Chapter 14: Chapter 14

TYLER

I walked out of practice that day, feeling off. There was something I needed to do; something I had waited too long to do. I shouldn’t have walked away from her, leaving her wondering where my mind was.

I looked like a slob in sweatpants and a sweatshirt; and for some reason, I knew it didn’t matter. My hair was wild, but she liked that, pulling at it any chance she got.

My facial hair had grown more, making me look a little grizzlier than usual. I took off my sweatshirt when I pulled up to her building. She loved my tattoos and muscular build.

I wanted her to remember that. She needed to remember the way I made her feel.

My nerves curdled when the security guard rang her apartment. I figured she’d turn me away; but by some miracle, she let me up. He keyed the elevator to PH2.

After a long ride up to the fortieth floor, I stepped out and into her expansive foyer.

My brows scrunched. I found her as beautiful as always, but she did look a tad bit crazy. Her hair was in some weird hairdo, and funny makeup covered her face.

I stifled a laugh as she realized what I’d been staring at. A red blush spread across Innocent Kate’s cheeks.

She moved aside to let me through when Tessa came jumping from around the corner, running straight into my arms.

“Are you here to play with us?” she asked.

Kate cleared her throat. “No, honey,” she said. “He’s busy today, he’s only come to say hi.”

When Tessa frowned, I took the opportunity to pull an asshole move. “My schedule just cleared up. I can stay with you guys ~all day~.”

I looked at Kate and grinned. She glared at me, but seeing how Tessa was jumping up and down, I knew Kate wouldn’t be able to stay mad for too long.

“You know what would be fun?” Kate asked Tessa. “If you do Tyler’s hair and makeup too. He’d love that!”

Tessa pulled me by the arm into Kate’s sprawling living room. Her furniture was classy, with plenty of seating options.

Still living in a bare-bones apartment, I was thrilled to dip into her brown leather couch.

A TV much bigger than mine covered most of the opposite wall. Pictures of Kate and her father were everywhere.

Her sister was in some of them; thankfully, that didn’t have me feeling uncomfortable anymore. Tessa held a brush with some colorful shit on it up to my cheeks.

I couldn’t get mad; she was the only reason Kate was letting me stay.

“Where’s your dad today?” I asked Tessa. Kate had walked into the kitchen. Hearing pots and pans banging around, I wondered what the hell she was doing.

“He’s working,” she replied. “Did you know Kate gave Daddy a job?”

“I didn’t know that.”

Kate walked back into the room, carrying a plate. “Kate also bought us a new house! Right in her building!”

At that moment, I knew I was in trouble. I had no doubt in my mind I was going to fall in love with that woman. Everything she did brimmed with compassion and love.

She was sexy and sweet at the same time, always polite, composed, and stunning. And unfortunately, off limits.

I jumped up from the couch and took the plate away from Kate’s hands, setting it on her elegant coffee table. She started to protest until I kissed her.

I had goddamn makeup on my face and still couldn’t have cared less. She eased into my arms, the way she had done so many times before.

Tessa giggled, and Kate pulled away. “Ew. Boys have cooties.”

“You’re right they do,” Kate replied. She pointed her finger at me. “This one especially.”

The sound of their laughter had me feeling strange. I never liked a kid as much as I liked Tessa, and I could have never pictured myself hanging out like I was then. And Kate… She was perfect.

She was everything I wasn’t, and I knew I probably didn’t deserve her. The more I reminded myself of that fact, the more I wanted her.

I grabbed what looked like a cinnamon roll off the plate and stared at it. It was mostly black. Kate threw her head back and laughed. “I can’t cook. Like not at all,” she said.

“I’ll make something. We can’t have Tessa starving.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Bill will be here shortly to pick her up, and I’m going out tonight, but thank you for the offer.”

~ Am I too late?~ I had waited days to come and see her like a fucking idiot. Two days too long. Of course, another man had swept her up in my absence.

Surely a man older than me, one who didn’t have a bad reputation, and one who made the kind of money to match her worth.

“Oh, alright,” I said. “I’ll head home and let you guys finish your day.”

Kate directed me toward the bathroom so I could wash the makeup off my face. I let the sink run for a few minutes until the water turned scalding hot.

That bathroom being a guest one did not have a personal touch to it. It certainly didn’t have the sweet smell of her perfume wafting around as the rest of the house did.

I splashed my face, hating myself for wasting my time when it came to her.

I said goodbye to Tessa, hesitantly telling her I’d see her again soon. She seemed happy though, and that’s what mattered. Kate walked me to the door and held it open for me.

“It was great to see you, Kate,” I whispered. “I hope you have a wonderful night.”

Her white teeth sparkled when she broke into a smile. “I will. I’ll be out with Piper.”

I grinned like a fool. She made a point to tell me she would be with her best friend, not leaving me thinking she was out with another man. I thought about kissing her before I left but chose not to push my luck.

For the first time in weeks, I was ecstatic. I picked up some groceries and went back to my apartment. I cooked a couple of steaks and even made a salad. Ben and Jason joined me after dinner, bearing beer.

“Someone doesn’t look like a downer douchebag today,” Jason commented.

“Nah,” I said. “I’m good.”

They both watched me, thinking I was either lying or drunk. They shrugged it off, focusing their attention on some video games. Ben smoked me in hockey, then began talking shit.

I threw an empty beer can at his head, little drops of liquid falling onto my hardwood floor.

“Still seeing Piper?” I asked.

“It’s been a while. Too bad, she was wild,” Ben said, then looked at Jason. “Any hot little things for you lately?”

Jason laughed and glared at me. “I’ve been celibate, helping my little brother here get through his breakup.”

“We didn’t break up,” I interrupted. “We were never dating.”

“Whatever.”

I took three more beers from my fridge and tossed one each to Ben and Jason. “I went to see her today.” They didn’t seem too thrilled. “She still wants me.” And ~that~ got their attention.

I told them an exaggerated version of the story, making myself sound more manly and badass and leaving out that we’d hung out with an eight-year-old. They wouldn’t have found that impressive in any way.

A while later, Chris texted me, begging us to go out with him that night. After a few more beers, I reluctantly agreed.

The last time I had gone out with him had ended up in me dropping Kate’s drunk-ass sister home.

Hearing Ben call my name from the living room, I walked out shirtless. My brother threw a shoe at my head. “Dude,” Jason grumbled. “Put some fucking clothes on. You’re making the rest of us look bad.”

I threw the shoe back at him, hitting him right in the temple. Ben was standing, looking at his phone with a mischievous grin. “Man, guess who just texted me.”

He turned his phone toward me and let me read his conversation.

Piper

Down to get dirty?

Ben

Definitely. Your place?

Piper

Meet me at ESCAPADE’S on 32nd.

Patting Ben on the back, I wished him good luck. Just then I remembered something. “She’s with Kate tonight.”

“So you’re coming too?” Ben asked.

“Is that really a question?”

An hour later, with Chris in tow, we entered the bar Kate and Piper were at for the night. I’d never been there before.

In New York City, you couldn’t possibly ever have enough spare time to visit every single bar, even if you’d lived there your entire life.

The bar was loud. Music blared through speakers that were placed every ten feet or so. Only a minute into the bar, and a guy walked past me, spilling his beer onto my new Nikes.

I was about to say something to him when he turned around and yelled, “You’re fucking Tyler Carlson.”

“Yep, that’s me.” I gestured behind me. “And you obviously know Chris Jagr. He’s really in the mood to talk to fans.”

The guy stumbled over to my friend. Chris made sure to shoot me the bird. I laughed and made my way to the bar with Ben and Jason.

We each ordered a beer and tried to spot the girls in the sea of people. Ben, who was taller than me and everyone else really, gazed above all the sweaty heads.

He groaned inwardly, and I bet he’d spotted Piper. Chris punched me in the arm when he returned to my side. Ben stuck his hand above the crowd and waved.

I couldn’t wait to see Kate again, even though I had seen her only a few hours ago. I felt excited that she and Piper would be by our sides in no time.

Another asshole spilled beer on me at the bar. I turned and glared. He was smiling.

“You’re a bitch, an ugly bitch, Tyler Carlson,” he said, slurring his words. He was wearing a shitty black t-shirt with “I FUCKED YOUR BAE” written across the front in gold sparkling letters.

“I’m an ugly~ bitch~?” I laughed. “You look like you were made from a t-rex and a fucking pig, dude.” I stepped closer to him and pointed a finger back at myself. “And this~ bitch~ can fuck your day up.”

“Fuck you!” he yelled.

The very next instant, my friends stood beside me, fists clenched.

I could take that asshole by myself, especially with my new fighter status in the NHL; but the last thing I wanted was to have Kate see me as a child.

She had four years on me already and was far more mature. I couldn’t disappoint her. The obnoxious guy stumbled away from us, mumbling some shit about how tough he was to himself.

Ben looked around curiously when Piper still hadn’t found us. We texted the girls asking where they were. And, of course, there was no response.

The dance floor breaking into loud cheers had us making our way over to it. I ran a hand through my dark hair when I spotted my precious Kate.

She was dancing with Piper in the middle of the dance floor, two other girls by their sides. They looked vaguely familiar; I wondered if they were with Kate the first night I’d met her.

My hunger intensified watching her move, her hips twisting in ways that screamed nothing other than ~SEX~!

That hunger was replaced with jealousy the moment a group of guys came up behind the girls, grinding their dicks against them.

I even felt protective over Piper. Maybe because she was Kate’s best friend, or maybe because Ben had a thing for her. Either way, those guys looked like slimeball douchebags.