Page 10 of Game Winner
“Good. That’s settled.” Holding the phone, Soren returns to his locker. The room’s din has grown quieter as guys leave. “Bax’s band is playing a show tonight. We can check it out after we get you settled. Support him, and celebrate you coming to the team.”
My leg bounces and a flush creeps up my neck at the thought of seeing both Soren and Bax. “It’s a date.”
Distance isn’t a barrier anymore. Being in the same city means we can explore whatever this is brewing between us. If that’s something Soren and Bax want to do. Soren seems unflappable about my moving in and about the three of us, and I’m not sure what that means. I’d hoped what we shared wouldn’t be a one-off.
I wish I was as sure that everything will be okay as Soren seems to be. Whether I’m ready or not, I’m getting a fresh start. If it’s my last, I need to make the most of it.
The cab turns onto the quiet, tree-lined street, the final one before I reach my new home. Nerves pulse, quivering my insides, and I can’t still my tapping fingertips and bouncing knee.
We come to a stop in front of a massive, three-story Victorian house with lots of windows, a few balconies, and a turret. There are four cars in the driveway. Holiday decorations dot the snow-covered lawn, and twinkling lights wind through the trees and bushes. Light gleams from several windows. The front door has a stained glass pane, and I count a few more on the second and third floors.
With a thanks to my driver, I grab my bag and climb out into the icy air. The hoodie I bought at the airport isn’t much protection from the cold. Standing on the brick-lined path, shivering in the early evening chill, staring up at the house that will be my home, my nerves kick into high gear. First-day jitters all over again.
The front door swings open. Soren steps outside and gives me a wide smile. The wind tousles his hair and presses the black sweatshirt printed with Flame Shade’s logo against his chest. “You made it.”
Phil and Gio are right behind him. “We came to help with your luggage. But I forgot they caught you on a road trip.” Gio beckons me with a raised arm. “Feel free to borrow whatever you need.”
Remy, Morgan, and Sage spill onto the front steps. They echo Gio’s words, then Remy adds, “Morgan and I are the closest to you in size. We left some clothes in your closet.”
“I stuck some things in there too.” Soren meets me a few steps from the house. He slips his arm around me and grabs my bag.
An odd sensation burns the back of my eyes and thickens my throat. I don’t think I’ve ever had a welcome like this. “Thanks, guys.”
Remy holds the door open for all of us. “We’ll give you a quick tour so you can get your bearings.”
The entryway has dark wood and white walls. The rooms flanking it continue the style. A piano sits in one room, and the other has bookshelves, couches, a small fireplace, and a Christmas tree in front of the window, twinkling with white lights and multi-colored balls.
“The house was a mess when we bought it.” Phil links his hand with Gio’s. “We just finished the renovations over the summer. It originally had nine bedrooms and six baths. We knocked down some of the walls, changed the flooring, wallpaper, and light fixtures, had to do some rewiring, fixed the roof… It felt like a never-ending project.”
We trek down the long hall. Gio points to a few doors. “Those rooms are Phil’s and mine. Remy and Sage have suites on the second floor. Morgan’s in the attic. And Soren has the basement. Your room is on the second floor.”
Sage takes over as the tour director. “The communal rooms are the kitchen, laundry room, the piano room we passed at the front, and the sitting room across from it.”
After turning two corners, and a quick peek at the laundry room, we arrive in the kitchen. It’s huge and painted yellow. Late afternoon sunlight spilling through the windows warms the room even more.
On a large table laden with enough place settings for all of us, rests a set of keys with a purple keyring in the shape of the character I always choose when playing Soren in Gargoyles Gateway, our favorite video game.
“I picked out the keyring.” Soren hands them to me with a smile.
Swallowing against the thickness in my throat, I pocket them.
He threads our fingers together tugging me with him. “Come with me. I’ll show you to your room.”
The steps creak under our feet. When we reach the landing, he points to a door on the left side of the hall. “That’s Remy’s suite. He faces the backyard. Sage’s is on the right side, facing the front yard. Your room is right here.”
He opens a door in the center of the hallway, and we step into a large room that’s double the size of my bedroom back home. It has hardwood flooring, tall windows, deep blue walls, a bed and dresser on one side, a couch, a coffee table, and bookshelves on the other, and a flatscreen TV hanging on the wall. The blue theme continues into the adjoining bath, with ceramic tiles in an art deco pattern.
“This beats a hotel, and any generic apartment I would have found.” I move to the closet and open it. Sure enough, sweatshirts, sweaters, and two pairs of jeans are on hangers, welcoming me. A stack of sweatpants sit on one shelf, sneakers and boots are on another, and the top shelf has brand new packs of socks and boxer briefs in shades of gray and black.
“Whatever else you need, just say the word.” He sets my bag at the foot of the bed. “I’m glad you’re here. Are you doing okay? You’ve had a lot of change thrown at you.”
“Part of me still can’t believe it.” I sink onto the mattress and trace my hand over the puffed pattern on the comforter. “Being traded is tough. You feel like your team was glad to get rid ofyou. On the one hand, I’m a little hurt and disappointed that I wasn’t able to accomplish what I set out to do in Calgary. But on the other, the Metros think I can help them… if I can regain my speed.”
Soren sits on the bed next to me. The warmth radiating from him is better than the goose-down parka hanging in my coat closet in Canada. “We’ll help you find your footing.”
“Be honest, was my staying here your idea or Gio and Phil’s?”
“Mine.”
