Page 26

Chapter 26

Carter

P ulling up to the front of the skating rink, I let out a breath of relief. Not another car in sight. I should be able to get in and out with them without anyone being the wiser about what transpired here over the weekend.

Thankfully, Coach sent out a message last night that the rink was clear for use as of 7 a.m. this morning, meaning swiping my key card won’t raise any eyebrows. Ginny is making sure to keep him away and occupied until at least 8:30, giving us time to put everything back in place. It will be as if nothing happened.

My only real concern with this whole weekend intervention with Blake and Chase was explaining why the mini fridge was missing from Coach’s office. But leave it to Ginny to come through with a copy of his office key. "Thank you, Pixie," I mutter to myself with a grin. I spent a whole hour thanking her last night while I ate her pussy, giving her one orgasm after another until we finally fucked.

I pick up the drink carrier of coffees from the passenger seat—my little peace offering to the two of them. I have high hopes this forced intervention worked, especially after catching them actually talking on the nanny cam. I hadn’t turned the volume on, even though it killed me not to eavesdrop, just in case this was making shit between them worse instead of better.

"Get it together, Carter," I scold myself, pulling the keys from my pocket to unlock the doors to the rink and the locker room. I’ll make sure to give them to Henley later so he can return them to Coach without suspicion.

The moment I pull open the locker room door, I’m greeted with the sight of both Chase and Blake standing there, arms crossed, glaring at me. Uh oh.

“Oh look Chase, it’s our jailor, returning to the scene of the crime,” Blake says mockingly.

“I wonder how he’s going to like it if we return the favor? Let’s see how he likes being a caged animal,” Chase adds on.

I quickly hold up the coffee. "I come with a peace offering."

They continue to glare, lips pressed tightly together, posture rigid.

"So… about locking the two of you in here. I want to say I’m sorry. But I’m not. I love both of you, and I hated seeing the way you were both in misery. Both of you made mistakes, but I knew if you had a chance to talk—without distractions, without an escape—you could work through it."

Still, they don’t budge.

"Come on, guys. I did it for love!" I shoot them my best innocent smile; neither of them give in. "But we really need to get this cleaned up before 8:30, or we’re dead meat. I’ve made sure Coach is being kept busy until then, so he doesn’t pop up and surprise us."

Chase and Blake exchange glances before finally reaching out and each taking a coffee from the tray.

"You’re lucky I want decent coffee," Chase says with a smirk before turning, heading deeper into the locker room. He makes a beeline straight to the mini fridge, and begins removing food, placing it in the duffle bag that holds their snacks, pausing only to take occasional sips of his coffee. Blake, on the other hand, goes straight for the air mattress, and begins folding the blankets and placing them on the bench while I get to work deflating the mattress.

The silence isn’t tense. It’s… comfortable. And that gives me hope. I am dying to ask what happened, if they finally worked through their shit, but I hold back my questions. Not yet. Now isn’t the time. We have a job to do.

"So tell me, Carter," Chase calls for me, gesturing toward the fridge. "How do you plan to get this back in Coach’s office?"

"How do you know it’s Coach’s?" I shoot back, feigning ignorance.

Blake wastes no time answering for him. "Because it has his energy drinks. His favorite cheese. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. We also know his office is locked."

I hold up my hands in surrender before grinning and reaching into my pocket, flashing the key at them.

"Fridge is empty except for Coach’s stuff. Help me put it back?" Chase asks, and I step over, lifting it with him. We carry it to his office, setting it down just long enough for me to unlock the door.

"Did he tell you what happened?" I ask once we're inside. I knew Chase was going to hate me for knowing and not telling him.

"Yeah, he did. He also told me he told you. You kept it from me, Carter. That’s fucking bullshit. You should’ve told me."

"I know," I admit. "But I felt he needed to tell you himself. Plus, I didn’t want to be the one to break your heart. And I wouldn’t have been able to answer the questions you’d have, not like he could. This was my way to make sure he did and that you could get answers and closure. I’m just glad he made the right choice, and I didn’t do all this for nothing."

I reach back behind the fridge, take hold of the cord, and plug it in. I adjust the fridge a little, looking at it again, making sure it is in the exact spot it had been taken from. Chase turns to leave, but I reach out, stopping him with a hand on his shoulder.

"He really is sorry, Chase. He knows he fucked up."

"I know. He told me that," he says, looking back over his shoulder at me.

"Well?" I pause for a moment. "Did you work through everything?"

Chase hesitates, and for a moment, I’m not sure if he is going to let me in on it or not. Then he steps into the doorway and pauses.

"We’re working on it. Baby steps," he says softly before walking away, never looking back.

I grin, pumping a fist in the air in excitement. Yes! Everything is going to plan. Soon our little group of four will be back together and the world will be as it should be.

I head out, joining them, each of us doing a once over, making sure the locker room looks the same as it was, and any evidence of their being here has disappeared. We each grab a bag and head toward the door.

“Shit, I forgot the camera.”

“Camera?!” Chase and Blake both shout in unison.

“You fucking filmed us?” Chase asks harshly.

“No.” I hold up my hands in defense. “It was only so I could pop in here and there in case something happened. If you had an emergency. Which you didn’t. I didn’t record, and I didn’t turn the volume on. I cross my heart.” I lift my hand, making a cross over my chest.

I toss Chase the keys to the truck and he catches them in mid-air. “Go ahead and load your stuff into the truck and I’ll get the camera. It won’t take but a minute.”

“Okay, but we’re not done talking about your voyeuristic tendencies.” Chase lets out a laugh as he leaves the locker room.

True to what I told him, it only takes me a minute to get the nanny cam and head outside. I still don’t understand how they never noticed it. But that thought doesn’t last long before I have a new one that involves making a little video with my pixie. One that we can watch on repeat. It’ll make the time between when we see each other go a little easier.

“Am I taking you home?” I ask Blake, as I glance up at his reflection in the rearview mirror.

“Yeah. I got to do some homework before my class at noon and then we have practice,” he replies.

“Can you come to our place for dinner? I have something I want to share with the two of you.” Not just something to tell them, but someone for them to reconnect with.

“I don’t know,” Blake mumbles.

“He’ll be there. You can ride home with us from practice,” Chase speaks up and I shoot my gaze toward him, but not before catching the look of relief on Blake’s face.

“Sounds good.”

“What do you need to talk to us about?” Chase asks.

“Can’t tell you until dinner,” I say with a little too much glee.

We spend the ride to drop off Blake talking about our upcoming practice and it feels just like old times.