Page 75 of Wanting the Winger

CHAPTER22

DARIUS

THREE WEEKS LATER

I pullup to a stop sign at the end of my street before making the turn onto the main road. Lowering the windows more, I decide to forgo the air conditioning and let the wind blow through instead. Brutus is on board with this plan. Sitting in the front passenger seat, he leans his head out the window. In the side mirror I can see his blissed out expression. He looks like he’s smiling and his eyes are at half mast. He’s in doggie Heaven right now.

The smooth leather steering wheel is warm under my hands as I make the drive to Evie’s house. I’ve traveled this route so many times in the past few months, I think I could make it with my eyes closed. And now that my hockey season is over, I’ve been spending every moment I can with Evie and Tillie. It’s amazing how quickly I’ve gone from one of the highest points in my career to one of the lowest. Only a few weeks ago the Coyotes advanced to the conference finals and I thought for sure we were going all the way. I envisioned us winning the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, we lost game seven in the conference finals, and as quick as the snap of my fingers, our season was over. It still feels surreal when I think about it. And I think about it a lot. Too much, in fact.

My teammates and I were devastated. We’d played well all season, so to lose when we were so close to advancing on to the Stanley Cup Finals came as a surprise.

Did we get ahead of ourselves and not stay focused on the game we needed to win? I don’t think that was the situation. We collectively gave it our all, but on that particular night, our all wasn’t enough and we got outplayed.

Having Evie and Tillie in my life has made the loss so much easier to endure. They’ve been spoiling me with home-baked cookies and brownies, and they even made some peanut butter treats for Brutus. He and Tillie are best pals now. Whenever I sleep at Evie’s, Brutus stays in Tillie’s room with her. He even gets up on her bed to cuddle against her.

I pull my truck into Evie’s driveway. Brutus’s paws have barely hit the pavement when Tillie is barreling toward us. I scoop her up into my arms and she squeezes her little arms around my neck.

“Hi, Dar.”

“Hi, Tills.” I set her down and she throws herself at Brutus, hugging him.

When I look up from the two of them, I find Evie watching from the doorway. My lips reflexively arch into a smile, as they always do when I see her. She’s like a miracle balm for everything that ails me.

Tillie and Brutus run into the house ahead of me while Evie waits in the mudroom. I lock the front door and turn to face her.

“How are you, agápi mou?”

She slips into my arms before replying, “Better now that you’re here.”

I relish the way her curves feel against me. She fits perfectly in my embrace. In fact, she’s a perfect fit in every way. I don’t know what I did with all my free time before she and Tillie were in my life.

“Let’s go inside. Tillie and I made some treats.”

I rub my hand over my stomach. “You two are trying to fatten me up.”

“As if that’s possible with the time you spend in the gym,” she says.

My workouts are always difficult, but when I’m not playing hockey all the time, I ratchet up the intensity to compensate.

I hear her close the door as I walk toward the couch in her living room. I fall back on the comfortable piece of furniture with a sigh.

“You don’t want anything to eat?”

“Not yet. I want to talk with you.”

Her eyes flashing wider with concern, she sits next to me. “What’s going on?”

“I heard a rumor that your dad is looking to trade me.”

She gasps. “Could it be false information? Rumors aren’t always true.”

“It came from a credible source.”

“That asshole. Why can’t he just fuck off and leave us alone?”

“Calm down.” I wrap my arm around her, and she leans into me.

“What are you going to do?”

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