Happy Day, Alex and Davis （37）

"What time did you want me to order the food?" Amara asked, stocking the fridge with beers.

"Um, whenever. I think everyone's coming over around 6, so maybe like, right before then?"

"OK, so I think I've got everything covered. Beer's in the fridge, food, plates and shit." She wandered around the kitchen aimlessly, with Ryan eventually putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. Stop stressing. It's gonna be fine," he told her, as she slumped down onto one of the stools.

"I can't help it. I'm so nervous."

"You guys really like each other, right?"

"At this point, I'd say that."

"Then you have nothing to worry about. If he likes you, he's not gonna care."

Amara sighed.

Tonight was the night she was finally going to introduce Jake to the two parts of her life she'd successfully squelched for nearly two months. It was January 16th, and also Ryan's 24th birthday. Having learned his lesson from the Hayes birthday debacle, when Amara asked what he wanted to do, he'd opted for a quiet night at the apartment with some of the guys, some Chel, and some food and beers. She planned and picked up everything, except the cake, which she left in the hands of Ryan's boyfriend.

That's right.

Boyfriend.

Having fought it as hard as he had, there was nothing else Ryan could call Hayes at this point, as nearly everyone knew what was going on between them.

When Ryan had gone home for Christmas, he sat with his mom, Luke, and Shannon at the kitchen table the first night, just drinking, shooting the shit, and catching up. A lot of things had come up during the course of the conversation, and then it happened.

"So, stud. You got a girlfriend out there yet, or you still ‘Bang ‘Em and Bolt Baylor'?" Shannon had asked him.

He felt himself getting nervous, but he figured these were the people, besides Amara and Hayes, with whom he could be the most honest. "Dude, my mom's right there!" he joked, taking a deep breath. "And, uh, actually, I am…seeing someone."

"That's awesome, honey. What's her name?"

Ryan looked at Luke, who gave him a nod. "So, um, well…his name is Tyler, or Hayes, as I call him. And he's…my teammate.

He'd waited for the shocked looks, the disappointed faces, the inappropriate comments, but they hadn't come. Everyone had just started asking questions about how long they'd been dating and what he was like, much to Ryan's pleasant surprise. Although, explaining what Hayes was like to anyone who'd never met him was always a challenge in and of itself.

He'd been getting ready to go to sleep that night when his mom knocked on the door of his childhood bedroom.

"Hey, Mom," he said, opening it for her. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know, about what you said tonight…"

"Are you disappointed in me, Mom?" he interrupted sadly, fighting back tears.

"Oh, Ryan. I've never been disappointed in you a day in my life," she said, hugging him, as he fell apart in her arms.

He pulled away from her after a bit, wiping his eyes. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm so sorry."

"For what, falling in love? Ryan, I'm your mother. You don't think I already knew? All those girls, but somehow, none of them ever made the cut? Listen, take it from me. Life's too short and unpredictable to worry about what anyone else thinks. The only thing I want for my son is for him to be happy. Does this Hayes make you happy?"

He nodded. "Very."

"Then I hope to meet him sometime soon. I love you, Ryan. Not a damn thing could change that."

"Would Dad have said the same?"

"Of course he would have. He loved you more than anything. He'd be so proud of you."

The teammates were surprisingly accepting, as well. Hayes and Ryan had gone on somewhat of a "just wanted to let you know we're dating" locker room tour, starting first with Osi.

"You think I didn't know this? Has been weird shit going on with you two and Nick's hot cousin for long time now. Gay, bi, I don't care. You're happy? All that matters to me."

Kasic and Dalesy acted like they'd solved the final puzzle on Wheel of Fortune and won a trip to Tahiti.

"Fucking, I knew it!" Kasic yelled, punching Dalesy in the arm. "Yo, remember that day we showed up to train and Hayes popped up off the floor with that giant boner?

"Oh my God, yes! I forgot about that boner. Ha! You two? Duh!"

Nick was, of course, supportive, having first made sure Amara was OK with everything and that nothing was being done behind her back.

"Dunny, you'd fuckin' shit yourself if you knew half of what went down between the three of us," Hayes had told him. "But I assure you, she's fine with this. She's…kinda the one that pushed us to go for it. She sniffed it out long before we ever did."

And then?

There was Hastings.

They'd nervously knocked on his office door after practice one afternoon, sat down, and filled him in.

"So, do you two just wake up in the morning and say to yourselves, ‘How can we fuck up Hastings's blood pressure today?' Do you? Is that what you two do?"

They looked at each other, then back at Hastings. "No, Coach, that's not..."

"Do you think I fucking care where either of you is sticking your cock? Knock yourselves out, boys. Have at it. But I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone else: your personal life stays off the ice and it stays out of my fucking locker room. Last thing we need is any more flying chairs. Understood?"

"Yes, Coach."

They'd both walked out, giggling. "That kinda went better than I expected," Ryan said.

"I don't know how he hasn't fuckin' quit yet. For real."

"So, I have a favor to ask you," Amara said, snapping Ryan back to the present.

"Anything."

"As far as he knows, you and Tyler are in a gay relationship."

He feigned shock. "Are we in a gay relationship? So that's why he's always trying to suck my dick." He clapped his hands together and pointed at her. "Mystery solved!"

"Ryan, he doesn't know about anything else. He doesn't know we dated or fucked, he doesn't know I fucked around with Ty, and he doesn't know about the threesome. And that's how I'm gonna need it to stay. You understand?"

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "But I still think it's bad practice to start a relationship by hiding a bunch of key things from the other person."

"Well, thank you, Dr. Phil. You get a boyfriend and all of a sudden you're a self-proclaimed love guru."

"Amara, chill. I'm not gonna say anything."

"I'm gonna go get ready." She got up and headed towards her room, passing by him on the way. She stopped and leaned in, kissing him on the cheek. "Ryan, I'm serious. Please don't fuck this up for me. For once since I came to Connecticut, I'm actually happy."

"I won't," he said softly, hoping he'd hidden the fact that her words felt like a straight kick to the nuts with a steel-toed boot.

"I tried to make you happy, Amara," he said quietly when he heard her door close. "I really did."

???

"You're fucking kidding me, right? You had one job, Ty. One job."

Amara stared at the cake in horror. "Who the hell are Alex and Davis? ‘Happy Day, Alex and Davis'? Did you get the wrong cake?"

Tyler cracked up, bending over and smacking the countertop a few times. "Holy shit," he squeaked. "Your face!"

"What the fuck is this, Ty?"

"Relax. It's from Schitt's Creek. We watch it all the time. He'll get it. You're lucky. It was between this and ‘Congrats, Mafuckas.' Hopin' I made the right call."

Tyler slapped her ass and went to the fridge, grabbing a beer. "I know, I know. I can't slap your ass anymore. Sorry. Old habits."

"Get it out of your system before Jake shows up. And you're getting the same speech your boyfriend got. He doesn't know about…anything. He knows you two are together, and that's it."

"Aww, you didn't tell him about how just a bit ago, you were all, 'Oh, Ty, I'm such a slut for your cock!'? Didn't mention that, babe?"

"Tyler! I'm not kidding. Not a fucking word."

"Hey," he said, hugging her. "I'm not gonna say anything. I wouldn't do somethin' like that to you."

"Promise?"

"Promise. But, um, there is something you should probably be aware of."

"And what's that?"

"Rook ate half an edible."

"I'm sorry? I'm sorry," she laughed. "I thought you just said Ryan ate half an edible right before the party where he's supposed to meet my boyfriend. Tell me I heard you wrong."

Ty shrugged.

"How long ago?"

"‘Bout…" He checked his phone. "Almost an hour ago. Should hit him in the next hour, hour and a half."

Amara looked at the clock.

5:46 p.m.

Fuck.

She threw her hands up. "That's it. You're only job tonight, the only reason you exist on this planet right now is to babysit him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. You understand me?"

Tyler nodded. "I'll do my best. But, um, there's something else you should probably be aware of."

She buried her hands in her face. "Oh God. What now?"

"I, uh, ate the other half." He smiled, waving at her. "I'll probably be fine, but just wanted to forewarn you."

"Tyler Hayes. I'm going to fucking murder you."

???

Things had gone well for a bit. People showed up, and the Chel tournament taking place in the living room was becoming quite the spectacle.

"Boom, motherfucker! That's how it's done! Just like real life, ain't one of you got shit on me!"

"Shut the fuck up, you cocky little bastard."

"Yeah? Your mom didn't seem to mind last night."

"Wait, you fuckin' pole-smoker. Don't you mean my dad?"

"Shit, I'll take ‘em both on at once, you dusty fuckin' queef."

Amara snickered, listening to Tyler run his mouth to Seggy as she straightened up what she imagined it'd have looked like if a pack of ravenous wolves had raided her kitchen. "Fucking hockey players," she muttered, as 20 minutes after a metric shit ton of food had arrived, there was literally nothing left. "How the hell did they rip through all this food already?"

Thankfully, she'd caught Jake before he left.

A: Can you bring 8 pizzas? I'll explain later

J: Seriously?

J: You're lucky you're hot.

As Amara poured herself a glass of wine, taking a quick break, Ryan wandered into the kitchen.

"Hey, stud. How you feelin'?" she asked cautiously.

He stared at her blankly, his eyes barely opened, then busted out giggling. "I can't…I can't feel my arms!"

"Jesus, Ry. Well, look," she said, grabbing one and shaking it, then the other. "They're both right here. Why the hell would you…never mind. Because you're an idiot. That's why."

"Are you mad at me?" he whined, throwing his arms around her and leaning on her, damn near knocking her over. "It's my birthday. You can't be mad at me on my birthday."

"Tyler!" she yelled. "Come get your sloppy boyfriend before I knock him out!"

"Play for me, sweetie," he said, tossing the X-box controller to the chick Osi had brought.

"Wait, I have no idea what I'm doing!" she laughed.

"Figure it out!" he called back to her as he rounded the corner to find Ryan slumping over onto Amara. "Yup. He's fucked up."

"Yeah, no shit. And you?"

"Please, babe. It's gonna take more than half an edible to take me down."

"I'm not fucked up. I just can't feel my arms."

"Yeah, that'd be fucked up, Rook," Tyler said, pulling him off Amara and getting him over to one of the stools at the counter.

Just then, she heard a knock at the door, and she shot them both a death glare, pointing at them. "I watch nothing but murder shows. If you screw this up, I swear to everything holy, no one will ever find either of you. You understand me?"

She opened the door, and there stood who she assumed was Jake, unable to see his face behind the mountain of pizza boxes he was holding. "Can you help me please? My arms are literally on fire."

She grabbed five of them, holding the door open with her foot for him as he walked into the kitchen and set them down on the stovetop. She set hers down on the counter and turned towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in for a quick kiss. "Thank you. You know, I, uh, don't have any money though," she teased, dragging a hand down the front of her chest slowly and licking her lips. "Think we can work out some sort of other method of payment?"

"You're sick," he said, kissing her again. "And I love it."

Before she could even introduce him to the boys, six more giant men rolled through the kitchen and started ransacking the pizza, acknowledging Jake in passing.

"Sup, man?"

"What's good, bro?"

"Good lord. Are you feeding an entire football team?" he joked, watching them load up, grab beers, and disappear back to the living room.

"Sorta. Hockey, actually. So, Jake. This, um…these…" she looked at Ryan and Tyler. "This is my…roommate, Ryan Baylor, and his boyfriend, Tyler Hayes."

"Um, OK. Wow," Jake said, blinking a few times and reaching his hand out to shake Ryan's. "It's nice to meet you, Ryan."

"I'd shake your hand, man, but I did an edible and can't feel my arms."

Tyler took over, shaking Jake's hand. "Don't mind him. It's nice to finally meet you, man. Mar's told us all about you. All good things."

She stared at Tyler, dumbfounded. His entire demeanor and tone had changed, and he'd actually strung together consecutive sentences without dropping a single f-bomb. He winked at her, nudging Ryan and walking him into the living room, leaving the two of them alone.

"You want a glass of wine?" she asked, taking a sip of her own.

"Yeah, why not?" He sat down on the stool where Ryan had just been. "So, he's younger than I expected. Wow."

"Yeah, he's 23, well, 24 now." She handed him the wine glass. "He's a professional hockey player for the Bridgeport Islanders. Ever heard of them?"

"I think so. Minor leagues, right?"

"Yeah, they're the AHL affiliate for the New York Islanders. Fun fact: they used to be called the Soundtigers," she said proudly, amazed at herself for having learned something about hockey. "Tyler and most of the other guys here are part of the team, too. Hence, the need for more pizza. These guys literally never stop eating." She took another sip of her wine. "I know I didn't tell you, but I didn't want you to feel weird about it, with him being so young. It's a long story how I ended up here, but he's a good guy. He and Tyler are…both really good friends of mine. I'm glad you finally got to meet them."

"I'm not gonna lie. It's a little weird, but I mean, whatever." He took a sip of his wine. "An older, hot divorced woman and two young hockey studs? Has all the makings of a horrible porn. Hey," he said, raising his glass to clink hers, "good thing they're gay, or I'd be worried about you with them."

"Yeah," she smiled awkwardly, clinking his glass and chugging the rest of her wine. "Good thing."