Page 79 of A Vegas Crush Collection #2
“It’s not even just being heartbroken over not having the woman I love with me, you know? I feel…overwhelmed. Exhausted. This is a lot. And I know everyone says I’m doing this good thing for the kids and I’m tryin’ my best, but I’m just fuckin’ exhausted, you know?”
Pam pulls me and Logan into an awkward hug. One arm hangs limp at my side as she holds me close, but I rest my chin on her shoulder. I’m beyond being comforted at this point. I feel empty and tired and I just wanna sleep for a long fuckin’ time.
I try to explain, “I appreciate you, I do. I’m just—”
“I get it, Tyler,” she says, pulling away. “How about Georg and I take the kids for breakfast in the morning? Give you some time to sleep in?”
“That’d be awesome. Thanks.”
After winning game one in Austin, the team heads home to get ready for game two of the matchup. It’s frenetic, and even in my depressed state, I feel the love from our city. My city. Vegas has become home for me in just a few short years and it’s one of the only things keeping me afloat right now.
We play a tight, hard game two at home, winning one-zero, barely holding Austin off as they try to make paybacks for stealing the Ice Dragon away. He’s a machine out there, battling for every shot on goal, managing to push one into the net for the win.
Then we’re back on the road to Austin again, trying to sweep another round.
Patricia stayed home with the kids, so I’m solo this trip.
They only travel with me when the trip doesn’t interfere with their school days.
I’m serious about Haley and Logan having the structure of school and routine daily living.
They’ve never had any normalcy before they came to live with me, so the least I can do for them is be consistent.
Adhering to a schedule is not that difficult. You just have to commit to it.
So, I’m in the hotel bar on our first night back in Austin, nursing a beer when Georg meanders up and plops down on the stool beside me.
Unexpected choice of seating for him, but whatever.
He orders a seltzer water with lime and sits, twirling the straw between his fingers, not saying anything for the longest time.
“You’re playing well,” he finally says.
“You too.”
A few more moments pass. “Okay, I’m just gonna say this and then I am done.
Tyler, I feel like an enormous tool. I see how torn up you are, and we need to talk this out.
I’m protective of my sisters, as you know.
Probably because I knew how I was with women.
” He laughs darkly. “I was a real fuck, you know?”
“You’re still a fuck.”
“Sometimes. I guess I am. But in this particular case, all I saw was my innocent baby sister half naked with a guy who I’ve witnessed—with my own eyes—fuck his way through countless bunnies over the last three seasons with the Crush, and saying he’ll never be in a relationship.”
“Fair enough. But in this particular case, all I saw was you flying off the fucking handle and breaking my nose before we could have an adult discussion about feelings.”
“I’m sorry I broke your nose. And I’m sorry I couldn’t see it. Didn’t see it. I see it now, though. She loves you. You love her.”
“I do love her. Though I don’t know what she feels right now because I can’t fuckin’ TALK to her,” I bite back at him, my volume far louder than it should be for being in a public bar.
“I’ll see what I can do about that,” he says after my outburst.
"Oooh. Gonna slip me her new number or something?"
He shakes his head at me. "Look, Tyler, I want you both to be happy. I really do. I know we’ve never been friends or whatever, but it doesn’t mean I want you miserable and broken.”
“Okay. Thanks, I guess?”
“If it helps, Zoya still hasn’t forgiven me for outing her to our father. She’s making me pay hard for not having her back about her relationship with you. She calls me predatel’ now…her betrayer.”
I can’t help the sense of satisfaction that comes with hearing this news.
My head goes up and down a few times. “Sounds about right. She is a Zen master after all. Zoya always speaks true.” When he doesn’t leave the bar, but keeps his ass planted on the stool, staring, I have to ask, “Something else on your mind, Georg?”
Georg bites his upper lip. “There is. Something else, I mean. Pam and I both want to talk to you. Can we get a table?”
I feel my brows furrow but nod, closing out my tab as we head to a table, Georg texting Pam to come down. She joins us and we order some appetizers, but I still have no clue why we’re sitting here. Frankly, I was happier looking into the bottom of my beer bottle.
“Hey, just want to say thanks for your help with Haley and Logan. Appreciate it. It’s hard, ya know? Livin’ far from their home. But, they’re happy here. I think. They really love you guys and talk about you all the time. Pretty sure Logan thinks Georg walks on water.”
“Funny you should mention them,” Pam says. “That’s what we wanted to talk to you about.”
I raise an eyebrow in question.
“We love Haley and Logan too,” she says. “We really connect with them. It’s weird, funny, how much, really.”
“We never wanted kids,” Georg adds. “Since we got together, babies have never been anything we’ve been interested in. Partly because we both fear them, but I’ve also had doubts about whether I could be a good enough dad to raise up another human without screwing them up.”
I make a meh noise. “You’re doing good. A helluva lot better than me. You’d make a fine dad, I think.”
“Well…” Georg clears his throat.
“We want to adopt Logan and Haley,” Pam blurts.
I swear I nearly choke on my beer. “What?”
“Well, we don’t know how it all works, of course. Maybe we foster them first? Then adopt? We just—we truly believe they’re great and well, we want them in our lives.”