Chapter Thirty-Three

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Rylan

W e take a nap, then wake up and I fuck Hayes this time. Having a boyfriend is the best. Not just because of all the hot sex, but because it’s Hayes. I’m so damn proud of him and the way he stood up for himself, with both me and The Prick, and how he went to his friends when he needed to talk to someone. Those things aren’t easy for him, but he’s doing his best, and goddamn, I look up to him for it.

We talk a little more about what happened with Malcolm, and I tell him how Mads helped me realize what an idiot I am.

“I’ll have to thank him,” Hayes says, which makes me grin. I love the idea of Hayes and Mads officially meeting, and I’m stoked to meet his friends as well.

We cook dinner together, then eat on the back deck. “Are you sure you’re okay to wait until after the season?” I confirm. “It’s not because of you. It’s just—”

“It’s fine.” He reaches over and places his hand on mine. “Really. I swear. I need to prepare for all the ways this will change my life too.”

“Okay. And if you decide you’re not ready, then we’ll discuss that too.”

“I’ll be ready. You’re my guy, and I don’t want to hide you.” He gives me a shy smile while returning what I said to him earlier.

“Fuck, I love you.” I kiss the corner of his mouth. “And I’m going to take you on a date as soon as it’s possible.”

“Do you love me enough to meet my parents?”

Well, shit. We’re really going there, aren’t we? “Damn straight. When?”

“Right now? I just want to do it. Malcolm never spoke to them, and my mom’s worried I’ll get hurt again. It’s different with us, and I want to show them all the ways it is.”

Jesus, I’ll never be so thankful for a random, out-of-town hookup again. “Let’s do this.” I tug his chair closer, and Hayes pulls out his phone, making a video call.

A woman answers—she looks a little like Hayes, only with sharper features.

“Hayes. Hi. We’re heading out soon, and—oh,” she adds when she sees me.

I give her my most charming grin.

“Mom. Can you grab Dad real quick too?”

“Sure, honey,” she tells him, but her gaze doesn’t leave mine. It very much says, You fuck with my son, and we’re going to have a problem. It’s a look that says how much she loves him even if they don’t have a close relationship or she doesn’t show it in the ways I’m most familiar with. “Philip, can you come here?”

“Coming,” he calls back, and a moment later a gray-haired man pops into view. Hayes definitely looks a lot more like his dad. “The hockey player?” he asks. Apparently, his mom must have told him.

“The one and only,” I reply.

“He’s more than just the hockey player. He’s my boyfriend…my partner…and I’m in love with him.”

Okay, so there’s a small chance I have to hold on to my chair so I don’t float away. I fucking love hearing Hayes talk about me that way. It feels better than I imagine even winning the cup will. “Rylan Pierce. Nice to meet you both. I want you to know I love your son. I would never hurt him. He’s fucking incredible. Shit. Should I say fucking? Goddamn it.”

Hayes laughs. “You’re twenty-six. You can say fucking. But I must admit, it’s fun seeing you be the awkward one for a change.”

I place my hand on his nape and pull him closer. “Baby, I promise you, I’ll make a fool of myself a million more times just for you.”

He laughs and presses a kiss to my lips, before we’re interrupted by his mom clearing her throat. We both freeze, and I’m fairly certain Hayes forgot they’re there too.

My cheeks heat. There’s a first time for everything.

When I make eye contact with his parents, there’s a softness in both their gazes that wasn’t there before. “I’m Philip, and this is Martha.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say again because I’m not sure what else to say.

“So, tell us a little about yourself, Rylan. It’s so lovely to meet the man who has our son so smitten,” Martha says.

“Oh God. Don’t tell him that. It’ll give him a big head,” Hayes teases.

“Actually, I’d like it if you could say it one more time. I like to record these things and play them back for Hayes when he’s giving me a hard time,” I joke, and the four of us laugh.

“Ignore him.”

“Hey, is that any way to talk about the love of your life?” I tease, and the smile Martha gives Philip tells me I just earned some more good-son’s-boyfriend points.

We talk for a while longer, and again, though you can see that the three of them aren’t incredibly close, there’s a lot of love between them.

“We have to head out for the airport soon,” Martha tells us. “But maybe we can do this again? And we’d love to have the two of you out to see us or maybe we can come to LA.”

“You’ve never come here to see me before,” Hayes says. “Well, except when I graduated from college.”

“We haven’t?” Philip asks.

My boyfriend shakes his head.

“We’ll have to change that,” Martha adds. Just like the rest of us, they’re a work in progress. We all are, but somehow, I know, everything is going to be okay.

We end the call, and I immediately pull Hayes to my lap. He comes easily, straddling my thighs, his arms wrapping around my shoulders.

“Of course you had to charm my parents too.”

“Would you rather they hate me?”

“No.” He shakes his head, leans in, and kisses me.

*

The playoffs have been brutal and grueling, but I love every moment of it. Hayes has been sitting with my parents every home game so far. No one has noticed, and I must admit, I love knowing he’s there. Knowing that he’s watching me and cheering for me, wearing a Pierce jersey and everything.

While we’re trying to keep us a secret for now, we’re not totally hiding. Neither of us wants that. I want to share my life with him, and hockey is a huge part of my life. I deserve to have my guy watching me.

And he spoils me after each game even more than he did before. He gets into protective-boyfriend mode and has beef with quite a few hockey players now.

Donovan and Anthony have been to one game with him too. We’ve met quickly, but with the schedule during hockey season, we haven’t gotten to hang out with them. Right now, my head has to be completely in the game.

“Are you ready for tonight?” Hayes crawls behind me on the bed, wrapping his legs around me and peppering kisses on my shoulder. “Game seven of the conference finals.”

If we win, we’re conference champions.

“I’m ready,” I say, and kiss his arm. I turn and push him to his back, leaning over him. “And no matter what happens tonight, or in the Stanley Cup finals, we’re good, okay? You’re my good-luck charm no matter what.”

He smiles up at me, and I know my words are exactly what he needed to hear. “Good pucking luck,” he says, the three words that have become a pregame tradition for us.

“God, I love you.”

“You’re very sappy.”

I grin. “It’s all your fault.” I kiss his smile with mine. “Now let’s go play a hockey game.”

“I think I’ll just watch.”

I chuckle, then push to my feet. I have to go earlier, but Hayes, my parents, Donovan, and Anthony will come later.

I grab the rest of my things and make it to my bedroom door before Hayes says, “Ry?”

“Yeah, baby.”

“I love you too.”