Chapter Thirty-Four

Justin

JUSTIN SLEPT DURING the time it took them to drive down, and then he was up with the call from security, letting him know his visitors had arrived and were through the gate. Justin went downstairs, hit the garage door button, waited until they pulled in, and closed it. After hugs and greetings, they got down to business. His dad was livid, not quite as pissed as Ethan, but Bethany made a good point that Ethan could stay there, and not a soul would know. That seemed to settle him some.

"It is like Fort Knox," his father agreed. "And all NDAs." He whistled.

"Clearly, I'm not the only one who doesn't want their business out there," Justin said.

"Well, it's not home , but it will have a good resale value," Ethan said as he looked around. "Too fancy, too modern."

Justin agreed it was not their style at all, but the almost complete privacy of Canal Pointe was appealing. You couldn't even see a neighbor for all the trees and landscaping, the long drives, and houses set back off the one-way in and one-way out cul-de-sac.

"I think I could stay here some," Ethan said, perking Justin up.

"Thank God, this sucks," Justin hated being away from Ethan a week at a time and only having barely two days with him. "But this isn't going to be our real home. I love our house. And we have to be aware of the waterside. It isn't secure."

"I agree, but you can't drive six hours a day," Ethan said, and he was right. "Okay, Mom—food and kitchen. Nathan, you, and me—necessities. Justin, unpack your clothes and get everything else set up." Ethan tossed his keys to his mom and held his hand out for Justin's keys.

Justin was hanging his clothes and folding them when his phone rang, and Coach Richardson called.

"Hey, Coach. Yeah, I was just settling in. Sure, come by. I'll unlock the door and let security know. Just come on in."

Justin glanced at his watch, feeling he'd have enough time since everyone had just left. Justin called security to let them know Coach Richardson was approved, and Justin made quick work of his closet. He looked around. The security guys had done him right; everything was plugged in and set. He headed downstairs, unlocked the front door for Coach, and straightened his pathetic chair and table. It was utterly depressing.

Justin went to the back door and unlocked it, heard the alarm tone sound, and walked out on the deck area. He sighed, sat down on the steps, and looked at the empty dock, out at the water, trying to fight his emotions and keep himself in check.

Coach Richardson sat next to him and squeezed his shoulder. "You all right?"

"Not really," Justin admitted.

"It's a nice house; that empty feeling sucks."

"Yep," Justin said and turned at the sound of McReedy's loud voice.

"Are we having a move-in birthday party or what?" McReedy boomed, and Justin's eyes widened at his teammates, who all smiled back at him.

"Fuck." Justin shook his head, and it was a pointless battle as Coach laughed and tugged him up. They were amazing, all of them, and they'd brought beer, lots of beer. McReedy handed him a cold one as a monstrous-sized sheet cake slid onto the counter, followed by a stack of paper plates, utensils, and napkins. And they brought in more shit. Justin shook his head as Holcombe and another defenseman hauled in a new couch. Miller rolled out a rug, and Jones and Hitchins took down his shit TV and put up a new one.

Justin headed out the front door to help and grabbed what was handed to him from the back of a rental truck.

"How in the world did you guys pull this off?" he asked as everyone was doing something.

"It was easy with an entire administrative staff put to task," Coach Richardson said. "And Coach Nellis—he wanted things to be right, so the team picked up the tab for this."

Justin stared as Bethany peeked her head in the garage door, holding grocery bags and taking in the scene. He went to help, and two more teammates headed out to bring the rest in.

Justin sent a text to Ethan to be calm and tell his dad, and then he was back to helping. Bethany cut the cake and lined up plates with large squares for everyone. Justin's dad and Ethan arrived, and they hauled in their purchases. Justin knew Ethan was overwhelmed and trying not to freak out as he shook hands and met people he'd heard of but didn't know.

Justin kept his eye on Ethan, and when he finally met Miller, he felt slightly better at Miller's natural friendliness with Ethan. Completely unaware, Miller shook hands and chatted it up with his biggest supporter. Justin's dad and Bethany met everyone as "Mom and Dad," and no one pried or asked any further questions about their family dynamics.

McReedy hid a bit lip behind his beer and lifted a brow at Justin. Other than that, no one seemed the wiser except Coach Richardson, who shook Ethan's hand and darted his eyes down for only a moment at Ethan's ring finger. He later glanced at Justin and nodded.

Yep, that's who you'll be calling if shit goes sideways .

"Stop." Justin shook his head. "This is a fucking nightmare," he said to McReedy with a pained expression.

"You are shitting your pants right now."

"You think?"

"They don't have a clue."

"Thank fuck," Justin said.

McReedy slowly shook his head. "No, they don't. You've got that shit locked down tight, brother."

Justin sure hoped so, and he shook hands with one of the assistants who'd come to drop off his contracts for the house. She said she'd be back in touch when things quieted down.

"But we're talking later," McReedy said.

"That's fair. Trust and shit," Justin said, repeating McReedy's mantra.

Justin took in Ethan, tall and thin, with his typical backward ball cap, vintage band T-shirt, skinny jeans, and red Chucks. He was so fucking cute, dimple-cheeked and shy, but doing his best as he listened to something Coach was saying to him. Justin almost couldn't take his eyes off him. But he turned to McReedy and got serious.

"Want to meet him?"

"I do," McReedy said, and Justin saw no judgment in his eyes. McReedy gave him a reassuring nod, and Justin crossed the room with him at his side. They waited for Coach to move on, and both stepped in.

"Ethan, I want you to meet Reese McCreedy," Justin said.

Ethan stared at the monstrous man, who grinned back at him. " You are the center."

"That's right. I keep this guy safe," McReedy said.

Ethan slipped his left hand into his jeans pocket as they small-talked. Justin hated seeing Ethan do it, or that he insisted Justin not wear his ring except at home. Justin eventually dragged McReedy away to help with the last of the surprise birthday move-in.

Justin felt better as he looked around a house that didn't feel quite so impersonal. For a quick throw-together in a pinch, whoever had been on shopping duty had done well.

Ethan and Nathan played it cool and slipped out, texting Justin to let them know when everyone left since Ethan was feeling overwhelmed. Bethany also slipped out, and then it was just him and his team, who all decided cake and beer did not mix.

*

JUSTIN HUGGED ETHAN and apologized repeatedly. He'd had no idea his team would do something like that. Ethan was fine though; Nathan had done dad-duty and talked him down after the ambush they'd walked into.

"Your coach knows, Justin," Ethan said, panicked. His hair was a mess as if he'd run his fingers through it a hundred times in the car.

"He does. I had to trust one person so that if something happened—if I got seriously injured—he'd know who to call, and he'd know who matters."

"Oh," Ethan said.

"Oh, and McReedy knows, but he said no one else has a clue. I'm cringing, telling you they think you're my brother."

Ethan laughed. "We look nothing alike."

"I don't know. They also thought Bethany was my mom and married to my dad." Justin rolled his eyes. "They see what they want to, and it worked out fine. You gotta remember, none of them want people in their business either."

"Well, holy shit, look at all this stuff."

"Yeah, you get to rearrange it and make it not look like a hotel lobby though."

"Yeah, but there's some good stuff to work with." Ethan was visibly relaxing as he began to take in everything. "I want to see the back."

"No, you aren't allowed to see that."

"I'm not allowed?"

"Nope. I already know what will happen."

"What?"

"You'll want a boat," Justin teased.

"I have my WAG boat." Ethan's eyes widened. "Oh my God, Justin, we could get a real boat and name it The WAG ."

Justin could only agree. "Come on. I'll be broke after you see the neighbors' boats."

*

THE NEXT MORNING , Justin kissed a sleeping Ethan on the side of his forehead. He then locked up the house and headed for the practice field earlier than usual to meet with McReedy. He hadn't wanted to waste any time with this, putting off this talk or risking losing McReedy's trust. Justin felt slightly guilty for not telling McReedy before, but all he could do was hope he would understand. Justin parked his truck and got his equipment bag out of the back. McReedy's truck was already there.

"Let's take the track," McReedy said as a greeting, and Justin fell in, dreading jogging and talking simultaneously. But McReedy walked instead, and Justin started talking.

"I'm sorry for not telling you, but I hope you understand my reasons. I don't tell anyone. Coach is aware, but that's because I need him to know who to call if I get seriously injured. He's also in on it because I had to be honest with him about some things I needed in my contract. Ethan is why I don't do the media. I have to protect him."

"How'd he get that scar on his face?" McReedy asked and touched his temple.

"That's not my story to tell. I can tell you no one will ever lay a finger on him again."

McReedy nodded. "Y'all are married then? I saw the ring on his finger."

"We are. We've been together for just over a year now. It's not legal, but it's real. Real to us."

"So you met him in college?"

"Yeah. I never saw him coming, man." Justin laughed. "I was a goner, still am. He makes me happy. He loves me, and fuck, I love him so much it hurts."

"Explain this living arrangement, that whole leaving on the weekends."

"We live farther north at our real home. It's a long drive, but now, with this new place, he's thinking about staying here some during the week since it's more private and secure than the apartment was. If he agrees, I'd like you to come over, hang out, and get to know him. But if you're uncomfortable with that, I get it."

McReedy stopped. "I don't have a problem with it. I understand why you didn't tell me. And I know something bad happened to him. I can tell. I won't ask again, but something bad happened to my cousin, and Ethan has the look." McReedy motioned to his eyes. "It's in the eyes. This sadness that never goes away, even when they're happy. She has it too." He swallowed hard. "I'm sorry for whatever it was."

Justin nodded, choked up. "Me too. And for your cousin."

McReedy started walking again. "You bought him the kayak?"

"Yeah, and now he wants a fucking ‘big boy' boat. Know anything about real boats?"

"A bit, probably more than your dumb ass," McReedy teased, having already witnessed Justin's horrible attempt at picking out the right kayak.

"Right. So, I'll put you on the security list."

"You better," McReedy said, rolling his hand, indicating they could stop talking and pick up the pace.

"I thought that would be harder," Justin said, starting to jog.

"You love him; I can tell. Just seeing how you look at him. I get it. As long as he treats you right."

Justin laughed. "He does."

"Good. Secret's safe with me."

Justin bumped fists with McReedy.

*

TWO MONTHS LATER, Justin shook his head as he tied his tie and looked out the back door at The WAG in her slip, gleaming chrome with a white deck and navy-blue bottom. Ethan had fallen in love with the trawler yacht on-site, with its cabin and kitchen, after an entire month of researching used boats with McReedy, yessing or noing ones they'd found. He'd even convinced McReedy to teach him how to operate and maintain it, along with everything boating.

They were also having a dock and slip built to accommodate her at their real home. The plan was to be able to take the boat between the houses when they had the time. Justin didn't care. Ethan was so happy over the boat, his new hobby, a new friend, and there'd been no mention of enrolling in school or boredom. " A year off ," Ethan had said. There'd been no red flags, and while Justin worried about his selfish desires when it came to Ethan, he couldn't deny that Ethan was thriving. He was finding himself again, and for that, Justin would accept that being selfish wasn't always a bad thing.

"You ready?" John asked, and Justin nodded.

"You look good; don't be nervous," Bethany said, and Justin and Ethan both laughed.

"That's the second shirt." Ethan said, telling on him. "Sweated right through the first one."

"Kick ass, son," Nathan said.

"And don't get sacked." Missy hugged him tight.

"They'll all be out of here if you win," Ethan said and coughed.

"Ethan," Justin said as his face went bright red.

"Well." Ethan shrugged.

"Ok, ok, not for parents' ears. We've got our tickets. Give 'em hell," John said.

Justin nodded and checked one more time he had everything. He kissed Ethan in the garage and then got in his truck.

This was it, the dream he'd had since he was seven, in the backyard, throwing the ball with his dad. Justin coughed away the lump of emotions and started his truck.