Page 102 of Broken Hearts
“He does not want to be here,” Reagan says.
“Who could blame him,” Dakota says. “The first time his parents come to Valley and they’ve made a spectacle.”
“Wow.” That’s all I get out before Rhett waves and comes into view. Unlike Maverick, he didn’t bother styling his hair, but it doesn’t matter. He’s still the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. He runs a hand through that messy hair and all I can think about is how I can’t wait to spend the evening with him. It isn’t exactly the celebration we would have had after the Frozen Four, but he’s here and I’m here and that’s celebration enough.
After several more speeches, the guys are released. They mingle into the crowd and by the time we get to them, Rhett already has two beers in hand, one stacked on top of another.
“Hey,” I say cheerily as I step to his side.
“Hey.” He wraps an arm around my waist, chugs the top beer and then tosses it and pops the tab on the second.
“I’m surprised they have beer here,” I say.
“They don’t,” Heath says. “We had to bring our own cheap booze.”
Maverick takes out a bottle of Mad Dog, takes a long swallow and passes it to Rhett who does the same.
He offers it to me.
“No thanks. Kind of early for shots.”
He shrugs and passes it back to Mav.
Our little group is interrupted by alumni and important people from the university approaching the guys to personally congratulate them. Rhett never lets go of me as he thanks each and every one of them, but his grip on me tightens to the point I feel like I’m the anchor keeping him from floating away.
“How long do you have to stay?” I ask quietly.
“Coach said three hours, but I doubt anyone is going to miss me. Do you need to get back?”
I don’t. Not really. I have everything ready for tomorrow and it isn’t like I’d be sleeping even if I were at home, but something tells me he needs to leave. I can feel it. The pain and frustration radiates off him.
“We can stay if you want.”
“Nah, you’ve gotta skate tomorrow. What’s Coach going to do? Kick me off the team?”
We say hushed goodbyes to our friends and then sneak out and walk back to his apartment. Rhett grabs another beer from the fridge and sits on the couch. He doesn’t speak, but at least we aren’t confined to his room for a change.
I get a text from my sister saying they made it to the hotel. “My family is in town. They’ll be at the arena tomorrow if you’re up for meeting them.”
“Yeah, of course. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Good, because my sister is so excited. She knows all your stats and she’s totally going to fangirl.”
He laughs like I’m kidding, but she totally will.
“I thought tomorrow night we could take her out somewhere or have a small party here?”
“Saturday night… it won’t be hard to find people drinking and hanging out somewhere.”
Rhett turns on the TV and I text my sister, making plans to meet up with them in the morning.
The rest of Rhett’s roommates and their girlfriends aren’t far behind us. First Ginny and Heath appear, followed by Adam, Kota, and Reagan.
“Where’s Maverick?” I ask, looking at Dakota.
“He went to let Charli out. I’m sure he’ll be up soon.” Adam sits between me and Rhett on the couch and my boyfriend passes him a controller. “Hey, buddy. Doing okay? You haven’t said much since we got back from Minnesota.”
“Not a lot to say, I guess.”
