First Contact （10）

"Hold up, hold up: make way for the man of the hour," Dalesy held his hands out as Ryan walked onto the bus. "This fuckin' guy right here!" The other guys were clapping and cheering for him, and he couldn't wipe the cheesy-ass grin off his face.

Ryan Baylor had just had the game of his life. With his help, the Islanders absolutely destroyed the Phantoms at their own home opener, 5-2. He'd put up two goals, including the game-winner, two assists, he was plus four, he dominated the PK, and he'd annihilated the other guy in his first-ever pro fight. He was named the first star of the game, and literally everyone had complimented him on his hustle, even Hayes.

"Now that is how you fuckin' do it, Rook!" he'd said to him, slapping his ass and shaking his shoulders as he walked into the locker room after the game. "I knew you had it in there somewhere."

He was on a serious high as he made his way through the bus, all the way to the second to last row, until he found what he was looking for. "Mind if I sit?"

Hayes looked up from his phone. "Go for it, stud," he said, patting the seat next to him.

He sat down and checked his messages. There were two: one was from his mom, wishing him luck in his first regular season pro game.

R: Thanks. It went amazing. Will call you tomorrow to fill you in. Love you!

The other was from Amara, asking how the game went.

R: I'm gonna need you to jerk me off before every game. I absolutely fucking killed it tonight. Fill you in later.

He hit send, then realized he had forgotten something.

R: Miss you.

She didn't respond, but he knew she was at work.

"You've got yourself quite the following already, Rook," Hayes said, showing him his phone screen. He had Instagram pulled up and was weeding through the comments under the Islanders' game post. Almost all of them were praising Ryan's performance tonight, and quite a few were comments from girls about how hot he was and if he was single. "Check your DM's. Let's bet: how many thirsty birds in there?"

He opened the app and checked. "Well, what's your guess?" he asked Hayes.

"I'm gonna go with 15."

"Close, 12." He laughed, scrolling. "Holy shit. Literally all of them want to meet up for sex. Every single one. They're not even trying to hide it."

"What did I tell you? Great time to be single, Rook."

He put his phone down and closed his eyes. There may have been 12 women trying to have sex with him, but there was only one he was even remotely interested in at the moment.

"What? You're not gonna set one up for later, slut? The bars should still be open for a minute when we get back. Betcha Osi will hit that shit up with you. Yo, Osi!" Hayes yelled, but Ryan waved him off. "Nah?"

"It's just, I kinda…can't. Right now."

"Ohhh," Hayes said. "That time of the month, eh? You still got a mouth, you know?"

Hayes nudged him, and he nudged him back. "Dick. I just…I kinda have something in the works right now, and I'm curious to see where it goes."

Hayes's eyes got wide, and he punched Ryan's leg. "It's that roommate of yours, isn't it? You two finally bang? About time."

Ryan blushed. "No, we didn't. We hooked up a little last night though. I don't know, man. I really like her, and that like, doesn't happen to me. Ever. And I…don't know why I'm telling you any of this."

"Maybe because that's what friends do, tell each other shit."

"Friends. Right."

"Look: I like you, man. I know you can't stand me…"

"That's not tru…"

"Save it, Rook. She tells me everything. I know you don't like me, but I'm hoping that'll change. What's your problem with me anyway? Secret time: let it fly."

"Fine. You're mouthy, you're cocky, you're nosy, and you're constantly busting my balls." Ryan was shocked at how quickly those words flew out of his mouth. He didn't even have time to think of a good lie.

"OK, the first three are spot on. But I bust your balls because I know you're better than the weak-ass bullshit you've been putting out the past few weeks. Look at tonight. I'd like to think my ball-busting played a role in that."

"Of course you'd like to think that."

Hayes made a face. "What's your real problem with me? Come on, don't hold back. Say it out loud."

Ryan was pretty sure what he was getting at, but he didn't want to bring it up. "That about covers it."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with me and Amara, would it?"

Ryan felt himself getting agitated, but he remembered that he was supposed to make nice. He took a deep breath. "She can be friends with whoever she wants, man."

"Yeah, but you know she wants me, and that pisses you off, doesn't it?"

Ryan stood up, prepared to move his seat, but Hayes grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. "No, stop runnin' from your shit, man. Hash it out with me, quit bottling it up."

"What's there to hash out, Hayes? She wants you. Great. Am I supposed to sit and cry about it?"

"Can I say something? A lot of your problem on the ice, in the locker room, outside the rink, is that you get caught up in your own head. You don't deal with your shit."

"Yeah? Maybe that's just how I am."

"Yeah? Well, I'm a mouthy, cocky, nosy ball-buster. Maybe that's just how I am."

"Fair enough."

"So, you really like her?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Asshole. Of course you like her. What's not to like? She's a little old, but she's the coolest chick I've ever met in my fuckin' life. And what I'm getting at, dick, is that she's into you, too."

"And you'd know this how?"

"Again: we talk. And the only fuckin' thing she ever talks about is some dickbag named Ryan Baylor."

Ryan smirked; he couldn't help it. "Yeah?" he asked quietly.

"She won't shut up about you. If I have to hear about your chiseled fuckin' abs one more time, I'm gonna throw up. She acts like a teenager whenever your name comes up, and she always finds ways to talk about you. I gave up a while ago."

"What do you mean you gave up?"

"So, the night of the party at my place. We were flirting and I came so close to kissing her when we were talking out on the balcony, but I stopped myself. Then when we dragged you back home, I told her I'd stay if she wanted me to. And I would've. I don't cheat, but I was tempted to that night."

"I don't understand. Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I like you and I wanna be honest with you. There is something there with me and her. But if it's gonna be you and her, then it's nothing. You understand what I'm saying to you?"

"Not really."

"Jesus, you're dense, kid. I'm saying you don't have to worry about me with her, OK? I know you do, but you don't have to."

"You honestly want me to believe that you don't want her anymore? You follow her around like a lost puppy."

"I didn't say I didn't want her anymore, Rook. What I said is that if the two of you are, you know, then I won't touch her."

"You have a fucking girlfriend, Hayes. How about maybe that's why you don't touch her?"

"Yeah. I have a girlfriend who I'm pretty sure cheats on me. And who always brings up the fact that I'm not a real hockey player because I haven't made it into the NHL. And who didn't even come when I was laid up in bed after surgery. You know who took care of me? Osi."

"So why the fuck are you even with her? Don't you think you deserve a little better than that?" Ryan asked, the sudden anger in his voice surprising him.

"Amara said the exact same thing." Hayes shrugged and got quiet for a moment. "You believe in karma, Rook?"

"I guess I do. To an extent."

"Well, I've done some of the vilest shit you can imagine. I broke up two marriages, tore apart two whole families by the time I was 16 years old, man. Destroyed them. I have a feeling that life's giving me exactly what I deserve."

"What are you even talking about?"

"That's right, you were in my room with Dalesy's slut and missed that whole conversation."

"Damn, I forgot about that girl," Ryan said. He'd been so drunk he didn't even remember what she looked like, just that she could suck a golf ball through a garden hose.

"Yeah, well my sheets didn't forget, you fuckin' animal. Anyway, I almost didn't even get to play juniors because both times they placed me with a family, my dumb ass hooked up with the moms." He shrugged. "Within days, Rook. Both times. The fuckin' assistantcoach for the Colts had to take me in. My actual mom got so pissed at me. So pissed, threatened to kick me out of my house, pull me from the team, she tried to press charges against both women."

"Why would she get mad at you? Shouldn't they have known better? You were just a kid, Hayes."

"I don't fuckin' know, Rook. I did what I did, and they did what they did. There was no pressure on either side. Just instant attraction that got out of hand very quickly. I can't help it. I fuckin' love older women. It's...a long story. But when I tell you it was a nightmare, it was a fuckin' nightmare."

"Sounds like it." Ryan debated sharing but went for it. "I lost my virginity to the mom of a kid I played against in juniors. Slipped me her hotel room number and rode me like a mechanical bull. I mean, for the like, 13 seconds I lasted. I was 18, and she was 38."

"OK, Rook! That's fuckin' baller shit right there. Anyway, enough about all that noise. So, you said you wanted to see where it goes with her." Hayes stared down at his hands in his lap. "Are you guys like, together?"

"I wanna be. But she doesn't. It's more of a situationship at the moment, as much as I hate that stupid word. She said she can't commit to a relationship. She thinks I'm too young, and she doesn't wanna get hurt again."

"Yo, I can't say I blame her after what she went through, man."

"I don't really know what she's been through. She hasn't opened up to me about it."

"It's fucked up. Like, really fucked up."

"Wait: she's talked to you about it?"

"Yeah. We talk all the time, about everything. I mean, mostly about you, but other stuff, too."

"Son of a bitch," Ryan muttered. "What happened to her?"

Hayes sighed. "Dude, don't tell her I told you this. Amara and Kevin, that's the piece of shit's name, they were like, trying forever to have kids. She really wanted to be a mom, but she could never get pregnant. I guess it was stressing them both out, causing all kinds of fights and shit. Anyway, he ended up knocking up a woman he worked with, and she decided to keep the baby. Mar suspected there was something going on with him and this bitch, too, but he kept telling her there was nothing to worry about and that she was crazy. She actually mailed Amara one of those ultrasound pictures with a note telling her she needed to talk to her husband. That's how she found out."

Ryan put his hand to his heart. "Oh my God."

"Right? Men have a reputation for being the cruel ones. Women are way more vicious, bro."

"I can't believe she never told me."

"I forget how it came up, but she cried a lot. She could barely get through the story. I feel bad for her, man. No one deserves that shit, especially not someone like her."

Ryan picked up his phone and saw that she'd texted him back.

A: Miss you, too. You making nice?

R: We actually just had a long conversation.

A:Proof or it didn't happen.

He turned his camera on and put it on selfie mode. "Yo, get in here. She doesn't believe we're playing nice."

Hayes leaned in, and just when Ryan went to snap the pic, he grabbed his face and kissed him right on his lips, lingering there for a moment. "Dude, what?" Ryan laughed, looking at it.

"That should do it," Hayes said proudly.

Ryan hit send and waited for her response.

A: Oh. My God. Why is this so hot tho?

R: Um, eww. So does this qualify?

A: You'll have to wait and see when you get home.

R: Cocktease.

A: Damn right. I'm leaving work now. No sign of the creep, but I'm Ubering just in case.

R: Good.

Ryan put his phone down and leaned his head back, exhausted. "You know," he said, eyes closed, "you're maybe not as big of a douchebag as I originally thought."

"Aww, Rook. That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." Hayes reached in between them and pulled the armrest up, yawning. Then he leaned in, rested his head on Ryan's shoulder, and closed his eyes.