Page 11

ELEVEN

HUDSON

Puck Kings

G-Money

I think we need a new group chat name. This one is getting lame.

Sully

I think we need to win a game before we worry about chat names.

Easy E

Relax, Grumpy Gills. We’re 0-2 to start the regular season. We’ll survive.

Mitchy

Cap? Are you worried?

Mavvy

Nah. Most of us barely played in the preseason and are still finding our rhythm. Can’t judge how we’re going to perform in June today. And I’m glad Emmy got the win against us.

G-Money

My guy 3 3 3!!

Mavvy

Don’t forget book club tonight!

Connor

Where are we meeting?

Easy E

I forgot to read lol. Whoops.

Me

We picked the motorcycle club book for YOU, Ethan.

Easy E

Let me borrow your audiobook, Goalie Daddy.

Sully

Fuck off.

G-Money

That wasn’t a no!

Mitchy

The calendar says Hudson is in charge for October.

Easy E

Huddy Boyyyyy. I love his apartment. There are so many blankets. It’s so cozy.

Me

What is wrong with you?

Easy E

Food coma. Too many croissants from that bakery by the arena.

Me

I love their croissants. I ate six last Wednesday after strength training. Don’t tell Coach.

Easy E

You get it.

Me

I’d normally love to host, but y’all are going to have to pick somewhere else.

I also can’t make it tomorrow. I’ll be there next month!

Mavvy

Uh… the fuck?

G-Money

This is a hostage situation, isn’t it.

Easy E

He said he ate six croissants last week. That’s definitely Hudson.

Mitchy

All good, H?

Me

All good.

G-Money

Blink twice if you need help!

Sully

All of you need help.

Easy E

I love when he talks dirty to us ;)

Madeline

Hi! I dropped Lucy off at school and I’m headed your way with suitcases.

Me

Make sure you don’t go the wrong way on the Metro again.

Madeline

Not funny.

Me

I laughed. Maybe you need a new sense of humor, Galloway.

Madeline

Wrong thing to say to the girl who has a pack of knives with her, Hayes.

I didn’t take the Metro, by the way. Piper let me borrow her car.

Me

She did? I could’ve picked you up.

Madeline

That’s okay! I’m going to unload our stuff, drive back to Piper and Liam’s, then pick up Lucy from school and take the Metro to your place where we’ll be for good.

Me

You’ll tell me the next time you need a ride.

Madeline

Okay, bossy.

I didn’t want to inconvenience you.

Me

It’s not an inconvenience if it’s something I want to do.

There’s a knock on my front door, and I jog to open it.

“Hey.” I lean against the frame and smile down at Madeline with her half a dozen suitcases. “Welcome home.”

“Thanks.” She steps into the foyer and lets go of the bags she’s lugging. “This is so much better than the apartments I saw that had leaky pipes and cockroaches in the bedroom.”

“The worst thing you’ll find here is my sweaty gear after games. Avoid the bathroom off the kitchen when you see my jersey in there. The smell is horrific.” I grab two of the suitcases and tilt my head. “Come on in. I’ll give you a quick tour.”

“Where are the dogs?” Madeline closes the door behind her and follows me down the hall. “I expected to get assaulted by Gus, and I hate to admit I’m disappointed I didn’t.”

I laugh. “They’re at daycare so we can have some peace and quiet. The lady who runs the place has a son on the Titans. She wanted athletes in the city to have a spot for their animals that didn’t have restrictive drop-off and pickup hours. On game days, I take them in late morning, and I pick them up on the way home.”

“The Titans,” she repeats. “That’s… baseball.”

“Close. Football.”

“That’s not close at all.” She huffs, and I look at her over my shoulder. Her oversized sweater hangs past her waist, and her leggings are half covered by thick socks that come up her calves. She brushes her bangs out of her eyes, and I smile at the white ribbon tied to the end of her braid. “I’ve only ever seen your pantry and kitchen. Remind me how many bedrooms there are?”

“Four. The one on my side of the condo shares a wall with my bedroom and has its own bathroom. The bedrooms on the other side of the condo don’t have a bathroom in the room, but they share one in the hallway.” I walk into the living room and wheel her bags next to the couch. “You can pick whichever ones work best for you and Lucy.”

“Wow.” Madeline puts her hands on her hips and surveys the room. “Look how much natural light you get.”

“Gus and Millie love to hang out here in the afternoon. I swear they sleep for hours in the sun.” I motion for Madeline to follow me, and we head down a different hall. “Let me show you around.”

“This is a nice space,” she says when we get to the room that might work for Lucy. “What were you using it for before?”

“Nothing important. I had a desk and a piece of weight lifting equipment in here, but I haven’t touched either in a year. It’s all in storage now. You can do whatever you want with the room. I was going to buy a mattress, but I have no clue what six-year-olds sleep on. Cribs? Race car beds? A refurbished canoe?”

“Definitely not a crib.” Madeline smiles and walks to the window. “A low loft bed would be perfect, but I’m glad you didn’t get anything. I don’t want you to spend money on us.”

I join her by the window and tap her shoulder. “My southern hospitality won’t let me do otherwise.”

“You’re paying me to work for you. I can afford a bed.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t want to help. Let’s table the furniture talk for a few minutes. Come see what I thought could be your room.”

We exchange small talk as we walk to the other side of the condo. Madeline tells me she likes the paint I picked out for the walls. I mention the two-hour debate I had in The Home Depot between Eggshell and White Dove, and she laughs when I say I finally gave up and picked Chantilly Lace.

When we make it to the room next to mine, she gasps. Her hand flies to her mouth, and she blinks.

“This would be for me?” she whispers. “All of it?”

“Yeah.” I point to the double doors. “That leads to the balcony. Over there is an en-suite bathroom. And you can’t forget the nook where you can put books or a desk so you can plan out meals.”

“This room alone is almost as big as our place back in Vegas.”

“The downside is you’ll have to share a wall with me. I hope that’s not too much of a plight for you.”

“Do you snore?”

“Nope. Do you snore?”

“I’m snore free, so you don’t have to worry about me. I don’t mind sharing a wall with you. I’m not used to having so much separation from Lucy, but I think this will be good for us. She’s getting older, and she needs to learn some independence without me hovering over her every five seconds. I don’t want to be a helicopter parent, and being on top of each other won’t give her space to grow on her own.”

“You’re a good mom,” I say, and her bottom lip quivers. I remind myself to tell her that frequently when she’s around. “I’ll let you get settled. Come find me when you need a break.”

Madeline smiles, and it’s shy. On the edge of hesitant. But she squeezes my biceps, and electricity jolts through me. “Thank you, Hudson. I’ll bug you in a bit.”

I rub my eyes and stretch my arms above my head. It’s almost one, and I’ve spent the last hour and a half watching footage from our first couple of games.

I see what Coach mentioned at practice the other day: I’m slow on offense. It’s like I’m a beat late, a second behind everyone else when we cross center ice, and I hate that I haven’t been as aggressive as my teammates.

“Hey. Do you mind if we talk for a minute?” Madeline asks, and I look up from my laptop.

“Sure. Anything beats watching film of my shitty skating.”

“Didn’t you win the Stanley Cup? Your skating can’t be that shitty.”

“Look at you knowing your hockey lingo.” I smile and point at the seat next to me. “What’s up?”

“It’s an awkward conversation.” She slides into the chair and folds her hands on the table. “But I figured we should get it out of the way.”

“Is this about the foot fetish again?”

“For someone who claims to not have a foot fetish, you sure are mentioning it a lot.”

“I could say the same about you,” I toss back, and she smirks.

“It’s not about the foot fetish. I know this is your place, not mine. You’ve graciously opened your home to me and my daughter, but I was hoping we could lay out some ground rules so we can cohabitate cordially.”

I tip my head to the side, intrigued. “What kind of rules? Where I dump my skates and gear? The blades are sharp, but I keep a guard on them when I’m not wearing them. Lucy won’t cut her fingers.”

“Not exactly. It’s not lost on me you’re an attractive professional athlete.” Madeline rolls her eyes. “Okay. Wipe that grin off your face. You know what you look like.”

“A compliment is still nice to hear. Thank you for the flattery, Madeline.”

“You’re welcome,” she answers, and her cheeks are a little pink. “I’m not totally familiar with the athlete lifestyle. From what I’ve read online, it can be… how do I put this delicately? Um. Raunchy?”

“ What? ”

“I’m grateful for the hospitality, but I think it would be inappropriate for my six-year-old to see things she shouldn’t be seeing. Like… women sneaking in and out at odd hours of the day, bras on lamps and underwear on the kitchen counter…” Madeline swallows. Her face is bright red now. “Those kinds of things.”

I make a show of glancing around. “I don’t see any of that here. Do you?”

“No. Not… not currently. I don’t want to assume anything, but I figured it would be best to set those expectations now.”

“Fair enough.” I lean back and rest my ankle on my thigh. “I’ve never been the guy who likes random hookups. I’ve never had a one-night stand, and I don’t sleep with a woman unless she means something to me.”

“Never?”

“Never. I like relationships. Meaningful conversations. Getting to know a person before I take off their clothes. I swear that’s not a line I’m using,” I add, and it’s my turn to blush. I didn’t expect to be having this conversation in my kitchen.

“Why?”

“Blame my parents.” I rub my thumb over my bottom lip and laugh. “My dad met my mom when they were seventeen, and he was a goner from the moment he laid eyes on her. She wanted the chase, though, because she knew he was going to be it for her, too. But she was adamant he work for it, so they didn’t date until they were nineteen. They got married that same year and never looked back.”

“So, you’re a romantic.”

“Are you not?”

“No.” Madeline shakes her head. “Not at all. I think it’s all kind of bullshit. Nothing lasts forever.”

“Ah. That’s a bummer. I guess I am a romantic. I believe in soulmates and happily ever afters. One person for you kind of thing. I’ve always cared more about emotional attraction than physical attraction. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t like sex. I do. I just enjoy it more when it’s with someone I care about. Which does not include someone I meet at the bar one night and immediately bring home. That’s how some of my teammates act, but not me. It’s not my style, and never has been. I promise there won’t be any bras or underwear around here. You won’t see random women sneaking in and out.” I give her a salute. “What else do you have for me?”

“That was it, honestly. What you do behind your closed door is up to you; I was only worried about what Lucy might see.”

“I’ll be on my best behavior.”

“You don’t have to do that . You can be on your worst behavior if you want to be.”

“Nah. This is more fun.” I laugh, and it’s cute how flustered she is. “You sure there’s nothing else?”

“I guess… communication?” Madeline says it like a question. “If Lucy and I are in the way or you want some space, please let me know.”

“I get plenty of space on the road. Trust me when I say it’s isolating as hell. It’ll be nice to bring the dogs home and have someone here. But, I agree. If there’s something we need to talk about, we talk about it before it becomes a problem. No avoiding the issue in hopes it goes away.”

“I think this roommate thing is going to work out just fine.” She smiles at me, and I savor the damn thing. It feels like a perfect summer day. Sun on your face and wind in your hair. “Now that we’ve gotten the awkward conversations out of the way, want to talk about food?”

“You’re speaking my language, Galloway,” I say, and she laughs as she opens her planner.

She runs through the list of meals she has planned and I nod enthusiastically. We brainstorm an eating schedule that works around morning skates and game nights and talk about the habits I want to create when it comes to nutrition.

When Madeline stands and says she’s going to grab Lucy from school, hours have passed, and I can’t help but think about how today is the best day I’ve had in a long, long time.