by Toni Aleo
Glancing to Vaughn, she found him looking back with a friendly smile. “Yeah, but it’s passing time.”
It was. She was passing time with Vaughn Johansson. Talking about her life with him. Was she sick? Did he get her drunk? She didn’t feel drunk. What the hell was in this cup? Looking down at it, she figured what the hell and kept talking. “Anyway, I had a best friend who said she would come sit with Rod while I worked. Like I do now, I traveled with the Kings. I was on a trip when I got a call that he was in the hospital. Apparently, she had left him alone and went out with her boyfriend. When she came home, she found him on the ground, breathing very slowly. He had his first heart attack, and she wasn’t there the way she was supposed to be, or how I was paying her to be.”
Vaughn looked stricken. “Whoa. That’s not cool.”
“Yeah, so now you understand why I am crazy about who cares for him. She wasn’t the only one who fucked me over. I had her, a hired nurse, and then a home, all in Orange County, and they all somehow fucked me.”
“Well, that fucking blows.”
She scoffed. “More than you know. The nurse was horrible to him. He told me this, and I set up a camera, only to find her beating him in the back. It broke my heart. Then the home I had him in just locked him in a room because he had an outburst. He was hurting because of my mom, for obvious reasons, and they didn’t want to deal with him.”
“What the fuck?”
“Right? I would go on trips and have such bad anxiety attacks. Rodney would have to call me every hour. What sucked was he would get attached to these people, and they would let him down. In return, I’d feel like I was letting him down. So I started doing my research on who in the NHL was hiring and the best places for adults with Down syndrome. Nashville was on the list, and then the job with the Assassins came up. When we played y’all two years ago, I set up an interview with Elli Adler, and she hired me on the spot. She helped me find a place for Rodney, and when my contract with the Kings came up for renewal, I told them I couldn’t re-sign. They were bummed but understood. And two days later, Elli had a moving truck in front of my house and sent her plane to bring us here. She even hired a nurse to watch over Rodney as we flew because he’d had another heart attack a few weeks before.” A small smile covered her lips as she met his gaze. “She was my saving grace.”
“That’s Elli. She’d give you the heels off her feet if need be.”
Brie laughed as she nodded. “Yup. Good people.”
“They are. But holy shit, that’s some story.”
“Yeah, it hasn’t been easy… But things are looking up. Rodney loves NateWay, and I do too. I’m glad you were persistent and didn’t run when I hit you.”
He laughed. “It didn’t hurt, so no biggie. Plus, he belongs.”
“He does.”
A silence fell between them as they both looked up at the clock, sipping on their drinks. As she chewed on her lip, she realized she felt better. Not as alone as she had before. Funny that the reason for that was because of Vaughn. He was the last person she’d ever think would sit with someone in a hospital and drink Jack and Coke. Because he wanted to. “No funny shirt today, I see?”
She looked down at her black hoodie and smiled before lifting it up, letting her legs fall so he could see the tank underneath which read, “If it weren’t for shopping and pizza, I’d be rich and skinny.”
With a wide grin, he laughed. “I love pizza.”
“It’s basically the best food group.”
“Agreed.” Taking a long pull of his beverage, he looked over at her. “Got a funny shirt for the party tomorrow?”
She shook her head. “No, I will actually be all glammed up, if you can believe it.”
“I can.”
She smiled. “Oh, yeah, you see me at games.”
“I do. I heard you know the game pretty well. How is that? Living in California and all?”
She laughed. “I grew up outside of Omaha. My mom met Rodney’s dad when I was four, and he moved us there. He played, and so I lived at the rink. I was obsessed with the sport, and I was good. But when I went to college, I decided to pursue journalism because I didn’t think a girl could get into the NHL.”
“Baylor Moore proved that wrong.”
“Sure as hell did. She is probably my favorite person to interview.”
“What the hell? I am amazing.”
She shot him a deadpan expression. “Oh, for sure.”
Grinning, he leaned into her. “I’ll be better.”
“You will?”
He paused. “Well, that is, if you can score on me.”
“What?”
“I’m gonna get you on the ice, and we’re gonna play.”
“Please,” she laughed. “I’d kill you.”
He laughed. Hard. And what a sound it was. So low and rumbly. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I know your weakness. All I gotta do is apply some pressure, and you’ll fold like a napkin.”
Heat filled his eyes, and it might have been because of the way she said pressure. Shit. Was she flirting with him? Crap! Moving toward her, he dropped his voice an octave. “You, Brie Soledad, are delusional. I would murder you on the ice.”
Holding his gaze, she leaned against her knee. “Bring it, JoHo.”
“It’s JoJo.”
She grinned just as she realized he was really close to her. Like… Really. Close. If she only moved an inch, her lips would be pressed to his. That would not be happening. Or, shit…was it happening?
“Brie Soledad?”
“Me! That’s me!” she yelled, standing up, her cup flying out of her hand and landing with a loud thud against the concrete floor. But that wasn’t all that happened. Jack and Coke went flying, all over Vaughn. “Oh, shit. I’m so sorry!”
Laughing, he shook his head. “It’s fine. Go see what he has to say while I clean this up.”
Her hands were moving, and she wanted to apologize. But the doctor was looking at her, and she had to make sure Rodney was okay, so she rushed over to him, her eyes wide as she met his gaze. “Hey, Dr. Miller.”
“Hey, Brie,” he said with a laugh, shaking his head. “So Rodney is out. He’s a little groggy but good. We didn’t put him fully under, just gave him something calm him down, and he did really great with that. I’m hopeful this will work, but he’ll be on constant monitoring for the rest of the week. I transferred those files you asked for, too, to NateWay. We’ll talk more in the morning, okay?”
“Okay. Can I see him?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Thanks,” she said, but before she walked off, she turned to find Vaughn right behind her. “Ah. Crap, you scared me.”
“Yeah, I was trying to listen like a stalker.”
She shook her head with a smile. “Yeah, so Rod’s good.”
“I heard.”
“Yeah, sorry about the Coke.”
“It’s fine, mixes well with my cologne.”
“Eh, I like your cologne the way it is.” Once the words left her mouth, she immediately closed her eyes. “That was not me flirting with you.”
“Of course not,” he teased, and when she opened her eyes, he was giving her the most sarcastic smirk she had ever seen. Lord, this man was trouble. “So I guess I’ll go.”
“Did you wanna see him?” she found herself asking, hooking her thumb toward Rod’s room. “I’m sure he’d want to see you.”
A slow grin started to spread across his face as he began to nod. “I’d really like that. Thanks, Brie.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
He walked past her, and as she turned, watching him, his perfect ass in those semitight gym shorts, Brie knew one thing for sure.
She didn’t hate Vaughn Johansson.
Not even a little bit.
Not even kind of.
Well. Hell.
“My wife…” Shea Adler said, which made everyone look at him as he gazed across the lavish Assassins’ party to where his wife was stan
ding with some of the other players’ wives. “…is looking really hot tonight.”
Vaughn grinned as he took in Elli Adler. Shea was funny when he was drinking. But then, Elli was gorgeous, her auburn hair down her back and in a sparkly gold dress and sky-high heels that shone just as brightly as her dress. Since the theme of the party was all things gold, everyone pretty much matched in their own variations of gold. The whole place was done up to the nines. The arena seats were gone and so was the ice, leaving only a shiny gold floor with big gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The tables were decorated so extravagantly that even Vaughn couldn’t help but appreciate them. They had large gold vases with huge white flowers coming out of them and glitter floating in the water around the stems. The food was awesome, the drinks were better, and the company was fantastic. Vaughn decided that his all-gold suit was perfectly suitable for the over-the-top event, though Jensen said he looked like a complete idiot.
Vaughn did not agree.
He thought he looked phenomenal.
Clearing his throat, Erik Titov said, “I don’t know. My wife is looking pretty spectacular.”
They all glanced to Erik’s wife, Piper, in a dress that hugged her in all the right places. All of them nodded in appreciation as Phillip added, “Well, our wives are twins, so that means my wife is hot too.”
“My wife’s legs sparkle,” Tate Odder said, and everyone chuckled. “So… Winning.”
“He’s right, Audrey’s legs are very glittery and eye-catching,” Vaughn agreed, but Tate gave him a dirty look.
“Don’t look at my woman.”
Holding up his hand, he grinned. “Promise. I don’t do married ladies.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Shea laughed and everyone nodded, holding up their beers. “So who’s going to King’s baby shower?”
Vaughn made a face while everyone grimly agreed, except for him. He hadn’t been invited.
Thank God.
“Heard there will be a keg and muddin’ out in the back field for while the ladies do baby shit,” Erik said, and Vaughn’s ears perked up. “So thank God for that.”
“Whoa, I want to go.” Suddenly this sounded like an event Vaughn would enjoy.
“You’re invited. The whole team is. Just bring a gift.”
“Oh. Okay, I’m down. I’ll even bring Jenny. He’ll hate it.”
Everyone laughed right as Jensen came up to the group. Making a face as though he had just eaten a sour candy, he asked, “What? What did he say?”
That just made everyone else laugh harder. Poor Jenny, always the butt of jokes. “We’re going to King’s baby shower.”
Jensen just blinked. “I’m a man.”
“I understand that, but we’re all going.”
“But we’re men.”
Shea nodded. “It will be horrible, nothing but pink and blue shit because they aren’t finding out what it is. And songs. I think they sing.”
“And talk about having babies.”
“And periods.”
“And sex with us,” Tate added.
Jensen’s eyes got bigger with every comment. “I need another shot.”
When he walked away, they all laughed from their guts, leaning into each other. As Shea’s laughter subsided, he asked, “How long until you tell him the truth?”
“I’m not!” Vaughn chuckled, and everyone continued to laugh some more. This was his favorite part of the party, just hanging with his buds. Add in the pretty ladies, most of whom he wouldn’t touch, and he was a happy camper. But he was really waiting to see Brie. He wasn’t sure where she was, but he hadn’t caught sight of her yet.
He hadn’t realized how much fun she was until it was just them and they weren’t clawing each other’s eyes out. She was funny, witty, and smart. While he knew she was overprotective of Rodney, he now understood why. Her life wasn’t easy by far, and he sort of felt bad for assuming so. He thought she was just a bitch because she could be. The thing was, she wasn’t even a bitch; she just wore a shell.
He knew all about wearing a shell.
His was thick as all get-out.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t wait to see her. He found himself looking around for her every few seconds. When he looked up and saw Elli coming toward him, he put a grin on his face as she came up beside him, placing her hand on his bicep. “You missed media.”
“On purpose,” he said, flashing her his winning grin. “I hate it.”
“I know, but everyone loves you.”
He nodded. “But I hate it.”
“You’re going to give me a headache.”
“No, that’s the alcohol,” he said with a wink, and she just shot him a deadpan look.
“You’re doing media on Monday.”
He groaned. “Do I have to?”
“Yes.”
“Ugh, okay, boss lady.”
“Also, I’m having a lunch for Brie in the next week or so. Her brother had to have surgery, and I want to feed her. You know how I am.” He crossed his arms, unsure if he should say that he knew about the surgery or not. If he did, Elli would want to know how. Since no one could know about NateWay, he kept his mouth shut as she went on. “So I want you to come. Maybe we can bury the hatchet between you two.”
He made a face. Should he play like he still hated Brie and get the free meal, or tell the truth? “I guess I’ll go if you’ll feed me.”
Hey, he loved food.
She lit up. “Thank you. It will be great, I swear.”
“Hey.”
Pausing, Elli turned to Shea. “What?”
“You look superhot.”
A smile curved her lips as she held his gaze. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. Wanna go to the bathroom? I can so do you in the bathroom right now.”
She hooted with laughter, along with everyone else. “Okay, come on.”
As she walked away, everyone looked to Shea, stunned. He nodded. “That’s how it’s done, boys.”
He followed after his wife, and they watched. Then they all fell over laughing when, instead of going toward the bathroom, she took Shea to the stage to make the announcements for the night. As Vaughn stood there, listening to his boss and her husband explain how thankful they were for them, he felt a smile sitting on his lips. These people were his family, and he couldn’t be happier.
That was until, out of the corner of his eye, he saw, a very, very racy lady in gold.
He actually did a double take because he didn’t recognize her. She walked on extremely high black heels, and her legs were bare and shiny. But he didn’t stare at them for long before his eyes reached the spot on her upper thigh where the bottom of her gleaming gold dress rested. It fit her like a glove, tight in all the right places, long-sleeved, but hanging a bit off the shoulders. Her hair was down, bone straight, while her makeup was dramatic, dark and glittery, with her lips a deep red color that made her skin look like cream.
Cream he wanted to lick more than he wanted anything else in his whole entire life.
He felt himself growing in his pants, but thankfully, it wasn’t embarrassing yet. That was, until she turned, hugging one of the wives, and he saw that the dress was completely backless, all the way down to the top of her ass. It was easy to say he prayed that no one could see the stiffy he had going on through his gold suit. “Holy. Fuck.”
“What?”
Looking over, he found his buddy and made a face. “Do you see Brie?”
“Where? Whoa, she looks good.”
“Good? Fucking hot, dude.”
Jensen nodded. “To each their own. I’m more digging her.” He then pointed across the rink to where Wren was standing by herself, looking like she hated life. In a long-sleeved gold sweater with black sequined shorts and black tights, their best friend’s sister looked like a disco-bound Snow White. Her dark black hair was in curls along her shoulders, and she sported bright red lips. But more than that, she looked two seconds from blowing the party up.
“Ugh, why does she
hate me?”
“Huh? Who?”
“Wren. I have to go over to see her, when really I wanna go over there and put the moves on Brie.”
“What? I thought you hated her!”
“How can I hate that?” Vaughn asked, pointing to her, and Jensen rolled his eyes.
“If she were smart, she’d run. You look dumb in that suit.”
He scoffed. “You’re just mad that I look better than that boring black suit you’re wearing. But come on, let’s go check on our friend.” Cutting across the floor by the couples who were dancing, Vaughn rushed to Wren and threw his hands up. “Ugh, Wren. Why?”
She made a face, and even her stance said “stay away.” Her arm was crossed over her stomach while her elbow leaned on it, holding her glass. “Ew. I didn’t want to see you guys. I was about to duck out.”
“You have to stay another hour. Elli’s rules.”
“I’m ready to go.”
“What? You haven’t even brought in the New Year.”
“If it’s anything like this year, I couldn’t care the hell less about it.”
Jensen laughed, though Vaughn didn’t think she was joking. He figured he was right when she didn’t laugh, just sipped on her drink. “I know you assholes have talked to my brother.”
Vaughn shook his head. “I haven’t.”
“Liar. He told me he did, and you guys are to harass me. Seriously. I’m good.”
“We care,” Jensen added, but she shook her head.
“Don’t. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I just gotta figure some shit out.”
“Let us help.”
Looking to Jensen, she smiled. “You don’t want to help me, you just think you do because you care about me. But really, my issues are mine. Don’t worry about it. Go find someone to have fun with.”
“We want to have fun with you,” Vaughn declared, leaning toward her drink to see what she was drinking because he was thirsty. “What you drinking?”