Page 41 of The Love Penalty

Olivia must notice my change in demeanor because once we finish the board game we were playing, her hand finds mine under the table and she laces our fingers together. That one small touch makes me swallow the tight knot in my throat.

Somehow, she knows exactly what I need to make me feel better. I squeeze her hand to let her know I’m okay and when I look up, I see Ash giving me a smirk and a wink. Bastard.

Once we’re all thoroughly buzzed, we move to the couches in the living room and put on a Christmas movie. We’re all laughing at Clark Griswold’s shenanigans and by the time the movie ends, both Olivia and Alice are asleep on the couch the three of us are sitting on. Beans is curled in Olivia’s lap next to me and Caramel is napping in his cat tree. Ash is passed out on the loveseat he’s sharing with Elias, who is shaking his head at him. Jordan is almost asleep on the oversized chair, one leg dangling off the side.

I guess we’re having a sleepover. “Hey Jordan, can you pick Alice up and bring her to the spare bedroom?” He jolts at my question and stands up, hesitating for a second before leaning down and gently picking up my sister.

I pick up Beans and give him a few pets even though he’s clearly mad at me and giving me a death glare. I deposit him on the cat tree below his brother. Then I move back to the couch to get Olive. Her lips are partly open and she’s sound asleep. Onestrand of hair is covering her right eye so I gently tuck it behind her ear.

I put one hand around her back and the other under the back of her knees and gently lift her off the couch. Her head immediately finds my shoulder to rest on and I start walking down the hall. I think about letting her share a bed with Alice, but I don’t know if she would appreciate that. While she enjoys physical touch, at least with me, Alice sleeps like a star fish and is a big cuddler. So, I take her to my bedroom instead.

I set her down and she immediately burrows into my bed.Fuck. The sight of her here, in my space, makes my heart constrict. What I wouldn’t give for this night to have gone differently. While I love my friends, I would have liked nothing more than to kiss Olivia and for us to spend the night alone, preferably together in this bed.

Instead, I give her temple a soft kiss, tuck her in and go back to the living room.

Jordan is back as well and I give him a nod in thanks but he’s avoiding my eyes for some reason. Is he afraid to tell me he has a crush on my sister? If he’s trying to hide it, he’s doing a very poor job, and frankly, I’m offended that he wouldn’t tell me. While I am protective of my sister, I’ve known Jordan for years. He’s family, and I know in my bones that he’s a good guy and would be perfect for Alice. But it’s not my place to say anything or intervene.

“I’ll go grab some pillows and blankets. Can one of you open the sleeper sofa?” I say and move to the linen closet in the hallway. When I come back, Ash is sprawled out on the loveseat and Elias is placing a bottle of water on the floor next to him. Elias, ever the caretaker. He seems to have a soft spot for Ash, but I’ve never been able to figure out if it’s more than friendly. Outside of telling me he went through a breakup two years ago, right before moving to the states, Elias doesn’t talk about hisdating life. Or his sexuality. While Ash will proudly tell us about his recent sexcapades, Eli is more private and keeps to himself.

“It’ll be a tight fit, but the three of us can share the sleeper sofa,” I say.

“The chair was actually pretty comfortable,” Jordan says and grabs a blanket and a pillow and folds in the oversized chair.

I turn off all the lights and after Elias puts a blanket over Ash, he joins me on the sofa bed. “I’m sorry we ruined your night with Olivia,” he says.

“It wasn’t ruined. I think she really needed it and seemed to have a lot of fun,” I say in a whisper.

“Have you thought about any potential consequences if you two start dating?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know there are no clear fraternization rules, but it could be frowned upon to have a relationship with a referee. Especially one that officiates so many of our games.”

I’m quiet for a moment. I haven’t thought about that, no. Elias continues. “I’m just saying, while you might be ready to retire, this is just the beginning of her career. If someone were to be punished for fraternizing, it wouldn’t be you.”

“Are you telling me not to pursue anything with her?” I ask with a bit of an edge in my voice.

“I’m telling you to think it through. Make sure it’s what she really wants. Communicate. Trust me, it’s better to be honest about your expectations ahead of time,” Elias says with sadness in his voice.

“Are you speaking from experience?”

He pauses, then says, “Yes.” The conversation is over once he turns on his side, away from me.

I hate that he’s right. If I pursue anything with Olivia, we both need to be on the same page about what we want.

TWENTY-FOUR

Olivia

I wakeup in an unfamiliar room. Beans is curled up next to me, so I know I’m at Robbie’s house, but this is not the room I’ve been sleeping in the past four nights. As I slowly wake up and take in my surroundings I realize this must be Robbie’s bedroom. While he briefly gave me a tour of the whole house, we didn’t linger much here. Now that I take in the space I realize it’s exactly what I expected from him. Unlike the spare bedroom, which has a pile of clothes inside my suitcase and toiletries spread out haphazardly around the bathroom counter, Robbie’s room is neatly organized.

The door to his walk-in closet is open and I see a hamper with dirty laundry, a wall of shoes and neatly hung clothes. The king size bed has a large upholstered headboard and two nightstands, one of which has my phone and a bottle of water. I take a sip and continue my perusal. On the opposite side of the bed there is a small desk with a tablet on it and some notebooks. Next to it there are two bookcases, both full to the brim with a varietyof novels, from fantasy to sci-fi, to mystery and even a couple romances.

I place the bottle of water back on the nightstand and notice a pair of reading glasses with wide, dark frames.Holy shit.Robbie probably looks so sexy wearing those, reading in bed. Just thinking about Robbie and this bed makes a memory surge up from last night of him carrying me in and kissing my forehead good night. The other side of the bed is empty and doesn’t seem to have been slept in, which means he didn’t spend the night here with me. Did he not want to or was he just trying to be nice? I would have liked nothing more than to wake up next to him. I stand up and use the bathroom before heading out to the living room to see where Robbie might be.

My phone shows that it’s only eight in the morning, which is unusually early for me to be up. By my calculations, it must have been two in the morning when I fell asleep. When I get out to the living room, I stop and grin at the sight in front of me. Ash is asleep on the loveseat, snuggling a pillow and snoring softly. Jordan is passed out in the chair, his mouth open and snoring much louder than Ash. And on the sofa, which I had no idea was a pull-out, Elias is cuddling Robbie.

I keep smiling and snap a picture to tease them later on. Their friendship is incredible. While I’ve never encountered anything like it before, Robbie seems to have found himself a family in these guys. They mess around and make fun of each other, but they are also loyal and fiercely protective of one another. I see it on the ice as much as I see it off the ice as well.

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