Page 24

Tenzin

“I hope you’re more lively for the game tomorrow,” Coach chided at practice. It was later than usual, because this morning we had a clinic for some of the Squires and handed out toys.

We were all a little sluggish, since yesterday was Gratitude Day. It was a day you gathered together with friends and family, ate a lot of food, and drank a little too much.

I had a lot to be grateful for–a new team that welcomed me, a sweet girlfriend, a boyfriend who looked fantastic in nothing but a mask and shield, and a son who’d be here soon.

Back in Portland, I’d usually gone to Jacen’s, then ended up at Cooter’s, where he’d fire up the smoker and fill a tub with beer, and our friends from the team would come over and we’d sing karaoke.

Gwen brought us to four meals and a party.

“How are you even conscious and not still in a food coma?” Jonas asked. “Didn’t Gwen drag you to five dinners?”

“Four. Mathsgiving ended up not being a dinner for math students with no place to go, but a giant department-sponsored party. It was a fundraiser for their speaker series. Gwen had to work a shift bartending, so I helped her,” I replied as I headed to the workout room.

Being at a university party was a weird feeling and having a task made me feel less creepy. This morning it was all over social media. I’d made a post saying how much I enjoyed being a guest bartender at their fundraiser, to put it in context before my sponsors got antsy.

“It was so much fun,” Clark joined us, bouncing around. “We never had parties like that at my college.”

He’d had a great time, but they were more his age.

“Why does NYIT need to raise money for speakers with a party? Aren’t they just bringing in math teachers and shit?” Carlos asked.

“More like quantum coders programming nano computers that go in people’s bodies and people using math to solve crime.” I got on the bike. “The students raise the money, so they can pick the speakers.”

Gwen was excited about the next speaker, too. It was someone who worked as a forensic accountant for the Bureau of Investigation, which was her post-hockey dream job. She wanted to take down everyone who got away with their wrongs, like Lucius’ parents, who should have stopped their son from preying on a teenager.

“We did go to five dinners, if going with her to the zoo to feed Marty a special holiday meal counts.” Clark got on the bike next to me.

“True.” We’d also gone to Jonas’, Nia’s, Carlos’ mom’s, and her university hockey team’s dinner. While that had made for a busy day, it had also been fun.

“Is anyone going to Dimitri’s party tonight?” Anders asked between push-ups.

“Yep. I’m doing a liquor run later,” Carlos said.

Clark nodded. “We’ll be there. Well, me and Tens. Gweny’s off with her team at a tournament.”

Right. I had agreed to go to a party.

I finished my workout, then headed to get something to eat in the dining room. My realtor texted me, confirming that we were still looking at places this afternoon.

Clark sat down across from me at the table, plate of food in hand. “So, my plans have changed. Kylee doesn’t need me to hand out toys at the hospital because she has enough people. Do you want to do something before Dimitri’s party? It might be fun to have a local date.”

“I, um…” My phone buzzed again.

“If you have something, it’s okay. I have holiday shopping to do.” Disappointment wafted off of him as he started to eat.

“It was a surprise,” I mumbled, not wanting to hurt his feelings. “Though I’d been considering telling you.”

“Oh, I don’t want to ruin the surprise. It’s for me and Gwen?” His eyes went alight with curiosity.

“I’ve been looking at places for the three of us. I’m not having much luck.” Part of the problem was things went fast, and I didn’t have a lot of availability.

“You wonderful, beautiful man. What better way to assure Gwen that she always has a place with us, then to get an actual home.” Clark leaned over the table and kissed me, which elicited a few whistles from some teammates.

I hadn’t even thought about that. It was more like Clark’s bed was too short, Gwen’s bed was tiny, and mine was across the hall.

But a home with us? That made me very happy.

He grinned. “Can I come with you?”

“I’d like that.”

We finished up, changed, and he came with me to meet the real estate agent. She was brisk and all business, not blinking at Clark joining me, as we looked at several apartments and townhouses.

“No, still?” She frowned as we left a beautiful penthouse.

“It’s just not quite home.” While it was quite lovely, at these prices, I wanted the place to speak to me.

“It’s close to the training center and so many other things,” she added.

“I think it’s too small.” Clark shook his head. “It’s also so… modern. Gwen would love the garden, but… I sort of thought we’d get a fixer-upper. Something we could fix up together. You know, like she talked about that night of the meteor shower.”

“Oh, is that what you want?” She frowned. “With your jobs, do you have time for a project place?”

“Dimitri did,” Clark replied.

Dimitri wasn’t doing the work himself. But a fixer-upper was closer to what I was thinking of than all these perfect places. My phone rang. Jacen.

“What’s wrong? Are the babies on the way?” While they had a much better chance now than back in early October, every week gave them a better start. My heart pounded as I moved away from them, the agent extolling the virtues of us living in a high-rise to Clark.

“She’s fine. Just grouchy. So far, the babies are continuing to stay where they belong,” Jacen told me. “You’re house hunting?”

“How did you know?” I frowned, disliking that.

“Clark’s social media. Had to follow your hockey players, you know. Any luck?” he asked.

I sighed. Did he? But again, I supposed since Gwen and Clark would have contact with Squiggles, it wasn’t that bad?

“No. She’s determined to sell me something flashy and trendy versus what I want. I suppose she hopes I just fall in love with something,” I admitted, since Jacen was a real estate agent.

“Oh. Well, what are you looking for?”

“Clark wants a fixer-upper, because his background is engineering. Gwen wants a townhouse with a rooftop porch and a place to build a catio. I just want rooms for everyone, including one that can hold a bed large enough for me.” One problem was that many of these places didn’t have pack bedrooms or ones meant for extra-large alphas.

“Let me look? Caveat, I want the commission. You see, I’m going to have three more mouths to feed soon.” His voice was light.

“Of course.” I hadn’t considered that.

“I’ll call you back,” Jacen told me.

“Ready for the next one?” she told me. “It is a townhouse, and after speaking with Clark, I think it will be perfect.”

“Sure,” I told her as we got in a car to the next one.

Gwen had sent pictures of her team running a clinic for kids. The tournament she was at included community service projects, a mascot competition, and a coach's mini-tournament. This year it was in Rockland. She was excited to see her host family from her junior hockey days.

The next place the realtor showed us was a stunning luxury townhouse. It had enough bedrooms, including a pack bedroom with an adjoining omega suite. There was a basement pool and gym, a small yard, and a balcony with a hot tub.

“It’s so fancy,” Clark whispered.

It was–from the crown moldings and the chandeliers, to the enormous staircase.

“See, it’s perfect,” she told us, as she led us into the bathroom in the omega suite. “Look, the bathroom even features a wine and beauty fridge.”

I had no idea why you’d need that in the bathroom. The bathtub was beautiful, almost plunge pool-like. “Gwen would like the tub.”

“She would.” Clark nodded.

We finished the tour. Honestly, I was terrified of breaking the place.

“I know it’s at the top of your budget, but it’s lovely. Think of the gatherings you could hold here.” She gestured to the formal, elegant main living space. “It’s move-in ready. You wouldn’t need to do anything but bring yourselves and your furniture, though the seller is willing to negotiate on whatever you’d like here. What do you say? We could put in an offer today and get you in by the holidays.”

“Thank you, we’re going to discuss everything. I’ll be in touch,” I replied.

“Don’t wait, this will go fast,” she told me, as she got into her car.

Clark shook his head. “None of them were right. They were all too perfect. Also, what are we going to do with some big formal living space? I feel like we’d need white couches covered in plastic.”

“True.” I laughed at the imagery. “They’re all really nice, but you’re correct, none of them are right and she isn’t listening.”

“Maybe we should try a different realtor. The team has a list of them,” Clark replied.

“Jacen wants to help,” I admitted, as we walked toward the subway. It was cold and snowed yesterday, with more snow due.

“Are you okay with it? He does know you,” Clark replied. He nodded toward a cafe. “I need a coffee.”

“We’ll never be the friends we were, but I believe we can be cordial enough to co-parent. Also, any money he makes off me inevitably helps support Squiggles.” We got in line. It was warm inside and smelled of cinnamon, as holiday music played.

“Oh, I didn’t think of that.”

He got a coffee, and I got a tea. I held out my arm. “Would you like to go for a walk in the park?”

Clark took it, beaming. His hat, scarf, and gloves were Defender League. We sipped our hot drinks and went for a walk, enjoying the last bit of daylight. Others were out as well, including an elderly pack having a snowball fight. It had snowed earlier in the week and was cold enough for it to stick around.

“That’s going to be us, right?” Clark whispered.

I watched their sheer joy as they threw snowballs at each other. It warmed my heart. Yes. I wanted that.

I gave him a squeeze. “Yes.”

My phone rang, and I answered it. “Jacen?”

“You bartended at a university party last night?” Jacen laughed.

“It’s Gwen’s department, she had to help. Nothing untoward happened.” It’s not like the three of us got drunk.

“I’ve never seen you having fun quite like that. Your little goalie is good for you. Are you free right now? I found a place you should see and he’ll wait,” Jacen told me.

I looked at Clark. “Do you want to see one more? I’ll take you out to dinner after.”

Clark beamed. “Sounds great. We have plenty of time until Dimitri’s party.”

“Perfect, send the address,” I told Jacen. Might as well.

I programmed the address into my phone and we ordered a car.

“Great, he’s waiting. It’s in this cute older neighborhood. It’s been on the market for a while, because they’re asking too much for it, given the state it’s in. I think we can get them down a lot,” he told us.

We got into the car.

“It’s very quirky. But I think your little goalie might like it. There’s a couple of things you’ll like, too. It’s infinitely better than those pretentious places you’ve been shown,” he said, and I could practically hear the eyeroll. “Anyhow, let me know what you think.”

We ended up in a beautiful tree-lined neighborhood, with well-kept townhouses, many with wrought-iron gates and bay windows. It was further from the training center than we were now, but still easy enough to get to.

The real estate agent was waiting for us. “Tenzin and Clark? Welcome.”

The building in front of us was brick, unlike most of the others. But it was charming and cottage-like, with lots of interestingly shaped windows. The iron fence and railing were curlicues, and the work around the door was exquisite, right down to the lanterns.

“Look, there’s an old-fashioned lamp post,” Clark told me.

“It’s a lovely, quiet, older neighborhood,” the realtor told us. “It’s convenient to many things, but a bit out of the way. This was originally going to be renovated into apartments, but that fell through because of permits, so they’re selling it. Though a few things have been remodeled already. Let’s begin in the newly finished basement. You can enter it from the garage.”

The garage wasn’t large, but would fit my truck and whatever Clark ended up with. We went through it and entered the basement, which clearly was meant to be a public space shared among the tenants. There was an area for a laundry room, a gym, a small exercise room, and a little lounge. It was very sleek and modern.

“We could make the lounge a gaming area? Paint, add some decor, a fuzzy rug and some comfortable couches?” Clark suggested. “You and Gwen could use the exercise area for yoga, and a home gym would be nice.”

“This place has great bones, and it would be perfect to gut and build it however you’d like, as long as you can get permits,” he told us as we entered an entryway.

It was wood paneled, with intricate carved hooks and cubbies, and even a bench, where I could imagine Gwen tossing her hockey bag and backpack. We hung up our coats.

The entryway opened up into a double-height room with gorgeous, curved windows, looking out onto a greenery-filled outdoor area, and stone tiles that made an intricate pattern. The focus was an ornate brick fireplace that came out from the curved walls. Some tiles were cracked, and the brick was crumbling a bit in places.

“There should be a big black pot full of soup in that fireplace,” Clark whispered.

There was a dining nook as part of the space. Though unfurnished, I could imagine us having breakfast there at a big wooden table.

“Exactly.” I could see why Jacen called it quirky. That fireplace was something.

I could also see why the current owners had wanted to gut it and turn it into apartments.

A staircase led to a space over the kitchen. The kitchen opened to the living room and dining room. Even though it wasn't double-height, it didn’t feel cramped. There was even a little breakfast bar. The tile floor was partially torn apart, like they’d been fixing pipes.

“The kitchen needs to be redone, it’s a little small, but you could still have a chef’s kitchen if you got creative,” he told me.

“This is good work. We’d need different counters, though. Something easy to clean.” Clark grinned at me as he examined the cabinets.

We went outside through the doors in the dining area. It wasn’t so much a yard as a beautifully tiled courtyard, full of plants and trees that needed to be tended to. One area had a firepit and some built-in seating. It was a little too modern compared to the living room, but that could be fixed.

“This has also been redone. Can you imagine how nice it will be in the summer?” he asked us. “The climbing rose bushes are lovely.”

“Fairy lights,” Clark said. “We need fairy lights, and a cute bistro table. Maybe a fire pit.”

“What about a swing?” Oh, Gwen would love this. Not the best yard for a dog, but we weren’t ready for one.

We went back in and up the wrought-iron staircase, and I got a good look at the loft area, above the kitchen that looked out into the main living area. There was a cozy window seat, a wall of built-in bookshelves over the kitchen, which extended over the entry, with a bathroom, a reading nook, and another window seat.

“This is nice.” I had a feeling this was the something Jacen knew I’d like.

The next floor had two large bedrooms, with an adjoining bathroom. Both had glass doors leading to a shared patio and still had that rustic feel of downstairs, with the exposed brick, iron fixtures, carved ceilings, and interesting windows. Only one room had a fireplace.

“Both bedrooms are alpha-sized,” he told us. “This is perfect for a small pack or a great little starter place. How many are you?”

“Three,” Clark replied. “I could build a catio on that porch.”

“That would be nice,” I told him, imagining what he could construct.

The third room wasn’t as large and felt like it was usually used as a den or office and overlooked the front.

“There’s still more. Let’s go up to the next floor,” he told us. While there was no spiral staircase, this place had several things on Gwen’s list.

There was another room, overlooking the entryway, with a large and lovely window, and built-in shelves. It looked like it was the same size as the one below it.

“Look at those ceilings.” Clark looked up at the white-painted carved ceilings. “There’s such lovely woodwork here.”

“Let me show you the pack bedroom.” He led us through beautifully carved double doors.

“Fuuuuccck,” Clark said softly.

It was the size of the two alpha bedrooms downstairs put together, or could be if it wasn’t rounded, with ribbed walls and a lowered ceiling to make it feel cozy, while still being quite spacious. Like many other rooms, it was brick, with an interesting window, this one stained glass, though some panes were cracked. The fireplace was a smaller version of the one in the living room.

“It needs cozy rugs or carpet,” Clark added.

“The pack suite features a fireplace, a large bathroom, a walk-in closet, and an area that could be another closet or a nice cozy nook for your omega,” he told us, then showing the bathroom with a claw bathtub in front of the window, and a rain shower.

“No patio,” Clark frowned. “But it has potential. We could always let Gwen have this room? Or you take this one and Gwen and I could take the downstairs ones? We don’t necessarily need our own rooms and a pack bedroom.”

“Both are good ideas,” I replied. We could make that work.

“Let me show you the upstairs. Maybe your Gwen will like it.” He took us up a small wooden staircase, opening into a finished attic room.

The roof was slanted, making it cozy, and it was lit by both a skylight and high-set dormer windows that looked out onto the street.

“This might make a nice bedroom–or a living area. It has a bathroom and a nice big closet,” the agent told us. “There’s also storage up here. You could even split this into multiple rooms, if you wanted to build a cozy nest or something.”

Clark looked up. “Do the dormer windows have seats? Those are ladders built into the walls.”

“There’s a shelf between the windows,” I added.

The real estate agent nodded. “Yes. A previous owner had a hammock between the two windows under the skylight and filled it with plants and books, creating a sky nook. The best part…”

He opened the curtains, which covered glass doors, leading out onto a deck that looked out into the back garden.

This was perfect for Gwen. By Clark’s expression, he thought the same.

“What do you think?” he asked as we finished up and went back downstairs.

“I love it,” Clark replied.

“There are so many things that need fixing,” I told the realtor. Sure, I loved it, but I didn’t want to seem overeager.

“True, but the roof is brand new, and the pipes and electric aren’t old, neither is the heating and cooling,” he countered. “The plumbing in the kitchen was recently fixed. It’s a pleasant space.”

“Thank you, we’ll talk about it.” I shook his hand and Clark and I left, then started walking down the street. I wanted to see how long it took to get to the subway. “Where did you want to eat?”

“Can we eat at that taco place that Gwen always orders from when Double D gives her taco money?” he asked.

“Sure.” We got on the subway, then went to the taco shop and sent her pictures.

“That place is amazing. Can we get the house? It wouldn’t be that hard to fix up. So much of it is cosmetic.” Clark bit into his taco.

“I was trying to drive the price down,” I laughed. “But you’re right. For now, it’s perfect. Though we would need to fix a lot.”

“True. I’ll contribute. I don’t have a ton saved, because I’ve put so much into my family, but I’ll do what I can,” he told me.

Jacen

How did it go?

Me

It’s just what we wanted. Do you think they’ll go down?

Jacen

Let me see what I can do.

“You know Gwen will, too. She already mentioned selling a painting that she doesn’t like,” he added.

I shook my head as I swallowed a bite of taco. “We’ll find a way for her to contribute, but I’m not sure I want her to sell a painting yet. We aren’t even sure if they are hers or will be hers. I also want to surprise her.”

Her family had curated a very nice little art collection for her. Many of those family omega paintings that had been passed down were done by European masters. Even the one of her mom’s was done by Kinneret, a painter famous for his cozy cottage landscapes.

“We’ll figure it out. I like this place, too.” I put my hand over his. He grinned at me and entwined our fingers.

As we ate, we talked about what we’d like to fix, which was fun. Though I had no idea there were so many types of flooring.

Yes, I think I’d like to put in an offer on the house. Create a home for the two of them. We’d figure out some way for Gwen to feel like she contributed.

Clark’s phone rang. He frowned and answered it. “Hello? Oh. You did? What? Wow. Okay, I’ll be right there.”

My belly tightened. “What’s wrong? Is Gwen okay?”

He looked shocked.

“That was the police,” he told me. “They’ve figured out who hit us.”