Delayed Call

by Toni Aleo

  “Yeah, I’m just a reporter with stupid questions.”

  He scowled, and she glared back as he sat down with more force than needed. Fuck, she pissed him off. The high of his goal was gone and replaced by annoyance. He didn’t tap it; he wristed it.

  She was a brat.

  He wristed it. Well, maybe wristed-tapped it in, but same thing. It was wristed!

  Leaning over to Anderson, he said, “Hey, I wristed that, right?”

  Anderson shrugged. “Looked like a tap with flair to me, but who gives two fucks? It’s a goal. Great job, bro.”

  “But it wasn’t a wrister.” Grumbling, he leaned back into Jet. “Tap in?”

  “Yeah, for sure, but a really pretty tap in that could be considered an ugly wrister.”

  “Damn it.”

  Jet patted his shoulders. “But if she asks, I’ll say it was a wrister.”

  Vaughn laughed. “Good man, Jet.”

  “Thanks.”

  Then something occurred to him. Leaning back once more, he asked, “Do you think I’m gonna get fined for that f-bomb?”

  Jet shook his head. “Wasn’t on camera.”

  His only saving grace. And while he should be happy about that—and his goal—he wasn’t.

  Because Vaughn didn’t like that Brie was right.

  He didn’t like it one fucking bit.

  When the door opened to Wren’s apartment, they saw exasperation come over her face instantly.

  “Go away.”

  She went to shut the door, but Jensen held it open, holding up a bottle of wine. “Merry Christmas,” he said in his low and sexy voice that usually made girls swoon. But Wren Lemiere did not swoon.

  “Come on, Wrenny, let us in. It’s Christmas.”

  “I don’t care. I want to be alone.”

  “We don’t care that you want to be alone.” Vaughn pushed the door, and she went with it as she let out an annoyed breath. Like her soul, her apartment was decorated with dark furniture and dark accessories. When they were younger, they all made fun of her for being the Goth kid of the group. She would joke back that she had voodoo dolls of them all. It scared Vaughn so bad, he didn’t sleep for a week. He still wasn’t sure she was joking back then. Not that it mattered now; she loved them.

  “I hate you two. Go away.”

  Sometimes.

  Laughing, he fell onto her couch, kicking his feet up as he looked around. “Done nothing with the place, I see.”

  “I’m never home, always at work, waiting for you, it seems.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve told you like a billion times, I don’t need therapy.”

  “You do. You have some anger issues that need to be fixed.”

  “Can’t fix issues when there aren’t any. I wouldn’t be angry if people would do what they’re supposed to.”

  “So why do you get angry on the ice? No one is perfect.”

  Rolling his eyes, he shrugged. “But I’m supposed to be. I’m paid bookoo bucks to bring wins, along with my teammates. Sometimes we don’t, and that pisses me off.”

  “Which is why you need therapy.”

  “Whatever,” he finally said, falling back against the couch as she lowered into a very uncomfortable looking chair.

  Jensen came with glasses of wine, but Wren declined hers. “My stomach is still a little iffy.”

  “It’s been a week.”

  “Yeah, I have some kind of bug from what the doctors are saying.” She looked down and pulled in a deep breath.

  “Are you okay?” Jensen asked, lowering himself to the couch beside Vaughn.

  “Yeah, fine.”

  She was lying and they both knew it, but before they could press, she went on. “So what, like thirty minutes, and then you two will leave?”

  With a laugh, Vaughn shook his head. “Some would think you hate us.”

  “I do.”

  “You do not,” Jensen said with a laugh.

  She shrugged. “Maybe not you, but him, yes. He drives me insane, just like Wells.”

  “Who, by the way, called earlier and is spending Christmas with Alex’s family, and they love him. He informed me this is good,” Vaughn said with a quick shrug. “I’ve never met parents like that, so I wouldn’t know.”

  “Yeah, he seems excited, but I think it won’t last.”

  Jensen looked to Wren. “Really?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, he’s still head over heels for Matty. Alex is the rebound guy.”

  Vaughn smiled. “It’s like our own soap opera we get to watch firsthand. Who will Wells end up with? The rebound guy, or the love of his life who won’t come out of the closet? Dun-dun-dunnnnn…”

  Jensen scoffed as Wren smiled curtly. “Who knows? He’s so in love with being in love. It’s sickening. Love is whack, and guys are assholes.”

  Vaughn held up his hand. “I second all of that.”

  Jensen glared over at him before looking to Wren. “But not all guys are assholes, and love can be great if you want it to be.”

  Wren shook her head as Vaughn’s head fell back while he groaned. “This conversation is boring!”

  “Okay, two-year-old,” Wren called to him before looking over to Jensen. “Maybe so. But, for example, I was finally dating a guy…well, maybe not dating. I was fucking him more than once, and things were good. He was funny, hot, and we were having a great time. I considered moving forward with him. Something happened, and he dropped me like a bad habit. I thought this guy was cool, he could have been the one, and bam! He sucks. Relationships suck. Feelings suck. I hate people.”

  Vaughn went to say something funny, but her eyes started to fill with tears, so his lips slammed shut as Jensen scooted forward in his chair. “What in the world? What happened? Who is he? I’ll kill him.”

  Jeez, alert the media, Wren’s knight in shining armor had arrived.

  Though, she had no clue.

  Or didn’t notice.

  It was so sad.

  Shaking her head, she looked away. “It doesn’t matter. He’s a piece of junk, and like always, I’ll figure it out on my own.”

  “You don’t have to be alone, though.”

  “Yeah, I do. You know I do. No one wants to deal with all this,” she said, waving her hand around herself. Vaughn looked to Jensen, who was looking at her like a lost dog. This was Jensen’s chance, but Vaughn’s goofy best friend looked down at the ground. Loser.

  Rolling his eyes, Vaughn added, “There is someone who does, Wrenny. He could be sitting in this room.”

  Looking up at him with a crestfallen look, she shook her head as he felt Jensen glaring at him. “Don’t, Vaughn. I can’t right now.”

  He wasn’t actually talking about himself, but whatever, the girl was basically a mixture of Sadness and Anger from Inside Out, and yes, Vaughn was not embarrassed he loved that movie. “Just saying, don’t give up. I know Mama and Papa wouldn’t like that at all.”

  “Please do not tell my mother and father about this.” Covering her face, she ran her fingers through her dark hair as she itched her head. “They’re so mad I didn’t come home, but I couldn’t. I just want to be alone. Figure my life out.”

  “What’s going on, Wren? Tell us. We can help you,” Jensen said, and when Vaughn looked up, he saw that Wren had tears running down her cheeks.

  “Whoa, woman tears freak me out, and I thought you couldn’t cry.”

  “Shut up, Vaughn,” she snapped, shaking her head before wiping her face. “Nothing, I’m fine. Just a lot going on, and I’m confused. But I’m fine. Don’t you guys gotta get to Gramps and Grams’s?”

  “We went before we came here.”

  She nodded. “How are they? Did you apologize that I couldn’t come? Did you give Amy and Phyllis a hug from me?”

  She was changing the subject, and Vaughn could see that Jensen didn’t want to let her. But Jensen said nothing as he nodded. “Yeah, we did. They all said hi and that they miss you.”

  “I’ll go visit after the new year. Hopef
ully by then, I won’t be the Grinch.”

  Vaughn smiled as she flashed them a small smile. She really was a gorgeous woman. He had always thought so, with her long, dark as night hair and pale white skin. She reminded him of a thicker Snow White with her round face and beautiful green eyes. Wells looked exactly like her, just manly, but if he grew his hair out, they could pass for twins. Vaughn hated how sad her big green eyes were and how she looked a bit lost. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but that wouldn’t stop him from calling Wells to find out. Wells could get anything out of Wren, and then they all would swoop into action to help her.

  When they were younger, some kid was making fun of her for being overweight. She was a little on the heavier side as a teen. Still beautiful, but she was bigger, and boy, did kids make fun of her for it. Especially when she decided to be a cheerleader, and to this day, Vaughn had no clue what had been going through that girl’s head. She wasn’t cheerful and she hated everyone in the school, but she was one hell of a tumbler, which was why she’d tried out. But during one pep rally, she was doing a tumbling pass when her skirt ripped down the side, falling off and leaving her in her bloomers. These kids made fun of her for weeks. She would never tell anyone about it. She just took the bullying, and the guys would find her crying all the time. Wells finally got out of her who did it, and the boys jumped into action by taping him to the flagpole outside.

  Naked.

  In the Colorado winter.

  The guy never spoke another word to Wren, but Vaughn was pretty sure that darkened her soul a bit, molding her into the woman she was, sitting in front of them. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but Wren would figure it out. She always did. And if she couldn’t, then Wells would find out, tell them, and they would figure it out for her. Because even though she was a pain in the ass, she was their pain in the ass, and they loved her.

  Clearing her throat, she looked up to Vaughn and smiled. “Saw you finally scored. Great tap in.”

  He glared. “It was a wrister.”

  She scoffed. “It was not. Tap in. You barely moved your arms, you just tapped it in.”

  Vaughn looked at Jensen, and he shrugged. “It went in, that’s all I care about.”

  She laughed. “Why does it matter?”

  “It doesn’t.”

  “Because Brie Soledad gave him shit about his wrister and then called him out when he tried to tell her it was a wrister,” Jensen supplied, which Wren giggled at.

  “It was a fucking wrister!”

  “It was a tap in, and she’s not dumb. She’s very smart. You know, she grew up in a rink, she played all through college while being a sports reporter. She’s actually very knowledgeable in the sport.”

  He hadn’t known that, and why that made him want to get her on the ice was beyond him. No one could know that. Shooting Wren a deadpan look, he mumbled, “You’re not helping.”

  Giggling, she nodded. “Maybe not, but it’s making me laugh.”

  “Oh, well, you’re welcome.”

  She grinned as she leaned back, tucking her hands under her biceps. “She’s pretty. You two would look adorable together.”

  “What happened to fuck love?”

  “I said adorable together, Vaughn. Relax.”

  Before he could say something, Jensen added, “Yeah, but they can’t be in a room together without ripping each other apart.”

  Holding Vaughn’s gaze, she gave him a sneaky grin. “Maybe try ripping each other’s clothes off instead?”

  Vaughn gasped. Though, his cock heard every word she said and truly enjoyed it. “Wren Josephine Lemiere! That is very dirty.”

  “Hey, just saying. Maybe you two want each other, and instead of getting it on, you fight?”

  Vaughn went to deny it, but Jensen laughed, nodding his head. “Exactly. There is so much sexual tension between the two it’s disgusting. You can hear the crackles around them if you listen closely. But they yell pretty loud.”

  “Fuck off, Jenny.”

  “Just saying.”

  “Hey, go for it. She’s great.”

  “She hates me, and I hate her.”

  “Thin line between love and hate, JoJo, don’t forget that.”

  Scrunching up his face, Vaughn shook his head. “Why did we come here? Let’s go.”

  Getting up, he was followed by Wren’s laughter as Jensen threw his hands up. “Really?”

  “Yeah, she doesn’t want us here anyway, and I’m ready to go home. Tricksie misses me.”

  “Give her kisses for me, and Merry Christmas,” she said before wrapping him up in a tight hug, kissing his cheek. “Thanks for coming over.”

  Vaughn kissed her back before backing up to smile at her. “Anything for you.”

  He squeezed her once more before walking away and heading for the door. When he looked back, he saw Jensen holding Wren with such tenderness. They were made for each other. She was the perfect height for him, coming right under his chin as his head rested on hers softly. The way his eyes closed as he cuddled into her kind of hurt Vaughn’s cold, dead heart. Jensen loved that girl—more than Vaughn had even realized until that moment. Why he didn’t say anything? Or fight for the girl? It would forever be a mystery to him, but as Vaughn stood there watching them together, he wondered how it would feel to hold Brie.

  To touch her hair.

  To feel it against his lips.

  To be intoxicated by her scent.

  To kiss that sassy-ass mouth of hers.

  Exhaling hard, he shook his head before he pulled the door open. “I hate you, Wrenny.”

  Her laughter followed him out of the apartment as she called to him, “Love you too, Vaughny. Give it a try!”

  He wouldn’t be giving Brie Soledad a try.

  He only went after things he could win.

  Brie wasn’t someone he could win with.

  Or against.

  With her hand on the back of her very heavy couch, Brie stroked the softness of the cushion as she sipped on her eggnog. Her leg swung back and forth over her other foot as a small smile settled on her lips. Rodney sat in front of her on her chair, their mother’s guitar in his lap as he sang softly. He had sung every Christmas since he was a kid. His rendition of “Rudolph” was something she could still remember vividly. Today, though, she was enjoying a beautiful version of “Mary, Did You Know?” While the folks on the radio were amazing, nothing was like Rodney.

  His voice was low, raspy, almost Johnny Cash-like, but totally Rodney. His talented fingers moved along the guitar with ease, and she was so proud of him. He had finally gotten the instrument down. It had taken him almost six years, but he stayed with it. Now, he was awesome, in her opinion. And boy, did he love it. The smile on his face was unstoppable as his eyes drifted shut and he sang from his heart. He never ceased to amaze Brie, and this Christmas was no different.

  When he finished the song, she tucked her cup between her legs and clapped loudly for him as his face filled with color. He was always so bashful, but she knew he ate it up. He especially loved when the folks at Riverdale would cheer for him after afternoon tea.

  Leaning her head to her hand as he put his guitar down, she smiled. “Everyone will miss that if you leave Riverdale.”

  He shrugged. “That’s all they’ll miss.”

  She waved him off. “No, they’ll miss everything about you.”

  He rolled his eyes. “They hate me, and everyone is already talking about how I’m leaving.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, they asked what cake I want.”

  Brie scoffed. “Chocolate, duh.”

  “Right? Why even ask?”

  She smiled. “So I guess you’ve already got a foot out the door, huh?”

  His brows drew together as he looked up at her. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re ready to go?”

  He nodded hard. “I’ve been ready.”

  But she felt so differently. At Riverdale, he was taken care of, and she knew everyone there.
Even the old people that hated him, because she brought them cookies in the hopes maybe they’d like him. She understood that he was loud and busy, but he was a good guy. Sweet as all get-out, but…even she knew he didn’t fit in.

  Maybe he would be better at NateWay, but it scared the living crap out of her. She didn’t do well with change when it came to Rodney. He had already been through so much with their mother passing and then going to Riverdale. It was hard, and since she traveled so much, she liked to know he was taken care of at all times. Since she couldn’t do her part in his care, she wanted the people caring for him to do an outstanding job. How was she supposed to trust that this Nate guy’s people would? How was she supposed to leave and know he’d be in a house by himself with no one there? The thought made her gut hurt.

  “Stop looking at me like that. I’m a man, B.”

  He and this man shit were getting on her last nerve, but as much as she hated it, he was right. “I know, but it makes me nervous. How do we know this will work?”

  He smiled. “Because Mom is looking out for me. For us. She wouldn’t bring us this if it wasn’t safe, B.”

  Her heart broke a bit as he held her gaze. Another reason why he gave her anxiety. He was so freaking trusting. “Not everyone is good, though, Rod.”

  “Yeah, but Mom is our guardian angel. We’re okay. It will be okay. I believe it in my heart.”

  Emotion clogged her throat as she held his gaze. “Your heart, huh?

  “Yup, my whole heart. Don’t worry.”

  Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked down at her eggnog. He was killing her slowly, and she prayed that he was right. That their mother was looking down on them, guiding their ways because they needed it.

  Especially Brie.

  She just felt so lost lately. Her love life was shit, nonexistent, and that was depressing since the new year was almost here. She wasn’t one to fail at goals, but she was pretty sure that goal was toast. So was the one from last year to lose ten pounds; she was pretty sure she had gained ten instead. Rodney’s living situation and his heart issue were both stresses that were weighing her down to the bottom of the ocean. And then there was her job.

  Usually, Brie was very confident when it came to her career. She knew what she was doing and she was damn good at it, but the last couple days, things had been a little shitty. While she would never apologize to that asshole, she did feel bad for how things went down with Vaughn during that interview. She should have read the teleprompter; she should have done what was right. But instead, she was the showboater, and she crashed. Hard.