Page 16 of Accidentally Joining His Cult (Chicago Awakenings #1)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Cody
I ’m buzzing with excitement as I approach the Caldwell Center for Saturday’s game.
As Beck put it, the “Hockey Gods” weren’t on our side this weekend. Chicago faced Buffalo in the second series, winning both games in New York. We hoped for a sweep back in Chicago, but Buffalo won games three and four. That meant Beck was still in New York for game five when I arrived in Chicago on Thursday night—and I still haven’t seen him.
Then, to make it worse for our timing, a network issue forced back-to-back games, so the teams stayed in New York overnight and didn’t land here until after I was already at work today. But at least they managed to scrape by with a win last night.
Now, the Werewolves are fighting to close out the series with a win tonight. If they lose, they’ll have to head back to New York for game seven.
And I thought my work travel was crazy! These hockey schedules make mine look like a walk in the park in comparison.
On the bright side, Beck invited me to watch tonight’s game with him! I’m so excited to see him in person again. He told me to go to gate six and a half to check in and give my name. I thought he was joking at first about the “half” thing, but apparently, it’s real.
When I walk up to the gate, an intimidating man in a suit asks for my ticket.
“I don’t have one. I’m so sorry, my friend said to give my name. It’s Cody Richardson,” I rush to explain when he seems annoyed by my lack of ticket. At the mention of my name, though, he perks up.
“Richardson is here for Mr. Caldwell,” he says into the headset he’s wearing.
Moments later, a short man with stylish blonde hair appears from behind him. He’s wearing a Werewolves jersey that’s slim fit to his small frame and tight black pants that make his butt look great when he steps in front of me to flash his badge at the man I was talking to.
“No need to call anyone, he’s with me!” the man says excitedly.
“Go ahead,” the security guy confirms, waving me toward the metal detectors that lead inside.
After I’m cleared by security, I stick my hand out to introduce myself to my new friend, who apparently knows who I am and is very happy that I’m here, but my words are cut off before I can even begin.
“Cody, it’s so great to meet you!” he squeals, practically jumping into a hug. He’s much shorter than me, so the height of the hug is a little awkward, but I quickly lean down to adjust to his size and hug him back firmly.
I’m still confused as to why we’re hugging, but ever since I learned that the princesses at theme parks aren’t allowed to end a hug first, I’ve decided to follow suit. You never know when someone else needs that connection. I’d hate to cut it off and leave them feeling neglected.
When he finally pulls back, he leads me toward the elevators in the lobby we’ve entered.
“It’s great to meet you, too?” I say the end like a question, hoping he'll also introduce himself.
“Oh shit, sorry! I forgot you don’t actually know me. Beck’s been talking about you so much that I feel like we’re already friends,” he explains. “I’m Adrian, his best friend slash assistant, in that order.”
“Oh, I do know you! Beck’s talked about you too,” I confirm. “It’s great to put a face to the name.” I smile brightly at him as we board the elevator up to the 100-level suites. I had no idea that this would be such a fancy experience, but I probably should have assumed with Beck’s family being the owners.
We exit into a long hallway with numbered doors on one side that must lead to the suites. There’s another member of security standing there to recheck tickets, but they wave us through when they see Adrian.
“Beck is going to be so bummed that I got to you before him,” Adrian says with an evil grin. He heads into the suite labeled 01, and I immediately smile at the loud laughter filling the space. It’s full of at least twenty people of varying ages.
Oh my god, do I get to meet Beck’s sitcom family?
As soon as I step into the room, I see Beck across the space and our eyes lock. It’s like everything else fades away, and it’s just us in the room. I’m sure that my smile is bordering on obnoxious, but I’m just so excited to be in the same place after weeks of endless texts and video calls across state lines. We’ve gotten into the habit of falling asleep with our video call still going, and every morning I feel so lucky that I get to wake up to his sleeping face.
We both rush toward each other, and I wrap him up in a huge hug, lifting him slightly off the ground. He squeezes me back just as tightly, and we’re both laughing by the time I lower him to the floor. He steps back, and I realize that the rest of the room has gone silent.
“I never thought I’d see the day,” says a man who looks like a slightly shorter and younger version of Beck. “My scary big bro, laughing and smiling while he hugs his date. Definitely wasn’t on my bingo card.”
His tone is teasing, and he holds out his hand with a laugh, “You must be Cody. This guy hasn’t shut up about you for weeks.” He pats Beck on the back with his other hand as we shake ours. “I’m Lincoln, his youngest and favorite brother. Thank fuck you’re here. I was starting to worry that Beck was going to disappear in the middle of the night and ditch the playoffs to go see you,” he says, actually sounding relieved.
After Lincoln steps away, I find a line of people waiting to be introduced to me. The whole family is here. I meet Beck’s three other brothers, Oakley, Harrison, and Dominic, then his grandparents, his other best friend, Jordan, and even some of his brothers’ friends who seem just as close to him as his actual family members.
Finally, an attractive, slightly older couple approaches with warm smiles on their faces. The woman ignores my outstretched hand and pulls me in for a tight hug. While she squeezes me, she goes up on her tiptoes and whispers, “Thank you,” into my ear. “I don’t think he’s ever been this happy,” she continues. “I know the situation isn’t perfect, but it’s like something’s settled in him since he met you. He doesn’t seem to be so on edge.” She steps back and takes both of my hands in hers, giving them a tight squeeze before letting go. “I’m Beck’s mom, Susan, and this is his dad, Greg. We’re so excited to finally meet you.”
“Great to meet you, son,” his dad says as he takes my hand and uses it to pull me in for a one-armed, back-slap, guy hug that makes me laugh.
I knew that I’d love his family from everything Beck’s told me and how he always talks of them with such fondness. I wasn’t expecting to meet them today, though, and I certainly wouldn’t have expected this warm of a welcome when Beck and I aren’t even dating.
My parents are nice people, but they’re always so busy that I only get to talk to them every few weeks for quick hellos and updates. I know they both love me and want me to be happy, but I can’t imagine my mom being so genuinely excited to meet someone I’ve only been talking to for a few weeks. I’ve told her about Beck, but I doubt she’ll remember his name the next time we catch up.
I’m surprised by how emotional this warm welcome has made me. I’ve always craved this sense of family and belonging. It feels like a cruel joke from the universe to tie everything I’ve ever wanted to Beck, knowing there’s no realistic way for us to be together.
Even if I wanted to leave Kyla… I don’t think I actually can with the ways that I’ve tied myself to the company. I’ve been trying not to focus on that, though. Who knows if Beck even wants a relationship anyway? No use stressing over a possibility that doesn’t exist.
It makes me so happy to hear his family talk about the positive changes in Beck since meeting me, but for all I know, that could have been from the programs he’s taken with Kyla, not because of our situation .
He’s told me that he’s never wanted a relationship. Just because we’ve agreed to be exclusive doesn't mean he suddenly wants us to be together for the rest of our lives or anything.
I’ve found some good friends through Kyla, but most of what we talk about is related to work in one way or another. Nick is probably my best friend in Linna, but I can’t imagine him meeting my parents or me his. Most of the people in our town have moved there for Kyla, so we’re away from our extended families and don’t see them much. Now that I think about it, other than a few people who have had to cut contact with their toxic family members, I can’t think of any of my friends ever really talking about their families.
Adrian and Jordan fit in with Beck’s family seamlessly, as do his siblings’ friends. The only people here who look slightly out of place are the two attractive girls sitting on an armchair in the corner. Beck’s brother, Oakley, explained that one of the girls is his girlfriend, and the other is dating his best friend, Parker. They look so comfortable with each other that I wonder if they’re sisters—one is sitting on the other’s lap, both laughing at something on the phone they're looking at.
Maybe I need to make more of an effort with my friends, to learn more about them outside of Kyla and work-related topics. It’s just hard when so much of our time in Montana is structured, and so many of us travel for the programs.
“I grabbed us some food,” Beck says, interrupting my thoughts as he comes up beside me. He places his hand on my lower back and hands me a plate of delicious-looking fruits and veggies. “I’ve noticed you tend to go for the clean stuff, so I grabbed the healthiest-looking options. If you want to watch warm-ups, we can go sit in the balcony seats.”
“Thanks! That would be awesome,” I agree, trying to shake off my jealous thoughts about how amazing Beck’s family and friends seem. Instead, focusing on how sweet it was of him to notice the kinds of foods I like to eat.
He leads us to the door at the back of the large suite. We pass a full bar with a bartender, a private bathroom, couches, tables, and more food than this group could possibly eat in one night. Through the door is a balcony with two stadium-style rows of plush seating. Adrian and Jordan are already in the front row, and I follow Beck toward them. Beck has me sit next to Jordan while he sits on my other side.
They all include me like an old friend, not someone they met less than an hour ago, and it makes my chest feel like it could burst with how grateful I am to be so welcomed.
We spend the warmups with them pointing out specific players and telling me more about their positions, stats, and even personal lives.
“So, do you have favorite players when you personally know them all?” I question the group.
Beck gives me a very serious look as he answers. “No, with my position, it is imperative that I remain impartial to specific players and focus on the team’s success as a whole.” His tone is flat, but at the last second, he winks, and I know he’s fucking with me.
“Bell,” Jordan coughs the star rookie’s last name in answer, and we all laugh.
“I have a favorite!” Adrian declares, and Beck and Jordan snicker and start making kissing noises.
“Are you dating a player or something?” I ask based on their responses.
“Ugh, I wish!” Adrian deflates a bit. “I don’t know of any out players on the team. There are a couple in the league, but their reception has been pretty mixed.”
“You’d think that with an out CEO of the team, if anyone wanted to come out, they would,” Jordan adds.
“It’s not that simple,” Beck argues, sounding defeated. “No one’s buying a ticket to see me here, and it’s not my name on the jersey they’re paying hundreds of dollars to buy. Even with Chicago being a fairly accepting city, the Midwest isn’t always as kind. A lot of the rural states west of us don’t have an NHL team, so they root for the Werewolves.
“Plus, hockey players tend to be a superstitious group. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are guys in the league who’d love to come out but don’t want to risk it affecting their game at all.”
“That’s sad,” I respond, thinking about how easy it was for me to embrace being bi. Apparently, my closest friend thought that I was already out. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for people who are forced to deny who they truly are.
Beck nods. “I’ve been trying to think of ways to improve the situation, and I’ve dropped some pretty blatant hints to our guys that there’s no need to hide anything from our staff, even if they had something about their personal life they didn’t want fans to know. So far, though, no one’s said anything.”
“Back to meee,” Adrian cuts in, making us all laugh. “My favorite player is the sexy as fuck captain, Hudson Roy,” he says with a dreamy sigh. “Sadly, he’s not only straight but he’s married to a super pretty blonde woman who’s literally an ex-model.”
“You’re super pretty and blonde,” I point out, trying to cheer him up.
“I am super pretty and blonde. Thank you for reminding me,” he sits up straighter with a big smile. “I knew I was going to like you, Cody.”
Beck’s friends really are amazing.
After warmups, we head back into the suite for more snacks and to hang out with the rest of the family. Oakley and Parker are super funny, and they keep finishing each other’s sentences. It’s obvious with the way they move around each other and do small things like grab the other a refill or toss the other’s empty plate that they care about each other and have been best friends for a really long time.
We cram as many people as we can onto the balcony for the start of the game, and when the Werewolves quickly score, it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced at a professional sports game. The crowd explodes, people sing along to their goal song, others wildly clap, and there’s a lot of howling, which I think is supposed to resemble a wolf.
It's incredible to witness such a display of excitement and unity amongst thousands of people, all brought together by their love for this team. I’ve only been to Chicago a few times for work, and the trips were always quick, but this city is quickly becoming one of my favorite places.
The game itself is a blur of excitement. The Werewolves score twice more in the second before Buffalo gets one past our goalie.
Yep, our goalie... I’m a die-hard Werewolves fan now, so I’m claiming it.
Buffalo scores again at the start of the third, and things get pretty tense for a while with Chicago only having a one-goal lead. Luckily, Buffalo pulls their goalie too early in an attempt to tie the game, and Roy is able to send it into their empty net, securing the W for the Werewolves and advancing them to the next round of the playoffs.