Page 20

CHAPTER 20

ELI

Edin goes back to practice on Friday, though I don’t think he’s allowed to do much. He described it as retraining his body again after being away from hockey for a long period of time. I’m not entirely sure what that means. Again . When was the first time?

All I know is he’s exhausted after. He can barely move and keep his eyes open.

This, of course, makes Mo anxious, so I sit Edin in the chair beside Mo at the counter and take over preparing dinner for the two of them. When Mario shows interest in what I’m making with constant comments about how good it smells, I add a bit more of everything and announce that after I feed the man recovering from an injury and his adorable daughter, the rest is up for grabs.

Not going to lie. It makes me feel good when a line forms.

Edin eats sluggishly, and while I don’t know if he’s in enough pain to warrant a pain pill, I decide to dig through my bag and see what I have for sleep aid. The man needs to sleep. No orgasm marathons tonight.

Well, maybe one if he asks nicely.

Who am I kidding? All he has to do is look at me and I’ll give him whatever he wants.

While they eat and I pick at the plate I made for myself, I start to prepare a lunch for Mo. When she giggles, I look up.

“Tomorrow is Saturday, Eli. I don’t go to school.”

My hands still, as I stare at her. Mo giggles again. Even Edin grins at me.

“I have practice, so I always equate it to a school day. You can still eat the sandwich tomorrow if you want,” I offer.

Her smile doesn’t fade as I put the rest of her lunch things back where I got them, and the sandwich goes into her drawer in the fridge.

However, her humor dies down when dinner is finished and Edin lays his head on the counter. Concern colors her eyes as she looks at him.

“How about if we go upstairs and watch a movie?” I suggest. “Your dad is super tired from practice, so I think he needs an easy night tonight. What do you think?”

Mo nods and I can see the relief in her pretty eyes. They’re exactly like Edin’s. That’s probably why I find them so beautiful.

“How about if you get ready for bed early and we’ll snuggle up on Daddy’s bed?” I suggest as Edin sits upright.

“Okay,” Mo says, and she jumps down from the stool. “You’ll help Dad upstairs, right, Eli?”

I love how she forms her demands into questions. As if she’s actually giving me the option. We all know she’s not.

“Of course. And if he can’t walk, I’ll carry him. You have my word.” I cross my heart with my index finger and then lift my pinky for her. It’s all the assurance she needs. No one would ever break a pinky promise.

She runs off as I round the counter toward Edin. “You’re not carrying me up the stairs,” he says.

“I need the exercise,” I argue.

His glare makes me grin. I honestly wasn’t going to carry him unless he needed it. Don’t get me wrong; if he asked me to, I’d carry him to Mars. I don’t even care. I’ll do it.

Mo’s worry about the stairs goes unfounded. His hip still aches far more than anything else, but the MRI came back saying he just has a ‘deep bruise’ and that he needs to start working with the trainer to strengthen his muscles again. Slowly.

I’m not sure if he was supposed to be on the ice tonight or not, but since they wouldn’t allow their players to fuck themselves up for a few minutes of ice time during a damn practice, I have to assume he was kept within his limitations today.

It’s not so unfounded that he’s simply just tired from the strenuous exercise when the most activity he’s had in the last week is cardio via orgasms. Of course, he’s tired.

Mo is still in the shower when we get upstairs, which gives us enough time to change into bed clothes, too. Trying to find bed clothes in my room was a challenge since I normally sleep in my underwear. What do I care if one of the guys sees me in my underwear? I have nice, strong legs, and I’m not ashamed of my dick, either.

I’ve never had to plan around a kid before. I end up with shorts that are probably a little inappropriately tight, but they’re as loose as I have. All my shorts are for cheer, and they’re designed to be tight, so everything stays where it should when I’m being tossed around.

Otherwise, my clothing is made of material that would be woefully uncomfortable in bed. This is something I’m going to have to remedy eventually.

Edin drops onto the edge of his bed and rubs his face tiredly. I climb on behind him and pull him between my legs so he’s reclined in my arms. Immediately, he snuggles into my hold and closes his eyes.

I’ve never considered myself to be oblivious, but it’s only now occurred to me that this man is touch starved. The way he’s always turning into my hold, burying his face into my neck, wrapping around me with only the slightest suggestion… He’s even sought my hold on numerous occasions over the last week.

All signs point to Edin having been through some fucking shit. I’m not sure what and, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s maybe some baby mama drama. Then again, is it? I’m not sure what the breakdowns after sex were about. How is that related? Is it related? I’m not sure how the two could tie together.

A gentle knock on the door has Edin shifting. Mo pushes the door open and peeks one eye in. I can feel Edin’s grin against my arm.

“Come in, Mo,” he calls to her.

Mo pushes the door open a little further and steps inside. “You never close your door, Dad.”

Ah. Oops.

“That was my fault,” I say. “Force of habit. I always close my bedroom door, so I forgot to keep it open. Sorry.”

Mo considers me as she pointedly closes the door with her eyes locked on mine. I laugh because I can’t help myself. She crosses the room and climbs onto the bed. “Can I sit in your lap, Dad? Like you are in Eli’s?”

Edin adjusts himself and holds his arms out. Mo climbs in and I pull the blankets up and over us. There’s a moment where I panic and wonder if we’ve covered this one with cum. Fuck, I hope not. That’s a line that we don’t need to cross with her.

Edin turns the television on, and before too long, he has a movie playing. As we lie there cuddled together, I get this strange sense that out of all the moments I’ve shared with Edin over the last month or so, this one might be my very favorite.

I went to practice on Friday, but it wasn’t with the group. We were having a gym day where we work individually on the muscles we need for our specific positions. Something that maybe we need to strengthen or focus on to better our performance.

Saturday morning we have a full practice. It’s my first since Edin got hurt. I’m relieved that the squad and Joelle, especially, have been so supportive. Considering very few people knew about my obsession with Edin, it kind of came out of nowhere when I said I needed some time off to take care of him and his kid… The support I was shown reminds me what a team is supposed to be and I’m so fortunate to have that.

However, I know I’ve been neglecting my brother when he throws his arms around me as soon as I step onto the mat and drops his weight, so we stumble before I regain my balance and keep him on his feet, too. Grinning, I grip him tightly. “Miss me, Zeke?” I ask.

He gives me a dramatic sigh and grumbles. “What’s the point of having a twin if they ignore you for a week?”

While I know this is just for dramatics, I also know he’s telling me he’s a little hurt that I’ve not spoken to him much last week. “Sorry,” I tell him and squeeze him until he grunts and shoves at me to let him go.

“He okay?”

“Tests show that nothing’s broken, but he looks like he was hit by a fucking train,” I say and drag my finger from my eye down to my knee in the same pattern that Edin’s bruise is. “I’ve never seen someone in so much pain. And his kid thought he was going to die, so there’s that.”

“Jeezus,” Courtney says, shaking her head.

“Ouch,” Zeke adds. “He’s okay though?”

“He could barely move for three days. Yesterday was the first day I could see that he felt better… until he got through practice. Then he was a walking zombie. Ready to fall asleep where he stood.”

“Coach let him practice?” Bea asks, looking horrified.

“I don’t know. He wasn’t into talking much, and Mo was already upset about how Edin appeared , so I didn’t ask since she was there.”

“This morning?” Zeke asks.

“His friend was picking Mo up for a pool day at their house and he was headed to the arena to skate around on his own. It’s his hip still causing him problems. MRI says nothing’s broken, but he’s in some big pain there. The rest of him is healing normally. He just looks like an alien with all the different colors his skin is turning.”

“I’m glad he’s okay,” Zeke says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

Turning my face into him, I kiss his cheek. “Sorry I’ve been ignoring you. It wasn’t intentional.”

“I know,” he whispers. “Just… lonely, I guess.”

I wrap my arm around his waist and hug him again. “I know. I’m sorry.”

Joelle claps and I think that’s her superpower. It’s like a sonic CLAP you can probably hear a mile away. “In line, let’s go. Eli, everything good? Your friend recovered?”

“Getting there. Thanks for being understanding.”

She gives me a smile and waves me off. “Don’t thank me yet. I’m putting you on the spot. You and your ground team go through the routine.”

That’s fair. I head for the mat with my team surrounding me. I get several pats all over, welcoming me back. Jarrod squeezes my hand and then gets into place. For just a moment, I feel a little choked up. We’re all friends, of course—we spend far too much time together not to be—but I only hang out with a few outside of cheer.

It’s made me forget that, more often than not, we’re truly cared about.

However, that’s not the kind of distraction I need right now. I take an extra minute to get my emotions under control and then clear my mind. Taking a deep breath in through my nose, I release it slowly through my mouth. Raising my shoulders and letting them drop, I crouch and spring backward to begin my routine.

The initial mount is a little rocky. As if Jarrod and I have spent too much time away from each other, and our vibes need to re-sync. It takes only one transition for us to get back on track and he throws me around like we were both created to do exactly this.

My hair whips around my face, sparking the vague thought fluttering through my mind that I need a haircut as I blow it out of my eyes once I land on Jarrod’s hands. Other than spending half the routine frustrated with my hair, I manage to fucking nail most of it.

We make it through the entire piece without major incident. A couple wobbles here and there and a sloppy dismount on my part toward the end, but it was really fucking good considering I haven’t been to practice in a week.

In this little corner of the world, we celebrate far too eagerly, but damn, does it feel good. It’s a small victory for me, but a bigger one for the team. It means we can continue where we left off when I stepped away without too much set back.

“I want to show him my progress,” Kelsey announces as Joelle starts to move us into position as a whole team.

Most of us exchange curious looks. Kelsey and I aren’t close. We’re not rivals either. So it’s a little weird that she wants to show me.

Something which she must figure out because she rolls her eyes and sticks her hip out. “I know I was letting everyone down a few weeks ago by not pulling my weight. Yeah, I was pissed that I was removed from being a flyer, but… I think I’m doing much better as a tumbler, and I want everyone to be proud of me.”

For a single second, I think she’s looking for that constant praise and attention. But when she meets my eye, I change my mind. There’s just a tiny glimmer of vulnerability there. This is her attempt at an apology and she wants to show me, and probably everyone else, that she’s on board and working hard.

I nod. “I want to see.”

Kelsey gives me a small, appreciative smile before turning to Joelle for permission. The softness that I glimpsed is gone. Back in place is the somewhat snotty exterior we all know so well.

Joelle’s not stupid or oblivious, though. I doubt she missed what I saw. She waves her hand at Kelsey, giving her the indication that she can perform.

“Just the big parts,” Kelsey says. “It’s really weird doing the little things when no one else is.”

Zeke snorts, nodding. “I can’t even look at myself in the mirror when I do them,” he mutters. “It feels silly.”

I grin. I don’t share that same issue. However, there’s not much of the performance when I’m not doing the stunts. The most I manage is a dozen steps on the mat at any given time as we change positions.

The tumble routine is just as challenging as the flying, but Kelsey’s right. She’s excelling. She performs the most difficult part flawlessly, which might be her first time based on the way everyone cheers for her when she comes out of it. She beams at us and our excitement for her accomplishment motivates her to continue.

Most of practice follows this trend. I can almost visibly see Joelle adjust her plan for the morning by the end of Kelsey’s performance. Instead of full squad practice, she sends us out to perform our routines individually. Well, the tumblers. And in smaller teams for the flyers. It doesn’t take us long to understand what she’s doing.

Now and then, we all just need to be cheered for.

I’m tired but feeling good when I leave. What I’m not expecting is Edin leaning against the fence with two ice cream cones in his hands. His eyes meet mine and he gives me the most fucking adorable shy smile that I’ve ever fucking seen.

When I approach, he hands me one of the cones.

I adjust my bag on my back so it’s hands free. That way, I have a hand for my ice cream and one for Edin’s hand. “Hey,” I say as I take a lick.

His smile is still shy, and it’s even more freaking adorable when he bows his head to hide his blush. “Hey,” he answers. “How was practice?”

“Good. Really good.”

He nods. “Good,” he repeats.

We walk slowly down the sidewalk, eating our ice cream. “What’d you want to do? What time do we need to pick up Mo?”

I’m not sure exactly what I said to make him look at me like he does, but I can tell he’s holding his breath. After a beat or two, he lets it out and shakes his head. “Uh… Dak’s dropping her off later. We… don’t need to pick her up.”

Ah. It was the ‘ we ’ part that made him pause. It was too presumptuous, I suppose.

“All I need to do is drop my bag in my room. Then we can do whatever you want.” Yes, I used ‘we’ again, but I think this time it makes sense. He sought me out, after all. Right?

Edin sighs. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

What I think he wants is to be close. How tight his grip on my hand is suggests as much. My room is as good as any other.