Page 80 of Coast to Coast

“Shit, I’m walking bowl-legged, aren’t I? Everyone is going to know what we just did.”

“Babe, they already know. They also won’t leave until we do the walk of shame. Best advice? Put on a satisfied grin, hold your head high, and revel in the fact that you are the first woman who has ever gotten me to lose control like that.”

“Really? This was a first for you?”

“Fuck yeah, and I promise you it won’t be our last. Chin up, buttercup. Let’s go check on our audience.”

Mariana and Alex sheepishly exited the bathroom next to us, answering my question about which other couple had been getting it on in the stereo. The rest of the crew sat at the tables and turned the chairs facing us.

Andre held up a beer, using it as a mock microphone,

“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s now time to vote on the couple who should be leaving the most satisfied. On this side of the wall, we have Tom and Calliope, who are riding the high of a very new and extremely hot relationship. They decided they didn’t want to worry about waking the baby tonight. Do we have our scores?”

My face heated as they held up napkins with numbers from seven to ten.

Jonah took the beer microphone from Andre and announced Alex and Mariana. “And our reigning champions of thebathroom dalliances, Alex and Mariana, attempt to hold onto the title and show the new couple that things don’t need to get stale after more than ten years together.”

I held back my laughter as the napkins were raised to show all number tens.

“Looks like we lost?” I said with a shrug.

“But since we don’t want Callie and Tom to leave thinking their fucking wasn’t entertaining, we have a new award. An honorable mention of sorts. The award for loudest scream goes to Callie,” Jonah said, and the table erupted with laughter. “Better luck next time, and don’t let us keep you from practicing.”

And no, judging by Tom’s expression, he had no shame about what we just did. And neither did Mariana and Alex as they both took a victory tequila shot and gave each other a high five.

Tom whispered in my ear, “They’ve been caught a few times. Mariana can schmooze anyone, and on the surface, she’s perfection. But she needs her own intensity to match Alex’s. Goalies are a different breed.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“A bit more pressure. We can make some mistakes on the ice, but a goalie’s mistake loses the game.”

“Does it bother you how little I know about hockey?” I asked.

“Baby, you’ll learn. It means more to me that you’re in the crowd cheering for me than whether you understand what’s going on on the ice. And everyone here fucking loves you.”

I stared at our little group and then looked out the window at Cooper, Jackson, and Lexi, wishing their trio would join us. Tom caught my stare and shook his head.

“Like I said, they’re not ready. But when they are, they’ll be accepted. At least by us.”

I nodded, took the drink Tom had ordered for me, chugged it down, and dragged him back to the dance floor. It was past twobefore we all piled into the black Suburbans that had brought us there. I struggled to keep my eyes open, gave in to the exhaustion, and nodded off on Tom’s shoulder. I woke to him carrying me into the condo. He put me on the bed, helped me undress, handed me some sleep shorts and a t-shirt, and then pushed me towards the bathroom to brush my teeth.

As much as I would prefer to curl up next to him, skin to skin, it wasn’t practical in a house filled with his mother and Crew. I wanted to keep my eyes open and spend some of my last hours with Tom fully awake, but sleep claimed me the second he wrapped his arms around me.

TOM

The ride home from the airport sucked almost as badly as the silence that met me when I opened the condo door. It didn’t help that Crew threw a batshit crazy fit for Callie at the airport, and she had to drag him away from me. She tried to put a strong face on it, but it fucking killed her.

Callie: I feel like I’m literally ripping him away from you. It feels so fucking wrong.

I couldn’t respond to her, left her on fucking read, and then took off for a run. This was one of my last days off before we started traveling, and chaos ensued. I sent the two most important people in my life thousands of miles away from me. And yup, my mother had left too, not that I would have been very good company for her anyway.

By the time I’d finished my run and had some endorphin rush to improve my mood, I’d missed the window to message Callie. They were somewhere over the middle of the country and at least two hours away from landing.

I regretted leaving her on read; it was more than selfish, but I couldn’t hear how affected Crew was when he left me. It was another devastating reminder that our situation was fucked up, and short of me changing careers, there was no end in sight.

Alex: Come by for dinner.

Me: Nah, I’m gonna hang here.

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