21. Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

A few weeks have passed since the incident at the rink, and the guys haven't left me alone once. I'm either at the common house or my apartment with guards posted outside. Though, I don't mind having Dean and Mac all to myself, which is probably a bad thing, considering we shouldn't be flirting with the idea of a relationship.

I haven't seen a note from my stalker since, which probably means they are no longer being sent or the guys find them before I do. Either way, I'm glad. The stress of what happened still hasn't left my body, and it has me lashing out.

I throw my hands in the air as desperation, stress, and the general feeling of being overwhelmed consume me, and I yell, "I can't take this!"

Mac and Dean jump up from their seats on the couch in my living room with worry in their eyes. Mac holds his hands up in a placating gesture as he says softly, "What's wrong?"

My eyes burn as tears build, and I gesture around me wildly. "I feel confined and claustrophobic!"

Dean looks to Mac before walking around the couch to me. "What can we do to help?"

"I don't know!" I scream.

He instantly wraps me in his arms, locking me in tight. I go to fight, but a sense of calm washes over my body as I'm wrapped in his warm scent. I melt in his arms as I continue to cry. "I'm sorry."

He holds me close as he whispers, "Nothing to be sorry about, Ice Princess."

I feel another warm body behind me, enveloping me in the smells of Mac and Dean. Like a campfire on a snowy night.

"Breath with me, Chérie. In. Out," Mac says from behind me.

I do as he says, inhaling fire and ice. It's a few minutes before my tears dry, and Dean loosens his hold on me, so I can wrap my arms around him. My grip tightens in his hoodie as I continue to take in deep breaths.

"Bien?" Mac whispers.

"Yes," I whisper back, refusing to let go of Dean.

Dean's chest rumbles as he asks, "Why don't we go out for a bit?"

I groan. "We can't go out just the two of us."

Mac chuckles. "No date then?"

I twist enough to see Mac. "You know we can't be seen together like that. We aren't dating, and I don't want rumors to start."

Dean gives me a squeeze before releasing me. "Well, it can be a date to us. No one else needs to know."

I go to argue, but he holds up a finger and pulls out his phone. He looks down, scrolling, before pressing a button and putting the phone to his ear. I arch a brow in question, and he smirks. "Hey. Do you and Taz want to come hang out with the three of us? Liz needs to get out of the house."

I can't hear what's happening on the other side but Dean chuckles. "Yeah. She doesn't want people to think we are dating." My cheeks heat as he laughs at whatever Vicy, I assume, says.

"I know. Mac and I are trying, but you know how stubborn she is. Do you want to meet up at the plaza, and we can grab lunch?" He hums. "Sounds good. See you in thirty."

He hangs up with a grin before leaning forward to steal a kiss. I yelp in surprise when he jumps up and heads down the hall. "Let's get ready, Ice Princess. We have places to be."

Mac leans in behind me to press a kiss to my cheek. His lips caress my ear as he whispers, "We are yours whether you want us or not. We will wait for you to be ours, Chérie."

He pulls away and follows Dean to get ready, leaving me speechless. I press my finger to my cheek before moving it to my lips. A small smile pulls at my lips. Little do they know, I want to be theirs more than anything else, but the rational side of me remembers I need to protect my job before I fall down that rabbit hole. So I will cherish this time with them for as long as I can.

Reality is always harsher than the dreams we fight to bring to life. These guys are slowly slipping into my dreams for my future. The question is, will I fight for them as hard as I fought to get back out on the ice?

When we meet up with Taz and Vicy, they waste no time wrapping me in hugs. I laugh as they squish me between them in greeting. "Guys, you're going to smash me."

Taz smirks as he pulls away. "Like we could do that to you," he says with a wink.

I swat him with a huff of laughter. "Not what I meant, and you know it."

Vicy releases me before throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Well, where are we headed?"

Since this is a spur of the moment thing, I shrug. "Didn't have a plan in mind."

Taz looks around before nodding. "Are you hungry yet?"

I shake my head. "Not really."

He nods and grabs my hand to drag me along the sidewalk. "The bookstore it is."

"Bookstore?" I ask with a smirk.

He nods, looking over his shoulder. "You and Vicy can look at the manga section. Then I figure you can get a few of those romance books I've seen you try to hide," he teases with a wink.

I roll my eyes, but the blush creeping across my cheeks doesn't hide the embarrassment I feel, knowing he found my guilty pleasure. My attention is jerked to a few girls giggling as they stare at our group. My brows furrow when one of them points at me, then whispers to her friends.

As we pass them, I hear her whisper loudly, "Puck bunny incoming."

Vicy and Taz both stiffen at her words and jerk to a stop. I give Taz's hand a squeeze. "It's fine."

Vicy moves his arm from around my shoulder, and I look up to find his eyes narrowed on the girls. "Do you have something to share?" he asks coolly.

The girl who made the comment shakes her head with wide eyes. "No, not at all."

Taz releases my hand and crosses his arms. "I believe she does, brother. If I heard her correctly, she said ‘puck bunny incoming'. Which is a bit forward considering she has no idea who this woman is."

"Guys, it's fine," I say, trying to de-escalate the situation.

Vicy keeps talking, pretending he didn't hear me. "You're right, they don't know who she is. Maybe we should do introductions?"

Taz and Vicy wrap an arm around my shoulders in sync as they say together, "She's our sister."

Vicy arches a brow at the girls. "So maybe you should apologize?"

The girls nod furiously as they stammer, "Sorry, sorry."

"Now, move along," Taz says, waving a hand to shoo them off.

They waste no time and rush off. I bite my lip to keep my laugh at bay, but it bubbles out of me anyways. "Was that really necessary?"

Vicy shrugs as he moves his arm from my shoulders, taking my hand instead. "People should mind their own business."

I have to agree, though, as eyes follow us when Taz grabs my other hand. I know I should probably pull my hands from theirs, but they seem to enjoy dragging me everywhere. They are touchy-feely guys; maybe that's how they show they care.

The moment we walk into the sports section of the store, I know I‘ve lost them. Hockey season is upon us, so the section is mainly filled with hockey gear. They release my hands and rush to the helmets and sticks.

They immediately slap on a helmet and grab the closest stick, and I can't help but laugh. Boys and their toys.

"Prepare yourself, brother!" Vicy says in a posh tone.

Taz grins as he holds his stick out as if it were a sword. "You will be the only one falling this day."

I cover my mouth to quiet the giggles that bubble out of me. Mac and Dean stand beside me with smirks. Mac bumps my shoulder as he whispers, "It's good to see you laugh and smile."

I turn to look up at him with a grin. "Thank you."

He bends, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Anything for you, Chérie."

When I hear Vicy yelp and Taz laugh manically, I jerk around to find Vicy on the floor, Taz's hockey stick held to his throat. Taz grins as he looks over at me. "Did you see? Did you see me win?"

I snort at his excitement. "I saw, Taz."

He puffs out his chest and announces, "I have won this battle for thy lady's honor."

"I didn't realize my honor was in question," I say with a smirk.

He shrugs as Vicy swats the stick away from his neck. "It sounded cool to say."

I hear giggling girls behind me and huff out a sigh, trying to ignore the whispers. I'm successful until I hear, "Guess they are only good for hockey. Doesn't look like they have brain cells for anything else."

That makes my hackles rise, and Dean and Mac each grab one of my hands. Dean squeeze and grunts, "Ignore them, Ice Princess."

I take a deep breath before nodding. It's not worth it. Though my composure falls when I hear another girl snicker. "It's possible they only have one brain cell to share between the two of them."

That's it! No one fucks with my boys. I rip my hands out of Mac and Dean's as I spin to face the girls. They look posh and are wearing way too much makeup to appear natural. I arch a brow, pointing between them as I say, "And I suppose you have more than one brain cell between the four of you?"

Their eyes widen before narrowing on me, mean girl style. One of the girls—who I just know is going to respond with a horrible comeback—opens her mouth, but I interrupt. "Don't FUCK with my boys, or I'll show you how bloody hockey can really be."

They gasp in horror as one of the fake blonde bimbo's squeals, "Bitch!"

I'm sure my grin is deadly as I say, "Proud president of the bitch squad, now move along." Miming a shooing motion, I continue, "Wouldn't want to kill off that one brain cell you share with our company."

The girls rush off, bickering and hissing insults, but I don't care. They don't faze me. I'm suddenly lifted into the air, and I look down to see Taz with a grin on his face. "Damn, Liz!"

Vicy snorts and smirks. "Seems she's fought and won the battle for our honor."

Taz shifts me, so I'm on his shoulder as he chants, "Liz! Liz! Liz!"

I can't help but laugh as the others pick up the chant. Today started out shitty, but it's definitely turned into one of my favorite memories.