Page 17

EDEN

Miss you, Bunny. More than you know. And stop hiding the damn Junior Mints and watching Freddy without me…

I t was becoming routine. Flowers or a gift with a handwritten note every morning since I flew home alone. Zoe stayed with the team, managing and posting the Triumph’s social media for the away games, but I had the signing and final details to keep me busy.

Part of me waited for the inner freak out, or the way my melancholy scared away people, but all Cole did was…accept me.

Almost a week without Cole, and I was going crazy.

We FaceTimed as much as we could, and I learned that while not a substitute, watching Cole stroke himself was one of my favorite sights in the entire world. And the first time he ordered me to touch myself for him, I thought I’d die of mortification. So, I told him to hold on, poured a glass of my favorite wine, downed it, and poured another and brought it with me to his room.

“I love seeing you in our bed, but fuck I wish I was there with you, Bunny.”

“Don’t you mean your bed?”

“No. It’s always been ours, baby. Now, show me that pretty pussy of mine so I can stroke my cock while you make yourself come like a dirty little bunny.”

A few more hours and he’d be home, and Izzy was coming over for dinner. We’d decided last night, after a particularly intense remote controlled FaceTime toy-fueled session, that telling our sister was the best way to ease our parents into accepting the idea. Not that either of us expected smooth sailing, but Izzy grew up without our parents’ pressure to be what they thought their child should be.

NOAH: Your brother is intense. You two should skip the whole hi honey I’m home and go straight to whatever will take the edge off his grumpy ass.

ZOE: Ew, Noah!!

NOAH: She knows what I mean. And at least you’re not hearing about your older brother’s sex life nonstop.

ZOE: In all fairness, I stopped. And Walker is a lone wolf. I can’t even get him to come over for dinner much less coffee or ice cream.

EDEN: What kind of human being doesn’t want to meet for ice cream?

NOAH: I mean, depends on where you’re taking him. Is it a Frosty or are we talking the place that has Campfire S’mores?

EDEN: OOH! Remember the Blackberry Crumble? We need to go back.

ZOE: I’ll never outgrow sprinkles.

NOAH: Top tier happy moment is seeing them on my frozen scoop of bliss.

COLE: Why is Noah grinning while he’s texting you Bunny?

I grinned. The Triumph won three out four games on their West Coast away game trip or whatever Cole called it. My brain was too full of signing things to add all the hockey terminology.

EDEN: Are you jealous?

COLE: I don’t want to have to lock my goalie in a closet because I get all your smiles. Among other things.

NOAH: FYI I am grinning even bigger because I know Cole is about to growl. Jaxon and I have a bet on how long until Cole puts me in some random closet while I’m texting you.

ZOE: I want in on this action.

COLE: If he didn’t just save our asses that last game, Bunny, I’d put him in the nearest closet .

The giggles took over.

EDEN: Noah, snort, and cover your phone. 3 2 1…

EDEN: Hold on, Cole.

NOAH: STEAM COMING OUT OF HIS EARS.

COLE: WHY IS HE HIDING HIS PHONE?

ZOE: PICTURES PLEASE.

A few seconds later, a picture of Cole glaring into the camera appeared.

COLE: Is he sending you pictures of me?

EDEN: I mean you’re pretty cute.

COLE: FFS

EDEN: I love you, Noah. Don’t tell Cole.

NOAH: ...

COLE: YOU LOVE NOAH?

EDEN: Like a brother! He’s my best friend, silly!

COLE: Bunny…

EDEN: NOT STEP

COLE: Better. But you are so in trouble. And you’ll like it.

“Wait, so you two are dating? ” Izzy’s eyes lit up with excitement. “And when did you start cooking?”

“First, consider yourself on a very short list of people I will cook for, it’s Indian fusion. And yes,” Cole said as he shuffled around behind the island while Izzy and I waited at the table, collectively drooling over the aroma of spices and the visual of every single dish as he brought them over. And I definitely drooled watching his forearms flex with every movement.

Cole in the kitchen might be my favorite love language ever. Other than the amazing orgasms and his magical hands. The man gave the best head massage when we had our get dirty then clean up after in the shower moments. Fantastic hands to match his other attributes. He looked over at me like he read my thoughts. My very dirty thoughts. The look he shot me said he would make good on every single dirty one.

“Is that okay, Izz? We haven’t told mom and dad yet.” I ate a bite as Cole sat down. The moan came out before I could stop it from the flavors in my mouth. “Please make this for me again and again and again.”

The man smirked. “Oh, I haven’t even made my best dish yet, Bunny.”

Izzy glanced between us with an amused expression. “Bunny? Not as in, ‘puck bunny’ though, right?”

I covered my mouth to stop the laughter and stop the possible food flying everywhere, and swallowed. “No, and it’s-”

“A long story for another time,” Cole finished, eyes darkening. “And maybe never.”

“Wait. Does this all mean if you get married, my sister is going to be my sister-in-law?”

And that’s when my laughter hit an all time high and loudness level with Izzy’s as Cole’s face drained of all color. Thankfully this time, my mouth was not full.

I laid a hand on his arm as he paused midair, setting Izzy’s plate in front of her. “Breathe, big guy. Wedding bells are not ringing in this room.”

“Wow, did you cook this?” Izzy asked as I eyed Cole, who suddenly got really quiet, spun and went back to the island and returned with our plates. He set them down, and looked at me.

“What is wro-”

“I’m going to marry you, Eden. And don’t look shocked.”’

Izzy paused, fork right in front of her mouth. “Wait, you want to marry Eden?”

My brain stopped braining. The word marriage was a little bit more serious than just doing…whatever it was we were doing.

“Yes. And don’t look so shocked. I told you, once I catch you, I was never letting you go.”

My cheeks heated and I squirmed in my seat. The rest of dinner, Izzy spent asking Cole all sorts of questions and telling him stories about school or her friends. When she brought up watching his games with their dad on tv together, Cole’s expression hardened. I knew he and Randall had a falling out, but I hadn’t asked him what happened and he never volunteered any details. His name never came up before I left for college, and after I graduated I stayed away as much as possible because of my own issues except to spend time with Izzy.

“He loved watching you, and I even taught him the basics of the game.” She rolled her eyes. “It took him forever to remember that there are three periods and not four quarters. And no half-time. That one still confuses him.”

Cole scoffed. “He probably did it just to spend time with you, Izzy. It wasn’t about me. Trust me.” He stood and cleared the table, and Izz grabbed her plate and helped him. She handed it to him at the sink. “He never came to one game until this season. Took me to practice. All he did was pay for things in the beginning. And tell me how I was wasting my life on something that didn’t matter. When I went to college on a hockey scholarship, it was because my high school coach believed in me and my talent enough to push me and make sure I had every opportunity to do what I loved. Not dad. Not once. I was a disappointment, and he never let me forget it. But he loves you, and that says more about you than him, Izz.

The room fell silent save for the sound of the faucet and clinking of silverware as they loaded the dishwasher. My heart broke, because while I had a mom who loved me and maybe worried a little too much, she never said anything or did anything that wasn’t about making sure I was happy. Our definitions of that were different, but she supported me in an overwhelming way. I was the one who had tried to fit her mold because I didn’t want her to worry.

Cole’s dad was a little overbearing and way over protective (must be a Sunder’s genetic trait), but I never knew why they were estranged. We never talked about it, and even Izzy avoided the subject with me. I never even knew she and her dad watched the games because I’d avoided going back as much as possible.

“He was so proud of you. I know you don’t believe me right now, but it’s true. Remember when you got hurt last season, and I texted you?” He nodded, drying a dish and putting it away before leaning against the counter, arms crossed. “Dad was so freaked out that he made me do it. He sat next to me, listening to the commentary about what a loss it was for the Revenge because you were such an ‘integral’ part of the team’s success up until then with the line. And, Cole, it was like a switch went off. He might have started watching the games because of me, but he continued because he was proud of you. And so am I.”

After Cole left to take Izzy home, I sat outside on the wooden swing, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket I found in a hall linen closet. Everything she said. And Cole said. It made sense now. His drive. The laser focus when he’s training, and training in general. I knew there were morning skates that were optional, but he went to every single one. Even when he was here, he spent a few hours in the gym in the basement running, stretching, lifting weights or in the living room watching tape. Unless he was chasing me around the house, trying to tickle me, and making me scream his name so loud I was glad the nearest neighbor was too far away to hear.

If I knew one thing growing up, it was that my mom only wanted the best for me. But, I also knew that when she looked at me, she wanted to see the little girl she dreamed of having, who loved Disney Princesses and fairy tale endings and wanted to have imaginary tea parties.

Not the little girl who loved watching reruns of the Addams Family or wanted to sit outside at night and talk to the stars and moon. Who thought the big bad wolf was misunderstood, or read Poe with a flashlight instead of Jane Austen. A little girl who watched princes rescue princesses and not a crazy man in a striped sweater who terrorized people in their dreams and cheered when the girl finally took control of those dreams in the last movie. Who thought saying Beetlejui- too many times really would bring Michael Keaton in all his zombie faced glory to life in her room.

Disappointing her became my biggest fear, and so I molded myself into the girl in middle school who didn’t love those things. That I didn’t love being lost in my melancholia once in a while because the world was beautiful even when the lights were out. That being sad meant the moments when I was happy meant so much.

The back door opened, and Cole’s footsteps sounded softly on the deck as he came up behind me. The swing rocked back and forth. “Want company?”

I nodded and scooted over and lifted the blanket so we could share it. “I think Izzy had fun watching her big brother cook. I don’t think I ever remember your dad helping in the kitchen. Like, ever.”

He put his arm around me and pulled me into his chest, and did that one little amused laugh thing he does. “He never did when I lived with him, either. And yeah, I think she did.”

A comfortable silence settled over us. I let it linger a few minutes, enjoying the warmth of his body, the scent of his aftershave and the lingering scent of the spices he cooked with earlier.

“How are you feeling about your dad and the watching you play hockey on tv?”

He was silent for a few minutes. The steady rise and fall of his chest paused, and then he let out a huff of air. “I’m glad Izzy never had to deal with the side of him I did. But, it pisses me off that he watched me play not because he wanted to, but because my baby sister made him. Growing up with him every day meant not living up to the expectations of working for his company. Or becoming a lawyer or whatever career choice he thought was more suitable. ‘Whacking a puck on ice led to nowhere and nothing’. Every fucking time the other kids’ dads showed up, I kept hoping. My mom came, but after a while she stopped, and then they divorced. Thank fuck for Coach Gibbs, because my freshman year was a shit show. Izzy was too young to remember the divorce, and I tried to be there for her, but she was so much younger than me and worshiped him. When my mom moved to be with her new husband in France, I was all I had. So, I went to the rink every night. Before school. Sometimes I slept in the locker room.” He shifted, and out of the corner of my eye, I watched his face change. “Coach found me asleep on a bench, using my pads as a pillow, which I don’t suggest. Not comfortable, and they stank. Still do, but the equipment guys try their best.”

“So that’s why you don’t bring them home,” I teased and shivered as I snuggled closer to him. The swing moved abc and forth lazily, and I tucked my feet underneath me.

“Partly,” he chuckled, tucking the blanket around my body. “But, he never asked why. Only asked me what I wanted to do every day when I woke up.”

“And what did you say? ”

“I told him my biggest secret.” He kissed the top of my head. “I wanted to do something I loved, and do it well. From that day on, he set me up with a training schedule that most kids would hate, but I loved it. There was nothing like the smell of the ice first thing in the morning, or being the first one to carve an arc in it with your skate. The sound the puck makes when it flies, or stealing it from someone. Scoring. The fans came later. But all that was home. Where I belonged, and my dad hated it. Coach Gibbs talked my dad into letting me play, and buying my equipment. I don’t know how. The rest…got me here.”

The blanket slipped as I sat up and stared into his eyes. “I’m proud of you. And I am so glad you don’t bring home smelly pads.”

“What’s your biggest secret, Bunny?”

My heart caught in my throat, and I couldn't say it out loud. I knew. I had always known. But he wouldn’t let me look away. I drew in a deep breath. “My biggest secret? If I show someone all my broken parts, the place I hide in the dark, that they'll make me fall and then realize how messed up I am. And break me even more because they want to fix me.”

Cole brushed my hair from my face, but I couldn't bear to look at him. To see the pity in his eyes. “Those pieces aren’t broken, Eden. It’s what makes you beautiful.”

And right then and there, I knew I’d marry this man.

“It’s cold. Get your ass in the house, or I’ll carry you.”

I eyed him as disentangled himself from the cozy cocoon we’d made. “I’d rather you chase me.”

His navy blue eyes darkened. “Oh, I will. But, I think I’ve already caught you. Inside,” he ordered.

Blanket wrapped around me, I followed him inside and watched as he locked the door behind me and armed the alarm. I checked my phone, making sure Indie or Nia hadn’t texted with any issues. The event was next week, and so far I’d put out one fire and added two new authors along with a cover model who agreed to be in the auction because he was on the cover of two of the attending authors. What I saw sent a chill through me, and I dropped my phone.

Cole turned to me at the noise and bent down to pick it up. “Got it.” He knelt down, he reached for my phone from where it had fallen under one of the stools. When he stood, I couldn’t move, or speak. “Eden, what’s wrong? Tell me.”

I could only shake my head and point at the screen.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: Oh, Eden. I really wish you wouldn’t have done all this. You were mine. Not his. And now, I have to punish you.