Page 43 of Actions and Reactions (All It Takes #5)

Silas

July

As we wait to enter the theatre where the NHL Awards are being held, I focus on anything but Vinny.

He’s wearing the green tie.

And yeah, he said he chose it because it’s his lucky tie, but I know better.

He wants to drive me into madness.

Tonight is not the night to walk around with a hard-on, and yet here I am.

It was worse last week, I have to give him that. We went to the draft to support Lex, and Vinny wore a bright red tie that we hadn’t used yet.

We’ve used it now, though, and the memories from that night definitely don’t help my situation.

Lex got drafted by the LA Empire, which brought Uncle Hulk to tears, so that was fun.

“Just promise me one more time,” Annie mumbles next to me.

I look down at her and try to convey the seriousness of my words.

“If you start to embarrass yourself, I solemnly swear that I’ll pinch your arm.”

“You’ll be fine,” Vinny says and rubs her arm soothingly. She leans into him, which is only one of the miracles of the past year.

So, so many others . . .

I’m still frustrated that one of them wasn’t the Pirates getting their third Cup in a row, but honestly, we have nothing to complain about.

We made it to the semifinals, and lost in a shootout in the seventh game.

It was tough on Bear, but he seemed better the other day when we had our end-of-season team celebration.

Another miracle was when Gab made me the director of communications for the Pirates.

It’s a big step, overseeing both marketing and PR, but she believes in me, as does Vinny, and that helps me believe in myself.

I know she has bigger plans for me, even if she hasn’t explicitly said so, but as soon as her girls graduate in one year, Alex will begin her ascent up the ladder of the Rogues and Gab will become GM for the Pirates. That means Jake will move up to president of the Pirates, and I ...

Well, I have plenty to keep me busy already, first of which is hiring someone to help out with PR.

I’ll worry about what Gab’s plans are after we get back from the week we’ll spend at the cabin, and once I feel like I have my feet under me.

Tonight, though, we’re celebrating another miracle.

For the first time ever, two players from the same team have been nominated for the Hart Memorial Trophy—Jules, as he pretty much always is, and Vinny.

The whole gang is here, and this time it includes Wolf and Hawk, which means Annie has been a mess.

“They’re going to be late, because Wolf is late for all these kinds of events,” Vinny continues.

“And they’ll come in and sit at our table probably during a commercial break or something.

Mom’s gonna fuss over them like she always does, Wolf will grumble, and Hawk will eat it up.

Then I’m going to introduce you to them, and they’ll be the first two out of here after the last award.

” I see the nerves he’s trying to hide in the almost imperceptible tremble of his lower lip.

I reach for his hand and the doors open right then.

All the guests are as impatient as me, and everyone practically runs to their table.

This year it’s more of a dinner than just a show, and our parents pulled every string they have so we could get a table and a half for ourselves.

Lottie was already invited, though, as was Dana Harris, her best friend and old teammate, since they’re presenting the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.

She brought Colin of course, which is nice, and I got my head out of my ass on that topic even before Lottie hit me over the head in February when we traveled to Chicago for two games.

We find our table quickly, and it takes our dads an hour to make their way to us since everyone here wants to talk to them.

It’s my first time at one of these awards, but they’re here every year, so I expected them to be busy.

Eventually the show starts, and with our loved ones around us I can tell Vinny settles a little.

His hand doesn’t tremble anymore as Lottie does a great job presenting the award, and she gets the standing ovation she deserves when she walks onto the stage.

That makes Dad cry, and I don’t even tease him for it since my eyes water up as well.

After the James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to the top D-man of the Chicago Deep—which makes my sister woop like a maniac—Vinny reaches for my hand and squeezes painfully hard for the ten minutes it takes to move on from one trophy to the next.

To my surprise, and horror honestly, Dad stands and goes up onto the stage. I didn’t know he was presenting at all.

“Every year the Hart Memorial Trophy is awarded to the most valuable player for his team. Never before have we had two players from the same team nominated at the same time. This just goes to show the true talent, skill, and determination we’ve witnessed from the Las Vegas Pirates for the past five years. ”

He talks about the other two nominees after that and I tune out to see Vinny completely frozen. His whole body’s tense, and I know better than to try and talk to him, so I just squeeze his hand back.

“And just for the record, I want to add that I do have a favorite nominee,” Dad says, stealing my focus back to the front. His shameless smile steals my breath.

Please don’t say something stupid. Please don’t say something stupid.

“He is my godson, and if anyone holds that against me then shame on you.”

Okay, that wasn’t so bad, was it?

I don’t think Vinny heard him, or the laughter around the room. Am I going to have to carry him up to the stage? He doesn’t look like he’s here .

“And the winner is...” Dad’s voice comes out louder that time. I see him open the envelope and read the name, but his face doesn’t change.

Fuck! I really thought he had it in the bag. But he’ll have another shot next season, and the one after and the one?—

“Ivan Jankowski.” Dad’s choked up voice brings everything to a halt.

Our table explodes with cheers, and so does the one next to ours.

I see Jules jumping up and down like a toddler high on sugar, and I’d laugh at him every other time, but Vinny still isn’t fucking moving.

Uncle Hulk takes care of that for me .

He picks Vinny up by the armpits and practically throws him in the air as if he weren’t a six-foot-four adult man.

He seems to wake up then and ... smiles. Right at me. I pull him in for a fierce hug.

“I’m so fucking proud of you. You deserve this, Vinny. Now, get up there.” I clap his shoulder then push him a little.

Hulk takes him in for a brutal hug, then Lex, and then Aunt Lyla, crying, cups his cheeks and tells him something I can’t hear.

He also hugs Jules as he passes him by, and then he reaches Dad, who hugs him hard enough that his feet leave the ground, and Vinny’s boyish smile comes out.

“Look at him,” Uncle Hulk says from next to me, then throws his big arm over my shoulder and pulls me in closer.

“He deserves it,” I murmur.

After looking down at the trophy for a moment and shaking his head, Vinny takes the envelope from Dad, reads it, and shows it to everyone.

“Just so there are no questions,” he says into the mic, and again, the whole place echoes with laughter.

“There are so many people who I have to thank for their support over the last years, and my life really, but first I want to say, Lucifer, Commander...” He looks to the side where the nominees from St. Louis and Chicago are, and I like that he uses their nicknames. That’s gonna be good for the press.

Damon Harvey and Joel Snow smile up at him too.

“You both had such incredible seasons, and I have no doubt you’ll pick this one up again soon.

” He raises the trophy then looks in our direction.

I can tell he finds Jules when he swallows hard and shakes his head again.

“Oh captain, my captain,” he mumbles, looking down for a moment.

“You are the fiercest leader I have ever known, and it’s an honor to skate beside you every day.

I wouldn’t be half the player I am without you. ”

Fuck, he has a way with words.

“I also want to thank Gab Darnell.” I’m incredibly pleased by the roar of the crowd then—just goes to show what people in the league actually think of her.

“You took a chance on me, you’ve made me a better man, and I’ll be forever grateful that you think me worthy enough to play for you.

” Then he leans in really close to the mic and whispers. “And to teach you how to skate.”

“Whatever,” I hear Jules shout, and he makes all of us chuckle.

He takes a deep breath and then smiles easier. I can tell it’s sinking in.

“Tomir Lane, you are a genius and fearless and inspire us every day to strive for the same. Mom, Dad, thank you for... everything.” He chuckles and shakes his head again. “You two weirdos are the best parents in the world, and at least I know Mom will still cheer for me next season.”

Again, he makes everyone laugh, and I have to puff my chest with pride.

That charismatic, talented, kind, strong man is mine .

“We’ll cheer for you too,” Hawk shouts from next to Aunt Lyla. Wolf grimaces, not convinced .

“I want to thank my agent, Patrick, for not canceling our contract the day you met my parents. I know you had to be tempted.” Damn, I don’t know that story, but I bet it’s a good one.

“I also want to thank—” The emotional break in his voice gives me pause.

Who’s next? I get a clue when he looks up for a beat.

“I want to thank my aunt. You didn’t know shit about hockey.

..” He pauses to chuckle and I see a tear roll down his cheek.

Uncle Hulk’s grip on my shoulder tightens, and when I check, I see Aunt Lyla leaning back into Wolf’s chest. He’s holding her for dear life, it seems, and he’s holding Hawk’s hand too.

“But you listened to us drone on about it endlessly, and told me I shone every time I talked about it, and that only happens when love is in the mix. You’ve been there with me through every hard step, on every backbreaking day.

Your words, your love, and your belief in me, have pushed me up here. I love you, and I miss you.”

Vinny turns then and nods at Dad, who’s been standing silently behind him.

I can see he swipes the tears off his cheeks.

“I guess I have to thank you too, huh? Because you’ve given me some good tips over the years.

” Dad laughs at that, and it’s a nice moment of levity after the heartbreak of the grief that still has everyone who knew Shell Storm in its claws.

But then Vinny faces forward again and those green gems laser in on me.

“Lastly, thank you, Silas. I only learned to love this sport because I was beside you.” Simple, but so fucking powerful. That’s my Vinny. He nods once then looks over at the crowd. “Thank you.”

I only realize Uncle Hulk is still hugging me when Vinny turns around and goes backstage, and that just like me, he has tears streaming down his face.

I elbow him lightly and look up at him.

“You better cheer him on when he’s not playing against LA, Uncle Hulk.” The threat has no heat behind it and he knows it.

“We’ll see,” he teases me back.

“That’s perfect. Thank you for smiling, Wolf,” I tease him and get a grumble in return.

I lock Annie’s phone and see her face is frozen in that pretty smile I just captured, but Wolf gives me a chin lift as he moves away and Hawk pats Annie’s arm once before they go around the table and begin saying their goodbyes.

Five minutes later, I can tell he’s entered the room again without even seeing him. I just know.

It takes him a while, but when he finally gets to our side of the theatre, Jules stops him and they hug then talk for a while. I leave them to it, just like I watch from the sidelines—happy about it—as he gets all the love he deserves from our friends and family.

There have been some ups and downs these past six months, but those are inevitable I’ve learned. Vinny and I have had to have some joint sessions with my therapist, and they’ve helped.

The main thing is, though, that we both want to make each other happy, and we both want to take care of one another. Incredibly, that’s what’s caused the few disagreements we’ve had. We act on our instincts without talking it through first.

I realized just how much damage I caused him last year when his first instinct was to protect me from bad news regarding the team.

The way he was so damn hesitant around me the first time they lost a game in January broke my heart.

Thanks to an hour with Dr. Avila, though, Vinny knows it’s not his job to shield me, and that he has to unlearn that instinct.

Nothing is perfect, but at the same time, everything is. We’re both determined to make our relationship a success, so even if we have to deal with the hard times and tough conversations, we’re worth it.

He is worth that, and so much more.