Page 39 of Actions and Reactions (All It Takes #5)

Ivan

“Hi.” I wave to the girl from the threshold, and I bet I look like a dork, but who cares?

Annie, that’s what Si said her name is, and he told me very little about why she was in New Hope with him, but the little he did tell me was enough to have me raging mad.

He also advised me to stay a good distance away and not to touch her at all.

“You have to be Vinny,” she says with a shit-eating grin as she walks closer. Her dark eyes sparkle with mischief as she offers me her hand in greeting. I shake off my surprise as fast as I can and take it. “You’re even hotter than he said.”

She points at Silas, who snaps at her. “Shut up.” There’s absolutely no real heat in his voice.

I feel my smile growing as Si’s cheeks become flushed .

“You think I’m hot ?” I tease him.

“Of course you’re hot,” he mutters without looking up.

“Okay, hate to break this up, but the doorman just called right before you got here, so we need to go down to get my boxes.”

“Yes.” I snap back to attention and offer her a less manic smile. “Can Si sign for it, or do you have to do it?”

“He can sign for it.” She nods.

“Perfect, then you stay put and we’ll be back in a few.”

It takes us no time at all to pile the six boxes inside the elevator since the doorman helps out, and then Annie agrees to let us help her set up some of her stuff in the guest bedroom.

“But I’m going to be out of here as soon as I get a job and find a place,” she insists, and winces when her eyes land on Silas. He’s oblivious, focusing way too hard on the poster he’s sticking to the wall behind the big bed.

“Dr. Conway said not to rush your way to independence, so there’s no hurry, Annie.” His voice is placid enough, sounding so much calmer than anything he said during the summer.

Before, his tone was monotone or angry, or well... horny, but never calm.

I like that he’s sounding more like his old self.

Now I just need to see him become borderline arrogant, and I’ll know he’s fully back.

“I know, but I don’t want you to get sick of me.” I think she tries to sound teasing, but I see the pain in her eyes.

“Si never gets sick of people,” I reassure her.

“If you annoy him, he’ll tell you, but he’ll never get sick of you.

” When she looks at me, I know she’s hoping I’m telling her the truth, so I offer another smile as I stand, done connecting the standing lamp by the window.

“He also isn’t a very charitable person, so he’s not doing any of this from that perspective if you’re worried about that. ”

“That’s true,” he mumbles, and finally jumps off the bed to stare at the perfectly placed poster of... yes, The Storm.

Remembering what Si told me he wants, I don’t bite back my remarks.

“It’s really fucking weird that you like them enough to have them looking over you while you sleep,” I mumble.

“They’re gorgeous, built, talented, and I’ve been a fan of them all my life.” She points at me and frowns with a mock-threat. “Don’t you say a bad thing about The Storm in my presence.”

Si bursts out laughing while I gape at her. She doesn’t know?

That’s a first.

I look accusingly at Si. “I see you haven’t been talking about me nearly enough.”

“I have!” he cries out, still laughing.

“He doesn’t shut up about you, actually.”

“Clearly he’s not telling you the important details, then, because those...” I pause to point at the poster. “Are my cousins.”

“What?” she whispers, and the blood drains from her face. I’ve seen that reaction on people all my life whenever they meet Hawk and Wolf, so I’m not worried .

“My mom is Lyla Storm,” I tell her. “They’re my cousins, so of course I’m not going to say a bad word about them.”

“Shut the fuck up .” She bends over and slaps her hands against her thighs.

I see the true insanity that comes from being a fanatic come into her eyes, but then she whirls around and shouts at Silas.

“And you didn’t think that was an important detail to add when you were yapping away over this guy? ”

“I mean...” He trails off with a guilty wince, but then he shrugs. “Aunt Lyla’s been a part of my life all my life , and so have Hawk and Wolf. Besides, I didn’t know you were obsessed with them until now.” He gestures at the poster.

“Wait,” she snaps, and whirls around. “Shell Storm was your aunt, then.”

Now that is reverence , I think to myself when I see her expression.

“She was.” I nod, and try not to get emotional.

“Hawk and Wolf Storm are your cousins,” she states, like it’s finally sinking in.

“They are. Stick around and you’ll probably meet them.”

I mean, Wolf got out of rehab just last week, and he told me when I was finally able to talk to him that he’s moving to New York for a year—which of course Mom’s ecstatic about—so Annie might have to wait longer than normal to meet them, but it’ll happen eventually .

Still, the shrill cry she lets loose is endearing, amusing, and really grating at the same time.

I can’t help but smile. “We’re gonna have to tone it down before that happens,” I tease her. And then I take out my phone and text them in the group chat we have with Lex.

Vin:

Just met your biggest fan.

I snap a pic of the poster and send it off.

Lex answers with three full lines of laughing emojis.

Hawk:

Awww, remember that album, Wolfie? You looked much better back then.

Wolf:

I always look spectacular, Birdie, and you know it.

Let us know if they want some signed shit, Vin.

I send back a thumbs up and smile like a maniac at my phone. It’s nice to see my cousins teasing each other like they used to. Then I see the time.

“Okay, I need to get something to eat then head over to the rink.”

“Thank you so much for your help.” Annie looks a little more composed.

“No problem.”

“Annie, what do you think about coming with us? I need to go talk to Gab, and we can grab something on the way or eat at the rink?” He directs that last question at me.

“Of course, you’re always welcome.”

I know Si’s nervous about her meeting the guys. The sooner that happens the sooner she’ll realize we’re all a bunch of puppies who are very obedient off the ice.

And I think meeting Gab will help too. She’s the one holding the metaphorical leash, so I’d like to think that would give Annie some peace of mind.

“Okay,” Annie says. She looks slightly hesitant, but goes right over to the armchair for her purse.

“One car or two?” I ask Si. He drove us here from my place, but it’s barely ten minutes away, they could drive by so I can get my car as well. The thing is though, the way I’m feeling right now, I don’t want to be apart from him until I absolutely have to, so I’m hoping he says one car only.

“I have no clue how much time I’m gonna spend working today, but I think one will be enough. I can’t imagine Gab thrusting me into anything today, and if I need to go out, we can always pick you up later.”

“Or Milkman can drive me. You wanna drive, right?” I’m guessing he does.

“It’s been so long since I have, I really want to.” His excited smile is not something I can refuse. “Let’s go, then.”

“Nice car,” Annie says, wide-eyed when we walk to Si’s G-Wagon in the underground garage .

“Thanks,” he says easily. “It was a gift from my parents after I graduated at the top of my class.”

“No, no, sit in the front,” Annie insists when I gesture to the open door I’m holding for her. “I get dizzy sometimes.” She settles in the back and picks back up the car conversation after buckling her seatbelt. “Your parents are awesome,” she says dreamily.

“That they are,” Si murmurs, and the little smile I see as he drives out to the street has a bit of the weight on my chest falling away.

I know that appreciative look is genuine, and I hope that if things are going well with his parents, maybe he won’t have a hard time going to the rink or seeing me practice.

I definitely will bring the subject up at some point today, but when we’re alone. I like Annie so far, but I don’t know her nearly well enough to talk about my deepest fear with her present.

She looks around with wide eyes as we drive around the Strip and then keeps staring when we get on the highway.

“It looks so normal,” she mumbles.

“Out here it is,” I confirm. “A lot of my teammates live in gated communities around here, and some even further away. There are some great schools out here and everyone who has kids doesn’t really want to be close to the Strip anyway.”

We stop at a steakhouse close to the rink and then we’re on our way again, and I show Annie around the rink when we arrive—the new PT rooms, equipment room, the gym, the theatre where we review tape, and then we get to the rink itself.

“That’s pretty much all of it. The rest is offices,” Si tells her. “The arena will be a bit more interesting.”

“I need to go change and see what Laney wants us to do first.” I point behind me. “You just let me know what you’ve got going on, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna go see if Gab is available now.” Si leans in effortlessly for a kiss, something that’s never happened here before, and I’m too surprised to enjoy it. Oh well.

When I get to the locker room, I see they’re all changed already for a gym session, which tells me I’m in for a brutal afternoon.

I see Milkman seemingly having a very serious conversation with Spiderman and Benny, which I know means very little when it comes to them. They could be talking about tomorrow’s game, some TV show they’re all watching, a videogame, or the very bleak political climate of our country.

There’s no way to tell with those three, they take the weirdest stuff very seriously.

But that’s why I don’t go right over to tell him Si is back, or tell anyone actually. I’ll leave that up to him to decide when and how. For once I’m not in a hurry. It feels like a secret that’s only mine to keep for now, and that’s... nice.

Laney comes in and nods when he sees us all almost ready .

“Tape room first.” I’m impressed by how he doesn’t even need to speak loudly for all of us to sit up and listen, though he shouts plenty when he’s in a mood. We follow him to the theatre and get ready to dissect Florida’s game for a couple of hours.

It’s true that our new scheme has worked well enough to keep our playoff hopes alive, but I know Milkman, Benny, and I have to step up in a big way if we want to have any shot at getting to the second round. So I strap in and get ready to work.

Not even thirty minutes in, the door opens and Si peeks his head in.

“Sorry for interrupting, Laney, can we come in for a minute?”

Our coach is obviously surprised to see Silas, as are my teammates. I even feel some of them staring at me, but since I’m smiling, I guess they relax.

“Sure,” Laney pauses the tape and waves Si in.

I’m the one who’s surprised when Si opens the door wide for Annie and Gab to come in, then follows them in and takes over Laney’s spot in front of the screen.

“Hey, guys,” he says, pitching his voice louder. He smiles when everyone answers in a chorus that sounds rehearsed.

“Hi, Silas.”

“I’m obviously back and we’ll start catching up tomorrow.

I’ll have another fun round of individual meetings with everyone so we can get on the same page, but I wanted to talk to you today about something important.

This here is Annie.” He gestures at her.

“She’s nineteen, my new roommate, someone I care deeply about, and a badass.

For reasons that are frankly none of your damn business, she’s a lot more impressive to me than any of you dumbasses, so first of all, say hi to Annie. ”

Again, he looks proud when we all answer in unison.

“Hi, Annie.”

“Nice to meet you,” she answers back. Her voice doesn’t waver, and it’s loud enough, but I can tell how tense her shoulders are, though she relaxes slightly when again we all answer at the same time.

“Nice to meet you too.”

Gab looks like a proud momma.

“Now,” Silas steals the focus back. “Just a quick PSA. If one of you even takes a step toward her without explicit consent on her part, she’s going to tell me or she’s going to flinch.

If she tells me or if she flinches, then I can promise you I will absolutely lose my shit on you like you’ve never seen anyone lose their shit before. ”

The most impressive part of that is that he says it all with a sinister smile. I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re hearing him loud and clear.

“Do keep in mind that I can post anything I want about you on social media, and I will not hesitate to use my power for evil if you piss Annie off. Also, while I was away, I skated again, and I can assure you I’ve still got better moves than any of you, and I will not hesitate to bribe Laney into letting me run practice one day so the torture will be psychological and physical. Am I clear? ”

There’s a low murmur of agreement and Si’s smile disappears alarmingly fast.

“I said am ... I ... CLEAR ?” he shouts, and that time the agreement is more enthusiastic.

I have to smile.

“He’s not mini Paul,” Bear says, his deep voice quiet but carrying across the theatre. “He’s a mini Gab.” As always, our goalie’s observations are right on the money.

“Thank you,” Si says, sounding pleased, and he even bows his head.

“That is one nice compliment,” Gab adds, then snaps her eyes at Bear and gives him one mean glare. “Because that was a compliment, wasn’t it?”

“Of course it was,” Bear answers easily. He isn’t fazed it seems, not like my line mates who are all tense as hell around me.

“Good.” She nods once. “Then we’re done here?” I don’t know why she asks, but Laney nods at her and the three of them walk out the same way they walked in.

I quickly take my phone out and text Si.

Vin:

I don’t think I’ve ever been more turned on in my life.

Please tell me you’re spending the night.

Or that I’m spending the night.

Mom’s still staying with me and Annie’s with you.

Fuck it, we can get a hotel room. I think it’s gonna get loud.

I see he’s read them, and it’s weird, but I feel my dick get even harder when he only sends back a thumbs up.

My cocky guy is back.