by Kat Obie
She knew that his treatments were rough on his immune system and getting sick was just such a huge risk. She hated asking how he was feeling. “That doesn’t sound too good.”
“I’m okay. My mom has been practically smothering me.” He paused for another hard, wet coughing fit. “Do me a favor, next time you have to go to Philly for work and the guys can’t come, have Alice look in on me.”
That got Jenna smiling. They had discussed their options since she didn’t want to leave him alone completely and the team was on a road trip . He was the one who thought it would be too awkward to get help from Alice and kept saying how it would be nice for his mom to come down. She worried that his mom would think that she was an awful girlfriend for leaving him alone while he was sick.
“I’m sure that can be arranged. She’s pretty easy to bribe to help.”
He had a small chuckle that turned into a coughing fit. “Yeah, just need to give her some beer and let her use the rink.”
“Yup.” She felt awkward talking to him on the phone especially hearing how nasty that cough was sounding. She hoped he hadn’t picked up anything serious from the rink. “Do you want me to let you rest or do you want to talk?”
“I would rather have you talk dirty to me,” he said with a husky voice that was practically a whisper.
“Don’t you normally start the sex talk?”
“Normally, yes. But my mom is still checking in on me right now.”
Jenna started to laugh. She could practically see it. Him lying down in his bed, ready to get it on, and his mom was there. “You really want that now?”
“Yup,” he said.
She was still getting used to doing the sex talk over the phone or video. You would think after several months she wouldn’t be so awkward. But that’s why Corey would normally start it so she could overcome the mental hurdle of what to say first. “You really are a dirty boy.”
“Come on. Tell me something I don’t know.”
She lay back on her bed and started to think. “You need to get nice and firm and I would suck you off.”
“There it is,” he said, but then he started to cough.
Jenna was starting to feel less awkward and getting into the groove of phone sex, but the cough wasn’t helping her feel sexy. If anything it sent her spidey sense into overdrive. Then she heard a voice say, “Corey Michael, you should be asleep. You have been on the phone half the day.”
“Uh-oh, sounds like someone is in trouble.”
“Moooom, let me talk to Jenna. I haven’t been on the phone that much. It’s not my fault I’m super popular.”
There was the wet blanket and the phone sex was done. Nothing like the reminder that he was such a baby. That was such a teenager way to handle the moment. Not that she could blame Corey. He was on the phone half the time with Scotty, Petey, Lager, the doctors, his trainer, and the rest of the team since they all checked in on him daily. It had been rare since moving in with him that she’d been reminded of their ten-year age difference. She hated hearing the immaturity come out especially when she knew he wasn’t really that way most of the time. It was only when he got needled too much that he would get a bit whiny. “And the moment’s over, babe.”
“Aww. Sorry. I promise to make it up to you, beautiful. I’ll call when Mom is asleep.”
“Don’t you dare. I want you to get healthy and you need your rest.”
“It’s just a cough. I’m still feeling pretty good.”
“You know you don’t have to put on a front for me. There’s nothing to hide.”
“I’m not hiding anything. I promise.”
Corey
Between his mom and his cough, he was being driven up the wall. While normally his mom was so cool, she’d been smothering him. He could barely get out of bed and move around the house. He was glad that Jenna was going to be coming home tonight and his mom would leave tomorrow.
When the doorbell rang, he immediately went to grab it, hoping it was one of the guys from the team. While he would have loved it even more if it was Jenna, she would have just used her key. He just hoped it wasn’t a postal carrier.
“I got it, Mom,” he shouted and then immediately went into a coughing fit.
He opened the door and was both relieved and amused to see Petey. He was there rocking a new buzzed head. “Dude, that sounds nasty.”
“Sorry.”
“I take it you won’t be at practice tomorrow then.”
He shook his head. “That was never going to happen. Tomorrow, I get chemo again and I’m always wrecked for a few days.”
“Yeah, I don’t envy you. But fuck, you got to get healthy quick.”
“Are you telling me that Demper is a bad roommate?”
“He’s a dumpster on and off the ice. I hate it. He makes you look like a clean freak and he snores so badly.”
That got Corey laughing. He knew that Petey liked things neat when they traveled. Fortunately, they weren’t a full-on odd couple when it came to rooming. He was half tempted to ask if Petey was going to do anything about it.
Then his mom opened up the front door. Obviously, he spent too much time out on the porch with Petey for her liking. At first, she looked a little upset but her expression switched to happiness. “Oh, it’s good to see you, Petey. Please tell me you’re here to talk some sense into my boy.”
His mom always had a soft spot for Petey. Then again, they had been roommates for years, so she knew Petey would rein him in when he was at his wildest. So she loved Petey for keeping her son out of trouble.
He gave his best friend a look of “please don’t let me go back inside.” He knew his mom meant well but he wanted to pretend things were normal while he felt fine aside from the damn cough. “Nope. I’ve been sent over to pick him up and take him to a team meeting.”
“You’re telling me that he’s needed for a team meeting? He’s on injured reserve for the rest of the season and if you haven’t heard, he’s sick.”
“I was at practice on Thursday. I’m still part of the team and I keep telling you, I’m fine.” Although completely undercutting his argument that he was fine, he was launched into a coughing fit. He cursed silently.
Petey shrugged his shoulders, “I’m just doing what I’m told. I’m not questioning the coach’s orders.”
“So I’ll be back later.” Corey started to head toward Petey’s truck and Petey followed. Once they were safely in the truck, Corey grinned over at Petey. “I can’t thank you enough. So what’s the plan now that I’ve basically forced myself on you for a few hours?”
“Scotty’s place. Bridge and Lager are on the warpath again and I didn’t want to be around unless I have to.”
Corey felt bad for Petey and Lager. Petey’s been living at Lagers since last season. But this past season, Lager’s marriage went from being good to being on the rocks. No one knew what exactly happened over the off-season other than there were some severe trust issues on both sides.
“Works for me.”
It was a short drive over to the gated community where they all lived. Petey slowly pulled into the driveway as Alice started to pull out of the driveway in her car. So it was a guy’s afternoon. He texted Jenna to let her know where he was just in case she got home early.
Surprisingly, Scotty was waiting at the door. Then Corey realized, Scotty was probably saying goodbye to Alice and noticed their car pulling in. Scotty smiled and said, “Hey what are you guys doing here?”
Corey was about to explain himself but his cough prevented him so Petey said, “I went to check in on him and he needed a jailbreak.”
Scotty just nodded and let the two of them into the house. Unfortunately, Backup decided to make a break for it and went straight for his crotch. Petey and Scotty just started to laugh and all he had to say for himself was “No Backup,” as he grabbed the rambunctious pup’s collar so he could drag the dog into the house if needed.
“That’s a pretty nasty cough, Corey. Are you sure you are okay?”
asked Scotty.
“I’m fine. It’s like no one has seen a cough before,” Corey said in disgust.
“Okay. Don’t be so defensive. It’s no secret that you have been sick lately. Do you want some water?”
Corey knew his captain was right. They followed Scotty to the open kitchen and living room area. “Water would be good.”
Corey sat in his usual spot on the love seat. Petey sat on the end of the sofa close to him and Chloe, Scotty’s other dog, hopped up on the sofa and put her head on Petey’s lap begging for a head scratch. Then Scotty handed the two of them bottles of water.
“So did Alice ban you from shaving your head, Scotty? Cause I see Petey followed me with the cueball status.”
“Nope. Just making sure I do it right. Doing a matching donation thing to give to the #CCStrong Foundation with my followers. Might actually be breaking $50K. It will wrap up on the weekend,” he said all too casually.
That made Corey blink. That wasn’t the answer he was expecting. With the diagnosis and the popularity of #CCStrong, they changed his foundation name to raise money for cancer research. “Woah.”
Scotty shrugged like that wasn’t anything to be concerned about. But for him, it probably wasn’t that big of deal. Scotty was just a good person and knew how to use his celebrity for a cause. But he did make a change of subject and said, “So you needed a prison break, don’t tell me you are having issues with Jenna. You said you guys were perfect the other day.”
Corey shook his head as he coughed some. Petey teased, “He also didn’t sound like he was dying half the time.”
“I’m fine. I swear. Things are good with Jenna. She’s coming home later today. It’s my mom that I had to escape from.”
“Ah too much mothering,” teased Scotty.
“You would think I’m dying by having a cough and a little cancer.”
“Dude, you can die from that last bit. Can you blame her?” asked Petey
“Not really. But at the same time, after all the weeks of feeling really shitty, when I’m feeling okay, I want to revel in it. I still feel pretty good despite the cough. I have been dying to do more than just sit in bed and yet for the most part that’s all my mom will let me do because of the damn cough.”
They spent a few hours at Scotty’s place. It was just so completely chill and nice. It was exactly what Corey needed for the day. The time flew by. It wasn’t until Scotty started to make some food that he realized how much time has gone by. He instantly regretted the fact he didn’t bring his meds with him. He knew that he was coming to the point that he should be taking the next dose.
His phone rang. He looked down to see it was his mom calling and he braced himself. “Hey, Mom.”
“Where are you and don’t lie to me. I already talked to your coach and I know you weren’t in a meeting.”
He took a deep breath. He knew that he was busted. “What, you talked to my coach? How?”
“Don’t you ‘how’ me? Where are you?”
“I’m at Scotty’s place.”
“Don’t you realize your girl’s here and you left your medicine at home? You are sick, you shouldn’t be doing anything strenuous.”
“Yes, I realize I left my meds at home. I’m not that sick. It’s just a cough. We are just hanging out chatting.”
“Don’t tell me you guys were drinking.”
“Yes, Mom, we were drinking. Lots and lots of water. Mom, both Petey and Scotty are still in season. We aren’t doing anything crazy. I promise.”
“Prove it.”
He leaned his head forward in frustration and pinched his nose. He couldn’t believe how his mom was acting. It seemed like the more he got his shit together and the wilder his sister got, the more his mom just worried about his behavior. “Hey Petey, talk to my mom for a second.” He tossed his cell phone to him.
“Hey, Mrs. C. You don’t need to worry.” There was a pause. “We were just hanging out talking about hockey and life.” There was another pause. “No. Nothing like that. It’s just we haven’t seen him in a while and wanted to catch up since he was a bit of a ghost despite coming in to practice on Thursday. We’ll be back after dinner. Scotty just finished making some fish tacos. So after we eat, I’ll bring him home.” Petey paused again. “Oh, I didn’t realize he needed meds.” Corey started to gesture that he wanted to eat before the meds. “Oh, he’s saying he needs to eat before the meds. It will be like thirty minutes more. Sorry to make you worry, Mrs. C.”
“Thanks, man,” Corey said when Petey tossed him back his phone. He saw that his mom was still on the line, so he lifted the phone up to his ear. “So Mom, what do you and Jenna want to eat? We’ll pick up anything you want on the way home.”
Backup jumped up to put his paws into his lap. He started laughing, which sent him coughing, which for whatever reason the dog interpreted that as the perfect time to start licking his face. Thankfully Scotty called the dog off of him by saying, “Come on, it’s chow time.”
“Yo Scotty, when is that dog ever going to be properly trained?” teased Corey. He knew that Scotty had been trying to train Backup since he got the pup during the All-Star break last year.
“He’s trained. He’s just exuberant.”
“Really, Scotty?” asked Petey. Corey shared the same disbelief. While Backup wasn’t bad, he wasn’t nearly as well behaved as Chloe.
“Just watch.” Scotty grabbed some treats from the jar on the counter. “Backup, TikTok time.” Scotty put a foot out and Backup tapped it with a foot. Scotty then put the other foot out and Backup tapped it. They did the whole foot shake dance. Then after the two of them spun around, he said, “Lie down, Backup,” and the pup lay down. Scotty tossed him two snacks. “Good boy. Now you can eat.”
He and Petey totally cracked up. Of course Scotty trained the dog to do a TikTok dance. But they both helped themselves to the tacos. Corey forgot how good Scotty’s food was. He could easily be a chef after he retired but he was likely to become a coach instead.
True to his word, they picked up the Chinese order on the way home. He dropped off the food and gave a kiss to each of them. Then he went to the cupboard where he kept the medicine and supplements and started his evening routine. Jenna started to get the plates out for the food.
“Did you enjoy hanging out with Petey and Scotty?” asked Jenna.
“It was good. Would you believe he taught Backup to do TikTok dances with him?”
“Yup. He put it on his Instagram account weeks ago. I think he was trying to break Instagram again with the likes,” Jenna said nonchalantly. He should have known that she knew what was on Scotty’s Instagram account. It felt like ages ago when she told him how she found out who he was after trolling Scotty’s account one night.
He practically hacked up a lung and she gave him a pitiful look. He shook his head; he didn’t want the pity and he practically dared her and his mom to say anything more. Instead Jenna just stepped in front of him and reached around his large frame and planted an amazing kiss on his lips. His breath caught and he just melted into her embrace.
“Oh no you two don’t. Not in front of me.” His mom laughed as she tossed a dish towel at his face. At least his mom was back to her friendly, joking self and less worried about his well-being. He much preferred this side of her than the one trying to make him rest. “Besides, not all of us got to eat their dinner so far.”
33
Jenna
She hated Corey’s chemo days and today was no different. He always had the wind knocked out of his sails for a few days. It didn’t help that neither of them got a good night’s sleep with his coughing. At least she was held throughout the night and she wouldn’t trade that for the world. It also didn’t help that his mom was going to go with him to chemo today since she was in town. While she should be grateful for the chance to work, she found herself a little jealous. She knew that Corey wasn’t particularly thrilled with the arrangement but wanted to please his mom.
While Corey was at t
he hospital, she busied herself around the house. She decided to make a salmon bisque for their dinner. She was hopeful that the bisque would be something homey for him and easy on the stomach. But with it having a cream base, she was a little worried that it might not work.
She was surprised when he came home and came up to her office. He looked so young and weird since now all his facial hair was gone. She knew that it was starting to thin and fall out a little more quickly the past few days but he’d had a beard this morning. He looked so extremely young, even younger than his twenty-two years—more like a sixteen-year-old. But she didn’t care if people thought she was robbing the cradle. She couldn’t help but blurt out, “What happened?”
“I took control again.” She nodded and realized how extremely important it was for him to maintain control. It was like how he buzzed off the hair the first time. That was the main reason he was butting heads with his mom over the weekend; she wasn’t giving him the control to gauge his own health.
He was looking at her trying to read her reaction. She just stepped up to him, grabbed his neck and locked her lips on his. When she stepped back from him she said, “It’s perfect, babe, but you might get me accused of robbing the cradle. I swear the removal of your beard makes you look so damn young though.”
“Yeah. I’m going to struggle to get served again.”
She cocked an eyebrow at her boyfriend. She knew that he only just turned twenty-two. He’d been a hotshot professional player for a while now and would have gotten served regardless. So she asked the obvious. “Wait, you had trouble getting served? Like when? When you were sixteen?”
His smirk said it all. He did have trouble getting served in high school. She was tempted to point out how he should have had trouble getting served when he was in high school but she didn’t. Instead she just grabbed his ass and smiled. “At least you have proper ID now and a girlfriend who will make sure you will get served.”
“So you aren’t mad?” asked Corey.
“Nope.”