Page 112 of Forecheck
“You know everything I do is well-intentioned.”
“I do,” she said. “But maybe that’s not enough.”
I pulled my hand away from her face to check my watch, swearing when I saw the time.
“I really have to go if I want to catch my flight and not have my ass reamed by Coach,” I said. “Are we okay?”
Berkley only nodded but wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“Berk, I need you to say it.”
“We’re okay.” The unspokenfor nowhung in the air between us.
With a quick peck on her lips, I said, “I love you,” collected my bags, and rushed out the door.
I refused to think about the fact that she hadn’t said it back.
“So you just…ate the cost of the plane tickets you bought her to come out here?” Mitch asked, eyes wide.
I swallowed and nodded. “I didn’t even tell her about them. How fucking embarrassing is that? Everyone else has their families here, but my girlfriend got mad at me for spending too much money on her, so I couldn’t even ask.”
“To be fair,” Mitch said, “Lexie isn’t here either.”
That actually did make me feel better, if only because I was certain she was with Berkley right now.
“Am I that big of an asshole?” I asked, raking a hand through my hair, which was several months past-due for a haircut. But it was playoff time, which meant the hair on my head and facewould grow until we got knocked out or won the whole damn thing. “I just truly do not see what the big deal is.”
“As your friend, teammate, and someone who is in the same financial situation as you, I don’t either. But your girl is clearly different, and she’s told you so before. So no,Idon’t think you’re an asshole, but I’m not the one warming your bed, so my opinion doesn’t matter.”
“She’s doing a lot more than warming my bed,” I growled, and Mitch raised his hands placatingly. “She’s the love of my life, man. I’m done. This is it.”
“If that’s truly the case, maybe you should consider making a compromise. Or, you know, consider adopting the one she already asked you to make.”
It really should’ve been that simple, and yet I’d still managed to fuck the whole thing up.
With a groan, I flopped backward onto the bed in my hotel room, and Mitch chuckled from the chair across the room where he’d draped his massive body when we’d come up after dinner.
We’d won last night, earning us a 2-1 edge in the series. Another win tomorrow night would set us up nicely to close out the series at home next week.
Home.I couldn’t wait to get back there.
With a jolt, I realized I wasn’t missing home in the sense that home was a place. Detroit, my apartment, the rink, any of the places I frequented and felt safe in.
No.HomewasBerkley.
“Berk?” I yelled the moment I walked into my apartment the next night. It was late, well past midnight, and I couldn’t even be sure she was here, but…
“Brent?” Her voice was small, sleepy, and the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard. Her feet shuffled closer, and I met her in the hall.
Clad in nothing but one of my shirts, which hung on her thin frame but didn’t fall far enough to cover the creamy expanse of her thighs, I’d never seen a more perfect sight in all my life.
“You’re here.”
Berkley gave me a small smile. “I forgave you as soon as you left.” I took a step toward her, but she held up a finger. “On the condition that you listen to me this time when I tell you Ineedyou to give me a say in those kinds of decisions.”
“Whatever you want, baby.”
“We’re a team, right? It’s you and me in this.Together.”
