Page 49 of Unrivaled Love (D.C. Renegades #2)

Bryson

Timeless Treasure

One thing about me? I'm a bit of a birthday brat.

I make the guys take me out, buy me drinks, and wish me a happy birthday all day long.

Growing up, birthdays were a big deal. My parents would decorate our doors, hang streamers, get balloons, sing to us, make our favorite foods, and cake for breakfast. We would open presents before we even brushed our teeth.

Of course, birthdays look different now. My parents always FaceTime to sing and my siblings text but the fanfare is a little more low key.

We flew out to Seattle after our game last night so when I woke up in the hotel room this morning I found a Happy Birthday sign taped to my door. All the guys and a lot of the training staff had signed it which is really nice.

But Jo hadn't.

And logically I know she wouldn't sign the team poster for my birthday but I hadn't gotten a card from her or anything.

It’s making me pouty.

Sure, she's been busy, tonight's game sort of makes or breaks her season, but I still thought a card would be manageable.

Or at least a tit pic.

But no. I got a words-only text from her this morning, not even a fucking cake emoji, but I was still asleep and by the time I returned it she was at her team's pre-game meetings. After the meeting she goes home to take a nap which I know better than to interrupt .

Then it was time for me to nap and get ready for the game we have tonight.

We exchanged "good luck" texts and promised to talk after our games.

Hers starts an hour before ours since she's on Mountain time. Luke, our assistant equipment manager, offered to stream it on his phone so he could give me updates. I took him up on the offer so I can at least get the scores when I ask.

We take the ice for warmups which start as her game does. I'm slow and sloppy and I need to get my head in this game. Not hers.

A young Renegades fan has a poster up on the glass wishing me a Happy Birthday and the sign asks for a puck in exchange for Dip n Dots. I pick up one of the practice pucks and toss it over to him. He beams and flips the sign over. It lists the flavors and I laugh.

"Hold on." I tell him and I skate over to Luke at the bench. "Hey, can you go buy Dip n Dots for that kid and me. I'll take cookies and cream. I'll pay you back, okay?"

"For sure, I'll be right back."

Luke hops off the bench and heads towards the tunnel. A minute later I see him pointing at me through the glass next to the kid and his mom and I smile, wave, and give him a thumbs up as best I can with my glove on.

Duncan skates up with a stack of pucks in his hand. "Make a wish birthday boy!"

I laugh, close my eyes, and wish for the impossible before opening my eyes and pretending to blow out the candles.

In the locker room ten minutes later, I'm taking a bite of the Dip n Dots and Coach Bradford is giving me a disapproving look. "You better not barf on my bench, Svoboda."

"I won't Coach. I'm good." I pat my stomach .

The ice cream treat put me in a better mood. And after I tripped over nothing during warmups I told Luke not to give me updates on her game. I need to focus here.

Jo will understand.

I can watch the highlights later.

And hopefully since we are only an hour apart tonight we can actually talk on the phone. Maybe another sexy FaceTime. I know Felix planned a party for me but I'd ditch it in a heartbeat if it meant I could give my attention to Jo.

Felix plays Who Let the Dogs Out as we make the final adjustments to our gear.

It's almost time to line up in the tunnel before we take the ice for the anthem.

The calm before the storm moments. The crowd is against us tonight and while scoring at home feels incredible, scoring on an opponent's ice, and the crowd goes quiet, is exhilarating. It fires up the competitor in me.

We fist bump and tap helmets to get ourselves fired up.

Aiden stands stoically in the back and we give him space to get in the zone.

He and Gavin have been switching off playing time each week and honestly, for a forward, I can do my job more effectively because we have two solid goaltenders to back us up.

I can be a little more aggressive with my passes and my shots because if they get blocked or caught by the other team, our defenders and goaltenders are there to pick up the momentum and shut the attack down cold.

The anthem plays and I slide my skates back and forth on the ice. It's impossible to stand still before a game.

Coach Bradford calls us over and gives us the final reminders before we line up for the opening faceoff.

"They keep their forwards high, they don't crowd the net so watch your passes at the top of the zone." He says to Crosby and Duncan, our starting defenders. "And forwards, there's room just outside the crease for the extra pass, look for it, especially if you can get Ira to pull to one side."

Ira Gilligan is Seattle's goalie. He's good, he's a little young, so he doesn't always cover his ass like he should. If we can pull him to his left and get his glove out of position we'll have wide open nets to his right. And that’s my sweet spot.

That means it'll be Emmett’s job to pull him out wide on the right and Felix or I will cherry pick for the pass or the rebound.

Felix wins the faceoff and it slides out to Emmett who passes it forward to me. I enter the zone and go straight for the net. Sometimes the first shot can slide in before a goaltender is in the rhythm of the game.

I don't get lucky when Ira catches it and then drops it to swing a pass to his defender. We get a turnover in the neutral zone, and get in position for one more offensive try before the first line change of the game.

I roll around like I'm going to swing behind the net but instead I switch directions with a spray of snow and receive a pass from Emmett. The goalie started to move back to center, anticipating the pass, because I am in a bad shooting position.

For anyone else in the league, that is.

Here, almost at the goal line on the left side, is where I score most of my shots. I hook the puck and skate backwards a stride before leaning forward, switching my edge, and firing the puck at the top of the net.

Ira reaches for it but I found the spot between his mask and his glove. With a bar down ping, the puck is in the net in the opening three minutes of the game.

"Hell yeah!" I yell out when the crowd goes silent.

"Yes, Boba Tea! That was filthy!" Duncan says as he comes and taps my helmet .

The rest of the guys pile on and we hug before skating to our bench where I lead the line of fist bumps. I skate down to tap Aiden's pads and then get in position for the next faceoff at center ice.

***

"Happy Fucking Birthday!" Crosby yells as I walk into the locker room.

I got pulled aside for an interview at the end of the game because I scored a hat trick for the ninth time in my career.

That first goal set me off and I got another before the end of the first period and my third halfway through the second.

With another goal from Felix we won four to one.

"Thanks buddy," I say to Crosby as I hand my stick to Luke.

He then reaches for my gloves and places them on the drying rack.

During the offseason, D.C. used some of the profits from our championship run to invest in road equipment so we've got things like glove driers, stationary bikes, and custom pillows for road games.

It seems small but it makes a difference.

Some of the locker rooms for away teams are as sophisticated as community rink locker rooms; wooden benches in front of a few hooks drilled into cinder block walls.

"Alright boys, shower up and get changed. We're celebrating our boy, Bryson, tonight!" Felix calls out. "And yes, before any of you ask, you need to put your suits back on. We’re going to look fly as fuck at the club tonight.”

I hear a few grumbles but I don't care. I'm riding the high of a win, of a spectacular game, and my birthday.

That high climbs when Luke reports Jo not only won, but assisted in the go-ahead goal, and scored the final goal of the game .

I strip out of my sweater and gear and hand it to him with a thanks. Then, before taking off the rest of my pads, I grab my phone and call Jo.

Her game ended about halfway through ours so she should be able to talk.

The call goes straight to voicemail. With a frown, I hang up without leaving a message.

Maybe she's driving home and it's on do not disturb?

I'll try her again after I shower.

***

We roll up to the club in sprinter vans Felix arranged for transportation. There are three of them and I wonder why he couldn't just get the team bus to take us.

Even with the carpool fun, as we walk into the club, I am forcing the smile on my face. The feeling of wanting to get away knocks around in my brain for the first time since this summer.

I called Jo three more times and they all went straight to voicemail.

I texted her sister to ask if she'd heard from her and she said no but that she'd try to call her too.

The salt in the wound is that Harper and Caroline made the trip with us. Caroline and Johnny, our second string left forward, got married over the summer.

Aiden whisks Harper away to the dance floor to celebrate their one year Bangs-iversary so I sit back next to Crosby and Duncan and listen to their conversation about this year’s halloween costume.

We'll be back in D.C. for some locker room trick or treating and Felix will host his annual costume party .

"Hey E.T. is G.T. coming to the party this year?" I ask Emmett across the table.

"Of course, Grams wouldn't miss it for the world. She's got an idea for a double trick shot that involves inclined planes."

"Amazing." I smile for real. Grams Turner has been coming to the Halloween party for years and always gets us involved in her ping pong ball trick shots.

She's got like a million followers on social.

She also posts videos where she plans them out on a white board and while they're not as popular, I always enjoy the lesson.

I probably should watch a couple more of her videos before attempting another chain reaction prank on my own.

Caroline slides into the seat next to Crosby. "Happy Birthday Bryson."

"Thanks, Caroline."

"Are you having a good time?" She asks around a yawn as she scoots a little closer so Johnny can slide in.

"Um yeah, I guess so."

"Is there anything that could make it more fun?" She asks and her eyes get wide. Caroline has been known to try and fix us up with friends of hers. But she wouldn’t push that on me. She knows I’m with Jo. She's the type of person who wants to see everyone in love.

"I haven't been able to get a hold of Jo tonight and I really wanted to talk to her." I say and Caroline nods along.

The music is loud and Duncan gets up to go dance. I slide to the end of the sofa and swirl the ice cube in my glass. I'm not really in the party spirit.

Ignoring the people at the table and their conversation, I look out through the crowd. Appearances have been fine lately. I think all I needed was to get back to work. I haven't gone out with the guys as much so this is the first time I've been in a club in a while.

A flash of a brown ponytail in the strobe light teases me. It's like my mind wants to see Jo everywhere. She's a mirage in the desert and I'm the fool crawling towards it, desperate for a drink .

My eyes glaze over and all I see are the flashes of light in the darkness.

But they clear and again I think I see her. It's the shape of her face, the strength of her shoulders in a black spaghetti strap dress.

I sit up straighter when I see her getting closer to Harper and Aiden.

My heart flips inside my chest when she approaches them and gives them hugs. It does a triple axel when Aiden points up to our table.

I stand and step forward to the railing.

And she smiles.

Nothing else in the world exists except for me, Jo, and the adoring look on her face.

She lifts her hand in a little wave and then indicates she's going to come and meet me up here.

I keep my eyes on her in the crowd as she shoulders her way back to the VIP section. The bouncer stops her but I'm there to tell him it's fine.

And then Jo is in my arms.

"Happy birthday Bry," she says against my ear as I wrap her in a hug.

"Jo, Josie, are you real?" I ask her because I’m honestly not sure. I've dreamt of her so much these last two months that I could be hallucinating and wrapping my arms around air and kissing an imaginary neck.

"Yes Bry, yes, I'm real." She laughs and I almost fall over.

"Holy shit, how did you get here? How'd you know we'd be here? I've been calling you."

"I finished my game and got on a plane to meet you here. Harper has helped me coordinate it. And some girl named Caroline has been on the texts too but I haven't met her yet."

"Caroline is over there but I'm not sure I want to share you with anyone just yet." I keep her body close to mine as I turn us towards the bar. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Maybe sparkling water? I've got to fly back for practice tomorrow. "

"Jo," I turn her towards me. "It means the world to me that you're here. Thank you."

"I miss you so much when we're apart Bryson," she says and she runs her fingers through my hair. "I understand it, and I know why we're doing it, but it's difficult."

I kiss her and feel alive.

"I know it is, Killer, but my love for you exists outside of space and time. There is nothing that could disrupt my devotion to you."

Jo doesn’t melt into me like I expected her to with my words. In fact, her gaze turns inquisitive and she leans back a few inches to study my face.

"Is that from a book?" She asks.

“Huh?” I ask like I didn’t hear her as my hand flies up to catch the sweat rolling down the back of my neck.

“That line, about love existing outside of space and time, it sounds kind of familiar.”

"I might have been inspired by a time-travel story involving a European princess and a pirate." I actually stayed up later than I should have last night finishing it after our Heartmark movie marathon.

" Timeless Treasure by Bryn K. Lee?" She asks and I smile.

"Don't tell me you're reading it, too."

"I literally finished it on the plane."

I throw my head back and laugh. "That's amazing. Okay, let's get a drink, hang with my friends for a few minutes. Then we are going to my hotel room where we will act out the captain's quarters scene from their first night at sea."

Jo pulls her lip into her teeth as she nods. I bite back a groan and I free her pout with my thumb.

"It's so good to have you in my arms again, Killer."

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be."