I don’t know if I should go or not, but I know I have nothing else going on, so I answer him.
Me: Sounds good. What time and what can I bring?
I see the button with three dots come up.
Matthew: Anytime after ten and bring yourself.
He follows that with his address. Bring myself. I don’t think they really want a recovering drug addict who just feels like he went ten rounds with Mike Tyson. The same guy who was a total dick to Zoe, and she didn’t deserve it.
I open my map and put in the address to the loft. I see that it’s a forty-seven minute walk. I spend the forty-seven minutes listening to the noise of New York City—the honking, the zooming of the cabs down the street, and the sirens. So many fucking sirens.
When I finally open the door to the loft, I’m exhausted. I barely make it through the shower, and by the time I collapse on the bed, my body gives in. I finally get the sleep that evaded me last night, and this time, I keep my demons at bay.
Chapter Eight
Zoe
“I love my girl time,” Karrie says from beside me as she lies on the couch with one eye open. I look over at her and then back at the coffee table in front of us. “I need my girl time,” she says, looking at all of us one at a time.
After I texted them about drinking, they were all up for the challenge. We’ve all spaced out on the couches in Zara’s living room. She has three huge couches with deep cushions. You just sink into them and think you’re in heaven. They are so big that we aren’t even touching each other.
“I haven’t had sex in six months,” Vivienne says, and we all look at her with mostly shock on our faces. Vivienne has been Karrie’s best friend since forever. She moved over from France so long ago, but her accent is still there.
“What do you mean you haven’t had sex in six months?” Allison sits up on her side of the couch on the other side of Karrie and me. Vivienne lies on a couch all by herself with one leg hiked up on the back of the couch while the other leg is flat on the couch, and her arm dangling off the couch holding her wine glass.
“I mean, I haven’t had sex in six months,” she says, rolling to her side and taking another sip of wine. “I’m thirsty.” She looks at her wine glass. “For cock.”
“But why?” I ask her. “You have sex all the time.”
“I don’t know why, Zoe.” Her voice comes out a touch higher.
“Have you tried to have sex with someone lately?” Karrie asks her. “You are always out.”
“I am trying. Just none of them are”—she starts snapping her fingers, trying to come up with the right word—“eligible.”
“That isn’t the right word,” Karrie says to her, and she glares at her.
“Who cares what the right word is,” she says, flabbergasted. “My vagina is probably full of cobwebs.”
“It’s not that bad,” Allison says.
“When is the last time you had sex?” She looks over at me.
“Three weeks ago,” I tell her, and everyone looks at me. “What?” I shrug. “It was with another agent. We just pulled out the deal of the month, and well, we had pent-up tension that needed to be released.”
“Only you would talk about sex like it’s a merger,” Zara says, and I ignore her and look back at Vivienne.
I shrug my shoulders while I get up and pour myself another glass of wine. The whole thing needs my full attention since I can see more than one bottle, and I’m trying not to spill any. I wonder when the last time Viktor had sex. My eyes open wide, and then I look around to see if anyone is looking at me. After a couple of glasses of wine, you sometimes say things instead of think them. Thankfully, I didn’t verbalize that thought.
“I’m so confused,” Allison says. “I need to just close my eyes.”
“This is when the party is over,” Zara says and gets up from the couch. “Evan, can you call the men to come and wrangle their women?”
She goes to the table and starts picking up the bottles. “Wrangle their women.” I giggle to myself. “Like they are cattle.”
“You need help upstairs?” she asks me, and I just shake my head. It takes about five minutes for Max and Matthew to arrive.
“Jesus, why does she smell like she bathed in wine?” Matthew asks when he picks up Karrie.
“The last three glasses of wine spilled on her before she got it to her mouth,” Zara tells him, and he just shakes his head.
“Vivienne,” he barks at her, and she sits up. “You need me to carry you, or are you good?”
“I’m good,” she says, standing and then falling back down. “Just go ahead. I’ll catch up.”
“Hey there, good looking,” Allison says when Max leans over her and kisses her lips. “Take me home and have your way with me.”
“That is so gross,” Matthew says, coming back into the room and watching Vivienne try and get up. When nothing helps, he puts her over his shoulder.
“You have a great ass, Matthew,” she says when her face is up close to it. “I’m so thirsty,”
she moans, and I roll my lips so I don’t laugh.
“I have some water bottles in the car,” Matthew says and then shouts over his shoulder. “See all of you tomorrow.”
“Are we going to get busy in the car?” Allison asks Max who just laughs. “Remember the last time?”
Zara and I both groan. “Can you stop her from talking?” Zara asks him, and Allison just smiles.
“We had sex in the back seat of the car,” she says in a whisper, but since she’s drunk, it comes out in a scream. “In the driveway.”
“Why didn’t you just go inside?” I ask her.
“Because it’s taboo,” Allison says, and Max just shakes his head. “Also, he’s super-hot.”
“Okay, Angel,” Max finally says, calling her by her name that he always calls her. “Let’s not scar them anymore than you already have,” he says, walking out of the room.
“Seriously? In the car?” Evan says, shaking his head. “I’ve sat in that back seat.”
“I was on top,” Allison says, putting up her hand, and Evan puts his hand to his mouth. “I’m a rodeo queen.”
“Jesus fuck,” Zara says. “Why am I not recording this?”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Evan says. “I put my hands down on that seat.”
“Which side?” Allison asks right before Max walks out of the door and the door slams.
“You two okay?” Evan asks us, and I just nod while Zara goes over to him, hugging him around the waist.
“I’m going up to my room,” I say, walking out of the living room.
The next morning, the sound of banging pots in the kitchen rustles me from sleep, and when I finally roll out of bed and make my way downstairs, Evan is making his special hangover cure. Just for me. Evan knew very early on that Zara and I had this insane bond we couldn’t explain. He also knew it would never be severed, so he did the only thing he knew how. He accepted me with open arms. I mean, honestly, I’m perfect, but it helps that he tells me on occasion.
Breakfast is smooth sailing, and I eat everything on my plate, and then we lounge on the couch while Zara puts headphones on her belly and plays classical music. After putting on my light pink bikini, I slip a dress over it and slide into my flip-flops. I grab my stuff, knowing I’m going straight home from Matthew’s house.
When we pull up, it’s almost noon, and the driveway is full. “Who the fuck did he invite? The whole team?” I ask, getting out and placing the sunglasses on my face. “I can hear kids screaming from here,” I groan, and we walk around the side and go through his cast iron gate. “Jesus, who are all these people?” I say, looking around the yard at what must be at least fifty people.
He has a huge property with a massive pool on the side of the yard. But what is the coolest is the Olympic-size rink he has set up on the other side. In the winter, it’s ice, and in the summer, he has this shiny surface so the kids can use their roller blades.
“Hey the
re, I was wondering when you guys would get here,” Matthew says when he meets us coming out of his house. “You look like shit.” He hands me a water bottle.
“Bite me,” I say, grabbing the bottle. “Who are all these people?”
“Some are from Mini Cooper’s hockey league. The rest are coaching staff and a couple of players are here. Some rookies,” he says and then stands straight and crosses his arms over his chest. “Don’t get any ideas.”
“Did Max give you a ride to the rink last week?” I ask him, and he just nods his head. “He banged Allison in the same car.”
“Motherfucker,” he says, turning and walking away from us with Evan laughing beside me, and Zara holding up her hand.
“Oh my God, I think I’m going to die.” I spot Vivienne while she comes up to us, and she is wearing a checkered bikini.
“You look like a checkered flag,” Zara says.
“Gentlemen, start your engines!” she yells, turning around, and no one really notices her but Max, who laughs at the joke.
“Oh, look who’s here. Viktor,” Evan says. “I’m going to go say hi to him.”
“Evan, can you put in a good word for me?” Vivienne asks him. “I’ve been trying to get his motor running, but he’s too busy ignoring me.” She then turns to us. “I’m so thirsty.” She winks, and my stomach suddenly knots and burns. “I’ve been saying that all afternoon, and Matthew and your dad have been getting me drinks.”
I shake my head with a laugh. “I’m going to go say hi to my parents.” I turn to walk toward them, but my head is down, and I smack straight into a white shirt. I’m about to bounce off the hard chest, but his hands come out to catch me before I lose my footing.
“Sorry,” I say and then finally look up into Viktor’s blue eyes. Eyes that taunted me in my dream all night. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“It’s okay,” he says, and then the noise from all around us stops him. “Listen, about yesterday …”
I’m not sure I want to hear why he was a dick. I’m not ready for this conversation, least of all not with everyone here. “Forget it. It’s fine,” I say, and I don’t wait for him to answer. I just walk around him and into my father’s open arms.
“You look sick,” he says, kissing my head. “Are you sick?”
“Yes,” I tell him, “of wine.” I try not to look around and see where Viktor went off to. I shouldn’t care, and I don’t care. Maybe if I keep repeating it, my brain will finally get the memo.
“Did you girls drink too much last night?” he asks, and he doesn’t let me go. I don’t tell him that I was drinking to forget about what a dick Viktor was.
“Where’s Mom?’ I ask, and then I feel a little finger on my thigh.
“Auntie Zoe,” Alex, my niece, says softly. Her whole body drips with water because she just came out of the pool, and she still has her floaties on her arms. “Will you come in the pool with me?”
I squat down in front of her. “Why? Is this a trick?” I ask her, and she just shakes her head.
“Mommy won’t let me swim without my floaties,” she says, and I understand it now.
“So you want me to take you in the pool and take off your floaties?” I ask her, and her face fills with a huge smile that looks exactly like her mother’s. “You’re lucky I love you,” I say and peel the dress off my body.
“I’ll be back, Dad,” I say, walking away to the pool holding Alex’s hand.
“Where is the rest of that bathing suit?” I hear my father shout, and I just shake my head.
“Zara is wearing it,” I say over my shoulder. Looking at Zara, I see she’s talking to Viktor, but their talking stops while they watch me. “Zara, show Dad your suit.” She throws her head back and laughs, slipping the dress off and showing us that she is wearing a one piece. “Traitor,” I say, and then I spend the next hour in the pool, pretending to be carefree except the heaviness of Viktor is weighing in.
Chapter Nine
Viktor
“Hey, nice to see you again,” Zara says as soon as Zoe walks away from me, but I can still feel her in my arms. She wasn’t even looking where she was going. She just had a head-on collision and then she looked up, and even though I couldn’t see her eyes, I knew she must have been shocked it was me. I tried to apologize, but she wouldn’t let me and shrugged it off.
“It’s great seeing you again,” I answer Zara, and then I spot Evan coming over. He stopped to talk to me on his way to get his wife a drink. When I walked into the yard two hours ago, the last thing I expected was a circus. I thought it would be a low-key affair, but I should have known that Matthew didn’t know what low-key meant.
“Here you go, sweetheart. I got you a water bottle,” Evan says, handing her the bottle, then going to stand next to her. “How long have you been here?”
“A while,” I answer honestly, and then my eyes go back to the pool. I spot Zoe with her hair tied up on the top of her head while she talks to Max’s little girl. When she pulled her dress off, I thought my mouth would hit the floor. Don’t get me wrong, I knew she had a smoking body, but what I didn’t know is that everything is defined and toned. Her ass is hands down the best ass I’ve ever seen on a woman. “He told me to be here at ten. I figured getting here a bit later would be good.”
“There she is,” a man says and when I look up, he comes to hug Zara and kisses her head. He turns to Evan and gives him a side hug. “We haven’t met yet,” he says, but he doesn’t need to tell anyone who he is. “I’m Cooper.”
I try to stay cool and not get tongue-tied. I mean, if you play hockey, you know who Cooper Stone is. Every year, you go out on that ice and try to beat or reach one of his records. Fuck, I think I have a jersey of when I was in school with his number on it. “It’s nice to meet you, sir,” I say and then hear Evan laugh.
“Cooper is fine,” he says, smiling and shaking my hand. “You must be Viktor.”
“I am.” I nod at him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’ve heard some good things,” he says, and then he turns back and starts talking to Zara. “What’s wrong with Zoe?” he asks. Looking back at the pool, I see that she’s standing in the pool with the water up to her waist talking to some guy who I don’t know stands there with his perfectly coiffed haircut and wearing shades. He looks like he’s a model.
“She got trashed last night,” Zara says, laughing. “Karrie, Allison, and Vivienne were all over the wine bottles last night.”
“Allison!” Cooper yells, and she looks up from the chair where she’s sitting. Max looks up from beside her. Her face looks just a touch better than Zoe, but she also has her glasses on.
“I thought you said you woke up with a migraine?” he asks her, and she smirks and looks down. “Incredible that she lied to me.”
“It’s okay, Pops,” Zara says to him. “I can be your favorite now.”
“No way in hell,” a male voice responds. I look behind Cooper, and it’s like I’m looking at twins. Justin is a touch bigger than his father in height, and he is also bigger in size. His eyes are a light blue exactly like his sisters.
“Well, well, well, look at what the cat dragged in,” Zara says. “The prodigal son.”
“Justin,” Cooper says, and now I know that’s Justin Stone who was drafted last year first overall for Edmonton. He gives Cooper a hug. “You know your mother stayed up all night.”
“I told her not to, Dad,” Justin says and then walks over to Zara. “Hey, preggo,” then nodding at Evan. “Where is the yang to the yin?”
“You are so lame,” Zara says loudly at her mother who is across the yard. “Mom, look who it is? The sly one!”
Justin looks at Zara. “For once, can you not bust my balls? I’m nineteen, and I don’t even live at home.”
“Interesting, since I saw Mom washing your laundry last night,” Zara says. She doesn’t say anything else because their mom comes up to him with a scowl on her face.
“
I told you to text me your plans,” she tells him as soon as she’s close enough.
I lean over to Evan, asking him, “Is it always like this?” I’m taking it all in. This whole family dynamic.
“No,” he says. “You should be here at Christmas. It’s a madhouse.”
“Oh my God, what is that on your neck?” Zara shrieks. Walking over to Justin, she moves his collar away to reveal a huge hickey.
He moves away from her. “Can you fuck off?” He looks at her. “You are so lucky you are with child or I would have you over my shoulder and toss you in the pool.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Dude, you wouldn’t lay a finger on her,” Evan says.
“Hey, buddy,” Matthew says, coming over to us and shaking Justin’s hand and giving him a side hug. “Good to see you.”
“You are six hours late,” Allison says, joining them. Max stands behind her, holding her shoulders in his hands. “Is that a hickey?”
“No way. Where?” Matthew says and then sees it. “You dog,” he says, pushing Justin away with a beaming smile.
“Let me get this straight,” Zoe says, walking to us as she wraps a towel around herself. “He comes home after a night with a bunny, and it’s all okay.” She looks at her father and then at Matthew. “But if I do it”—she points at herself—“it’s the end of the world?”
“Zoe,” Cooper starts and then looks down at his wife who just crosses her arms over her chest. “I just don’t want you to be put in that situation.” He tries to be diplomatic about it, but there is no turning it around because it’s borderline sexist.
“Yeah, and you’re a girl,” Matthew finally says. “Not okay. Never okay. It’s bad enough that one is pregnant.”
“By my husband,” Zara says, and then the whole group starts talking at the same time.
I walk away from them and go to the side table, grabbing a water bottle, and then I’m cornered by the crazy French lady, Vivienne. “They are nuts, aren’t they?” she says, getting close to me. “So how do you like the city?”
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