Page 22 of Game Winner
I bite my lip to stop my smile. The chaos of this house is hilarious. “Maybe because it ruined an orgasm? And sent him to the ER?”
Being woken by the sounds of Gio and Phil yelling was not a pleasant way to start the day, especially because none of us knew what was wrong. Fearing the worst, I rushed out of my room at the same time as Sage and Remy. Together, we raced to the first floor, meeting Soren in the hallway outside of Phil and Gio’s suite. Leading the charge, Soren burst open their door, and we found not an intruder, but a naked Phil chasing Benny around the bathroom, while Gio, clad only in the torn remnants of a reindeer thong and with blood gushing from his forehead, rushed after his husband trying to corral the wayward lizard.
Morgan drove them to the hospital, and Soren and I cleaned up the mess in the bathroom while Sage and Remy got Benny back where he belonged.
“Benny ranup my leg.” Gio brandishes one of the inappropriate snowman cookies like a sword. “It’s not like I could see him from the position I was in. All I knew was that something that shouldn’t be on me, was. I nearly jumped out of my skin.”
“And took a header into the medicine cabinet,” Phil adds.
Gio pushes the hat farther up to reveal the neat line of stitches on his forehead. “When I told the doctor it wasn’t sex that sent me to the ER, but a dragon, she thought I was hallucinating and had a concussion from hitting my head!”
Full belly laughs rack Remy and Morgan. Beside me, Sage hides his laughter by ducking his head into his chest. I can’tcontain mine, so getting up to refill my glass of water seems like a wise move.
Sending the rest of us a stare that screamsdon’t mess with me, Phil lays his hand over Gio’s. “The official story we’re telling the team is that a stick blade cut Gio.”
Morgan adds yet another snowman to the rack. “But the truth is way funnier.”
“I don’t care.” Gio flings an undecorated tree-shaped cookie at him.
The music stops as the playlist reaches its end. Sage grabs his phone and taps the screen a few times. Sleigh bells fill the room, and a new song begins. “Won’t the team know that you left yesterday’s game without a cut? You didn’t get clipped by a stick during the game.”
My full glass in hand, I return to my seat. “The story could be that Gio was out playing street hockey with the neighborhood kids this morning, and it happened there. You have enough equipment in your garage for an entire team.”
Gio hands me a delicately decorated snowflake cookie with all the solemnity of being granted the Crown Jewels. “Thank you, Tyler.”
Scattering the rainbow sprinkles across the cookie trees smeared with green frosting, Remy sighs. “Benny just likes to explore.”
“I’m getting him a new terrarium for Christmas.” Gio pulls his hat down to cover the stitches. “It’ll have a padlock. And an alarm system. With a laser grid.”
I take a piece of candy from the bag Sage tilts my way. “Gio, I don’t think that’s a thing.”
“Let me have my dreams.” His bottom lip sticks out in a pout at me.
“You got it.” Unwrapping the candy, I can’t stop my smile or my laughter when Remy looks my way and rolls his eyes, then quickly shifts attention to the cookies when Gio turns his head.
Since the trade, I’ve had eleven days of being with my new teammates and housemates, and each day, I’m growing more comfortable. My skating speed is improving. And just like in Friday’s game against Grand Rapids, my linemates and I each scored in yesterday’s game in Chicago. Two goals for me in three days is so much better than going scoreless for weeks. I’m finding my footing. But it’s moments like this, sitting around the table with all of my housemates together or hanging out with them one-on-one, that mean the most. The guys bicker like brothers, but it’s apparent in everything they do that they would do anything for each other.
Soren is the only one missing. He left an hour ago to pick up last-minute items for the party. And though he’s not here for cookie duty, he got the front rooms ready while Gio and Phil were at the ER.
Slipping his arm around Gio, Phil plants a kiss on his temple. “We could abandon our plan of flipping houses after we retire and switch to building terrariums that can hold the Houdinis of the lizard world.”
Gio leans against his husband’s chest with a sigh. “For now, I’ll settle for getting the rest of the cookies decorated. Everything else is done. The guys will be here soon.”
“I’m gonna check on Benny.” Remy places a snowflake decorated in blue and green on the tray. “Give him a talk about staying in his space. Maybe put on a nature show for him.”
“We’ll handle the cookies.” Sage points to himself, Morgan, and me. “Really, G. You and Phil take a breather or take a last look at everything. We’ve got this.”
Remy leaves, and Phil and Gio head to the house’s front rooms, where the bulk of the party will be, to check on thingsthere. They’re also opening up the living room of their suite, and everyone will have access to the kitchen.
Ugly sweaters are the party theme. I brush my hand over the front of my sweater, adorned with a red and green T-Rex holding a gift. Soren, Bax, and I found it at a thrift store last week, the night we met up for dinner after our road trip. Soren bought a sweater with a trio of velociraptors, and Bax found one with a brontosaurus. He told us the museum had sold the sweaters a few years ago, and whoever had donated the sweaters to the thrift store must’ve collected them all.
Most of the guys are bringing their significant others. And though the three of us haven’t had a conversation about what we are to each other, I’m happy he’s coming to the party.
“Let’s make this more interesting.” Sage sets the stopwatch on this phone. “There are twenty cookies left. Whoever frosts the most doesn’t have to help with cleanup. Ready, and, go!”
I grab the closest tube and squeeze a squiggly line of blue over a snowflake. “Done.”
“I like your minimalist method.” Morgan places a single dot of red on the center of a snowman’s chest. “Done.”
