’s Hayden’s business and he doesn’t have to share it.”
“I mean, if he wants to walk around like he’s king fucking shit when he’s really got a body rotting in his closet, I think we all deserve to know the truth.”
“You really want to know why?” Hayden questions him, his eyes cold and hollow. “Everyone wants to know my fucking business? Cool. I fucked the coach’s daughter at a party and her jealous friend took a picture and leaked it around campus.”
Cam looks over at him, eyes wide. “No fucking way.” He looks at him in disbelief. “Please tell me you didn’t know it was the coach’s daughter before you slept with her.”
Hayden tilts his head to the side, a smirk forming on his face. “Oh, no. I knew…”
