Page 11 of Actions and Reactions (All It Takes #5)

Ivan

Getting up at five a.m. in the off-season has always been a pain in the ass.

Necessary to keep the best job in the world, but still, very much something I do because I have to, not because I want to.

That experience is different today.

Not only because I’m still relishing the spectacular orgasm from last night, or the fun dinner we had in bed afterward where we tested whether every dish I ordered could be eaten off skin—spoiler alert, everything passed with flying colors—but it’s also because Silas is next to me, snoring softly and looking cuter than any adult man has a right to.

I notice his cheek is filling with stubble, much more than mine is at twenty-two, but considering his dad’s full beard and my dad’s patchy one, that’s not really a surprise, and it just makes him look more adorable.

I’d love nothing more than to wake him with soft kisses and entice him into a shower, but that would be cruel. He doesn’t have to wake up this early. He said yesterday that he has a lot of work to catch up on, but I doubt it’s the kind of work that has to start before the sun comes out.

Since we’re in the middle of the summer, though, the sun’s not far off, and thinking of that, I get up and close the blinds as quietly as I can.

Silas told me not to last night, said he liked the view, and I couldn’t argue.

It is the main reason why I bought the apartment, far enough from the Strip to not have to deal with drunk tourists every day but close enough to catch the strangely beautiful sight.

Still, I thought he was the better view, but I kept that to myself.

It seems best that I keep most things to myself for now.

The way things are moving along between us, I have no doubt we’ll soon get to a place where we can have not only our friendship back, but also the deep connection that transcends it, the one I dreamed about when I was a teenager.

It’s the type of relationship most people dream of, I think, and the hope that fills me at the thought that we could have it is almost painful.

So I force myself out of the room and into my laundry room. Most of my gear for the gym and the rink is in here, since that makes life easier and means I never have to bring my smelly duffel into my bedroom, so I grab what I need and I’m out the door less than ten minutes later .

I drink my protein shake on the drive to the practice rink, which is further outside the city, and I wonder if I’ll come home to Si still being there.

Nothing would make me happier if I’m honest, but I need to put that out of my mind and focus on getting all my strength back.

With that in mind, I stop at a drive-through for breakfast.

No one’s around at the rink except for Payton, our PT, who’s setting up his treatment room for a few guys who need patching up after the brutal battle for the Stanley Cup.

And he tells me that aside from us, only Gab is here.

I assume her assistant Abigail is also here, but I don’t ask since that’s neither here nor there.

But the news has me thinking all throughout my three-hour workout, and my lack of patience rears its head.

I order some food for after my shower, but when I walk into the locker room I find it... completely empty. It’s just a room. There are no cubbies, no gear, no signs with our names and numbers.

It’s disconcerting as fuck, but when I check I can see that the showers work, so I make use of one of them and thank all the gods that I have a bottle of shower gel buried at the bottom of my duffel.

When I’m done, I put my go-getter attitude—as Mom likes to call it—to good use and take the elevator up to Gab’s office.

“Hey, Eagle,” Abigail greets me with a surprised but happy smile. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“I came in for a workout.”

“You’re not taking more time off?” She frowns.

“No rest for the wicked,” I tell her and nod at the closed, frosted-glass doors. “Is she up for a chat?”

“She should be,” she answers without missing a beat. Abigail is amazing at pivoting. “Wait, where did you take a shower?”

“Yeah, I was gonna ask about the locker rooms. The showers are still working, but?—”

“I don’t think they’ll be working tomorrow.” Her grimace tells me she’s already trouble-shooting in her head.

“No worries at all.” I hold up both hands so she doesn’t try to get us like... portable showers. “We can all shower at home. Just maybe put a sign up or something so no one else goes in there.”

“That’s a good idea,” she mumbles then picks up her phone.

“Do you have a minute to talk to Eagle?” she says into the receiver, then nods once.

“Got it. You can go in.” She’s once more looking up at me and I smile in thanks before walking away.

Before I even open the door she’s already talking to someone else on the phone about getting a sign put up in front of the locker room.

“This is a surprise,” Gab says as she stands. By her smile, I’m relieved to think it’s a good surprise .

“Sorry for not letting you know before. I know you’re busy.”

“I’m never too busy for you,” she tells me indulgently and reaches up for a hug. I kiss her cheeks and smile right back. “How was the week with your family?” she asks as she turns to the couch she has off to the side.

I roll my eyes behind her back, and yes, I’m not brave or stupid enough to do it to her face over something so small, but damn it, of course Mom told her. And now that I think about it...

“Were you feeding info to our mothers, Gabrielle?” I risk my life by calling her by her full name, but I think I get a pass in this instance.

“Ivan Borys Eagle Jankowski, you better watch it,” she throws back.

“Come on .” The words come out in a groan I can’t and won’t swallow back. “I get to call you Gabrielle if you’ve been conspiring with my mother,” I counter, and honestly, hearing her second-name me is a little funny, especially her addition of my nickname.

“Conspiring. Pfft ,” she scoffs, and shakes her head.

“I take my jobs very seriously, Eagle. That means conspiring for the greater good sometimes.” She finally sits and looks up at me with eyes full of self-satisfaction.

“And I was right, wasn’t I? Last week was the perfect time to get you two back in order. ”

I risk my life again and roll my eyes, but...

“You were right,” I admit in a mutter and walk over to take a seat on the armchair opposite her .

“I’ve known you for almost four years, Ivan,” she tells me, her tone more serious this time.

“I’ve known your mother for a lot longer, so of course she came to me.

She called in a panic right after I hired Silas, and I’m grateful of course.

I’ve known Silas only for a few months and I could tell you two just needed the right push in the right direction at the right time.

You should know by now that’s my specialty. ”

“I do,” I whisper. I have to give her credit there. She might’ve stumbled a bit last year, but not only was her heart in the right place when she hired Charlie “Sweetheart” Heart, but it turns out her instincts were right on the money too.

And this time . . .

Well, she might regret how right she was when it comes to Silas and me.

“Speaking of which.” I clear my throat and shift in my seat, then I cross one leg over the other and take a minute before looking her right in the eyes.

There’s no smugness in their blue green now, only curiosity, and that tells me she probably isn’t ready for what I’m about to say to her.

An unprepared Gab is an unhappy Gab, so I might be risking my life for the third time.

“I thought just now that it might be ... prudent.” God, I’ve never used that word before in my whole fucking life.

This is not pleasant. “To tell you that Silas and I have started a... physical relationship.”

“ Ewww .” Her immediate grimace is funny as hell, so of course I laugh, and it might come out just a bit louder than usual because of the relief.

So much relief . “I don’t need to know anything about the physical side of it, Eagle!

Jesus Christ almighty,” she cries out. It’s always funny when her father’s southern roots come out in her, especially considering that, like me, she was born and raised in freaking Los Angeles.

“But you know it’s fine.” She waves a hand by her face.

“I obviously have zero issues with it as long as you make sure it doesn’t interfere with the team. ”

“Of course,” I murmur.

“Was that all you wanted to talk about?”

“Yes.” I nod.

“That’s a relief. I don’t need any more surprises.” She takes a deep breath and stands. “I’m hoping this makes you happy, Eagle. Both you and Silas are not only important to the team, but to me as well.”

“Thanks, Gab,” I whisper.

The phone rings just then and she goes to answer it.

“Yes? Oh, right. Yeah, sure. Tell him I’ll be down in ten minutes.” She hangs up and looks at me again. “Silas is here. You might want to tell him everything we talked about so there are no misunderstandings.”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

So I walk out with a promise to Gab to use the arena’s facilities for training until I get back in shape, and to tell the rest of the guys and Payton. We have everything we need there as well, but I guess it’s just more... familiar here, at the practice rink.

I’m relaxed and ready to eat the takeout that’s waiting for me in the parking lot when I walk over to Silas’s office, but that quickly turns into pure confusion after I tell him.

“Why did you do that?” he demands in a low, clipped tone.

“Because it was the right thing to do,” I defend myself.

“Fine, whatever.” He sighs deeply, sits behind his desk again, and looks at the monitor like he’s riveted by whatever it’s showing him. “I need to work late today.”

I’d normally ask what the hell he’s talking about, since it’s barely nine thirty in the fucking morning, but I remind myself of my promise to take things slow and to not rock the boat, so I nod even though he’s not looking at me.

“How about we have lunch tomorrow?” I offer. I don’t love the idea of being away from him for so long, but it can’t be a bad thing, right? Spending one day apart after a full week of being glued at the hips.

“Your place?” is all he asks.

Maybe he needs time to process this development? I honestly don’t know, but telling him I want his attention and maybe a kiss goodbye probably won’t go down well right now, so that’s what I’ll tell myself.

If he’s still so distant tomorrow then I’ll bring it up.

“Yeah, okay,” I agree, and walk out of there.

I eat while I drive back in the direction of the city, and I make an impulsive decision.

I need to talk to someone about all of this. Someone who’s not Gab. And thankfully I know my best friend—okay maybe the guy I’m closest to in the team—is here and won’t be making any trips this summer. At least not for a month.

Milkman opens the door to his apartment, looking annoyed, and I get why when he lets me in and I see Xander’s flushed cheeks.

“Sorry,” I mutter at my teammate. “But I really need to talk.”

“It’s fine,” Xander says with some urgency. “I need to go talk to Drew anyway about some wedding details.”

“I’m here in the city for the rest of the off-season, so you let me know if you need help with anything, yeah?”

“Thanks,” he says, and his smile confirms it.

I bet Drew and Bear’s wedding is going to be spectacular, and not only because Drew’s an incredible wedding planner, but because everyone who’s part of the Pirates family cares deeply about our goalie and we’re going to make damn sure he has the perfect day come August.

“So what’s up?” Milkman asks once we’re alone.

In true me fashion, I don’t beat around the bush, I just tell him all of it—the group text from our moms, the plane ride, and last night.

To his credit, he doesn’t interrupt or ask me to repeat anything.

He just listens intently right up until the last word, but he is frowning in a way I haven’t seen on him before.

“So you’re fuck buddies and that’s it?”

“What? No,” I shout. “We’re together.”

“Are you sure?” There’s enough doubt in his tone to have me questioning everything. “It sounds like you’re just friends trading orgasms. ”

Instead of dismissing him completely, I think about it.

I remember the look Silas gave me when I kissed his leg that first time back at the cabin, and he’s given me softer smiles every time I’ve done it since then. Even last night after we got our breaths back and showered.

I dried him off, his whole body, inch by inch, and I kissed his knee again. He even cupped my cheek.

There’s too much emotion in moments like those for this to be as simple or as clinical as a friendship with benefits, right?

Yes.

And also, Si gave me his virginity.

What he thought of as his virginity at least.

I really don’t think he’d do that if this was just a fun time for him.

“I’m sure it’s more,” I tell Milkman, knowing in my bones I’m speaking the truth.

“Okay then.” He leans back and tilts his head, conceding to me.

“If you say so, I believe you. Xander and I for sure started more as fuck buddies, but it became clear pretty quickly to both of us we wanted more, so yeah. If you feel it’s more, then it already is.

But you might want to take him out on a date or something, and actually talk.

” That gives me pause again and I frown.

“We talk,” I defend.

“Just sayin’.” He shrugs then claps me on the shoulder. “Now, how about we head down to the gym and do some miles on the bikes then go out for something fattening for dinner? ”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I agree, my mind already somewhere else.

Okay, not somewhere , it’s very clearly on Silas, but I’m not about to try and change that.

He’s the only thing I want to think about.