Back Check (Aces Hockey #4)(76)

 

Tanner stared at him, his mouth falling open.

 

Holy shit.

 

"I don't know what you're asking for," Bomber said. "But you're a top two pairing. I'm a fourth line winger. What the hell are you crying about?"

 

"I'm not crying," Tanner muttered.

 

"You looked like you were going to cry."

 

Yeah, that LeAnn Rimes song had nearly brought fucking tears to his eyes. Now the band was playing another song … Lady Antebellum, "Need You Now." Again, he listened to the words.

 

He needed Katelyn. Whatever happened in his life, he needed her. He didn't know how he could ask her to give up her business and leave Chicago, but maybe they should skate across that bridge when they had to.

 

Yeah, he was drunk.

 

The guys were right. He was being a baby. He was a lucky bastard, playing in the NHL-fuck, it had always been his dream, and here he was pouting because he might end up playing somewhere else. He had a career and he'd be fine. But he couldn't lose Katelyn again.  

 

"Gonna call her," he mumbled, pulling out his new iPhone. "Gotta tell her I'm an idiot."

 

Duper plucked his phone out of his hand.

 

"Hey!" He scowled.

 

"Not now," Duper said. "You can't call her when you're fucked up like this."

 

"I'm fine."

 

"No, you're not."

 

"The song said … I gotta call her."

 

"Trust me, buddy, that's not gonna go well." Rupper slapped his shoulder. "If you call her now, she'll blame it totally on the liquor."

 

"No." He shook his head, but that just made the bar spin in a blur of neon lights. "Need to do it now."

 

"Okay, just listen," Rupper said. "We need a plan. Here's what we'll do."

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 20

 

 

The guys showed up in his hotel room at nine o'clock the next morning, waking him out of a dead, hungover sleep. The bastards had confiscated his key card, so they just let themselves in. Rosser threw himself down next to him, nearly bouncing him right off the bed, rolled over beside him, and flung an arm and a leg over top of him. "Wake up, honey," he said in his ear.

 

"Fuck off." He tried to shove Rosser off him. "M'wake."

 

Rosser laughed and rolled away.

 

He actually didn't feel that bad. When they'd brought him back here last night, they'd made him drink a gallon of water, washing down a couple of painkillers. The scent of coffee and ham had him sniffing the air. "Is that a breakfast sandwich?"

 

"Yeah." Rupper peeled the lid off and set the paper cup, along with the sandwich, on the table beside the bed. "Eat."

 

"Then you gotta shower and brush your teeth, because damn, you stink," Rosser said.

 

"Love you too." Tanner sat up and grabbed the coffee.

 

"Where's your phone?" Army asked, looking around.

 

"No fucking clue," Tanner muttered.

 

"I plugged it in for him last night." Duper gestured over to the desk.

 

"Do you know what you're going to say to Katelyn?" Rosser asked. "Want us to write it out?"

 

"Fuck no." Tanner paused. "Maybe? I don't know what to say."

 

"We'll coach you through it," Duper said.

 

"How do I know you asses know what you're doing?" Tanner demanded.

 

"Dude. We have girlfriends. We're experts on this shit now."

 

Then they all burst out laughing.

 

"Fuck, we're as clueless as you," Army admitted. "Maybe we should call Lovey."

 

"Christ." Tanner sighed. "The whole fucking team is up in my business about this. Don't need more people involved."

 

He devoured the ham and egg sandwich and hit the shower. Yeah, brushing his teeth was definitely needed. He felt nearly normal when he emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his hips. All the guys were sitting, staring at their phones.

 

"Okay." Army looked up. "Sit on the bed and look apologetic."

 

Tanner rolled his eyes but did what he was told. "Should I put a shirt on?"

 

They debated this for some time and finally Tanner sighed, got up and dressed in a pair of sweatpants and T-shirt, then sat again.

 

"Start talking. I'll record you." Army held up Tanner's phone.

 

"This is ridiculous." Tanner rubbed his face. "Maybe I should wait till I get home."

 

"Last night you needed to phone her right away."

 

Yeah. He remembered. He remembered the urgency that had gripped him, the desperate feeling that he had to talk to Katelyn right fucking now, because it might be too late. And they'd already wasted so many years. He was terrified, but unlike last time he and Katelyn had broken up, this time he'd man up. Be fucking brave enough to admit how he felt about her … to her, and to himself. Be brave enough to fight for them.