29. Fallon

Fallon

"Holy shit!"

" Don't swear around the baby!" Chloe snaps.

"Okay, I gotta admit, Fal," Joey says, pushing between Chloe and Cassidy into the box. "This is pretty nice."

All around us, the arena is jumping with excited fans. The smell of nachos and hot dogs presses in, and it's intoxicating. June is strapped to my chest, a pair of headphones on, and clapping her hands gleefully

"I thought you weren't a hockey fan, babe," Chloe says, circling around and pressing a kiss to his cheek. They're all decked out in Vipers merch, courtesy of Brett, who left them each a gift card at The Viper's Den gear shop.

Even Ainsley is wearing a black-out jersey, and though she's looking around with a slightly wrinkled nose, I can tell there's a part of her that likes it. Gerald looks delighted, and Randall is chatting with an elderly man on the other side of the box.

"Are we keeping an eye on that?" Chloe asks, glancing at Randall. "Could this be a clue?"

"He's probably just making conversation," Joey says, rolling his eyes.

" Or ," Chloe says, voice low, "Randall is part of a secret spy network, and that man is a Russian contact giving us information about the USSR."

"I don't think the USSR is still a thing," I say.

"It's definitely not a thing," Cassidy confirms.

"Fallon! Hi!" someone calls out, and everyone turns to see Ellie, with a toddling Clementine at her side, wearing the cutest little Vipers jersey.

"Guys," I say, gesturing to her and Lola, who's following on her heels, her own baby in hand. "This is Ellie and Lola, they're with guys on the team, too."

Saying it makes a thrill of awareness run through me. I'm with a hockey player—and not just in a fake relationship. I glance at my friends, the anticipation of telling them about it making my stomach tight. Not even Chloe knows about what Brett and I talked about last night.

" So nice to meet you all," Lola greets, pushing bubblegum pink curls back from her face. "Devon said Brett set aside a bunch of box tickets. I thought he might finally be bringing his own family here for a game."

Remembering the interaction with his brother, I cringe, wondering how much his teammates know about his family.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and Vipers fans everywhere, please get up out of your seats!"

We all move to the edge of the box, looking out over the rink as the players come skating out. The announcer lists their names and numbers, and we all collectively hold our breath, waiting for Brett to come out.

Lola cheers when Devon skates out, and he stops, looking up and nodding at her. Lola takes their baby's hand and lifts it, waving back to him.

"He's so cute," Chloe coos, when the baby reaches out to her. "What's his name?"

"Noah," Lola says, smiling softly down at the baby. I look at my own and feel a sense of camaraderie, of belonging. There's something about belonging to so many things at once—the Vipers fan base, my friend group, and this little group of mothers and kids, all watching their family play the game.

And then, Brett skates out onto the ice.

"…Brett Ratcliffe!"

When he comes out, he's looking around, his face lighting up when he spots me and my friends in the box. He lifts his hand to his mouth, kisses it, and holds it up to me. Randall blows him a kiss back before I can do anything else, and Brett pretends to catch it and put it in his pocket.

"Oh my god!" Ellie laughs, glancing at us. "You know that's going viral, right?"

"Nobody is allowed to say going viral near me for the foreseeable future," Lola groans, but she's still smiling. Someday, I'm going to ask her about what that means, but right now, I'm just focused on Brett, who has started warming up with his team.

Brett carries himself differently from the other players. There's something about the set of his shoulders that's determined, focused, and still loose. He looks like he's having the time of his life out there, skating around, joking with the team. If I was his opponent, it would be infuriating.

The Vipers win the opening face-off and take off down the ice. The play goes on for a while until the Nashville Predators take it back, stealing the puck and bringing it into the Viper's defensive zone.

"Yes! Sammy!" Lola says, startling all of us when Sammy stops the puck and sends it to the other side of the rink. "That backcheck! Devon's been working with him on that. I swear his plus-minus has got to be in the double digits by now."

Chloe gives me a questioning look, and I just shrug.

"She's really into it," Ellie whispers, leaning over. "Research for her book. Just nod and smile at whatever she says."

I laugh at that, and Joey presses his lips together, nodding.

We continue the game like that, with Lola as our little announcer, filling us in on the game's details as we watch.

"Watch Brett here! He's got this sneaky little move where he'll fake a snapshot and then dish it cross-ice. The Preds' D-men keep falling for it."

Brett is so graceful on the ice, and I watch, mesmerized, realizing that, although I'm with a hockey player, I don't actually know how to ice skate. He weaves between the other players, his stick moving quickly side to side as he handles the puck. When one of the Predators players tries to check him, he sidesteps, sending the other man out of control.

When there's a break in the game, the announcers put "Jump" on the stereo, and we all get out of our seats. Randall tries to moonwalk, Chloe and Cassidy take a video together, bouncing so hard the image is jolting around, and little Clementine takes the instructions very seriously, timing her jumps to the music the best she can.

Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I take a picture of all of us, my friends, June and I, and Ellie and Lola, who are laughing at Clementine. Texting the image to Brett, I type a message with it quickly: Found family.

When the game starts again, we all return to watching. The Predators and Vipers are tied, and the Predators are taking the puck down to the other side of the rink.

I have never cared about sports before in my life, but the anxiety filling my body makes me feel faint. It feels like the only thing in the world that matters is the Vipers taking home the win. I glance around the arena at all the older men, hollering at the ice, and wonder if this is why so many of our male PT patients have high blood pressure.

"Brett is playing so smart tonight," Lola says, "he hasn't been to the penalty box once."

With just a minute left on the clock, Brett steals the puck and takes off down the ice. We all lean forward, and I swear it's like I can hear his skates hitting the ice, each swish of his stick as he rockets toward the goal.

Two defenders close in on him, but they're just not that fast. Everyone holds their breath.

Brett fakes left, spins right, and fires the puck into the top corner of the net.

For a second, it feels like the universe has paused, everyone taking a moment to process what's happened. And then, we're on our feet, cheering, my voice hoarse from it.

Chloe steps forward, and she's saying something, but I can't hear it through the roaring in my head.

"Go!" she cries, smiling and reaching out for June. I let her unclip the harness and Lola gestures for me to follow her. Ellie stays behind with Clementine and Noah.

Lola and I chat excitedly as we near the rink, and a moment later, the players are coming out, sweaty and tall, their hair plastered to their heads. Lola squeals and takes off toward Devon, throwing her arms around him.

When I see Brett, it's like I become a woman possessed.

He's mine, he's mine, he's mine.

It feels too good to be true, but I don't care. I run toward him, launching at the last minute, and never questioning whether or not he'll catch me. His arms wrap around me, and I get my legs around his waist.

"I'm all sweaty," he says, when I pull back and kiss him on the cheek, unable to wipe the grin from my face.

"Hmm," I hum, "when else have I seen you like that?"

He's flushed from the game, but if it's possible, his face gets more red. He tightens his grip on me, eyes darkening.

"Good point," he says, voice low. "We'd better get home. Just let me change."

I giggle as he puts me down, and wander out into the main concourse to find my friends, all mingling. Joey is holding a hot dog in his left hand, but at a distance like it's a dirty diaper.

"This isn't mine," he says. "It's Cassidy's. She asked me to hold it so she could go to the bathroom."

"Don't worry," I laugh, taking June back from Chloe. "I would never compromise your honor, Chef."

When Cassidy comes hurrying up, they're wearing matching looks of relief. Cassidy, most likely, realized her mistake and is just glad Joey didn't throw it in the trash and insist on making her something "actually edible" at home.

"So," Chloe says, raising her eyebrows at me as I strap June to me again. "How was your man?"

"He's not her man," Randall says, appearing out of nowhere and making me jump. "Remember?"

Everyone looks at me, and I swallow nervously.

"Actually…"

Everyone speaks at once.

"Oh my god !"

"No way , Fallon!"

"Does this mean I can have your room?"

"No way, you don't get two rooms. We're keeping it there for Fallon forever."

"Why? She has a whole ass mansion now!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Brett asks, appearing near our group. He must have taken the world's fastest shower, because his hair is damp, and he smells fresh. I can't stop myself from marveling at how cute he looks, and how much bigger he is than the rest of us.

"Hey, great game, man," Joey says, holding his hand out to do a bro-hug with Brett, who gives me a shocked and happy look over Joey's shoulder. By the time the hug is finished, Brett has recomposed his face into being cool and collected.

"Thanks," Brett says, "hope you enjoyed the seats."

"We enjoyed everything," Cassidy gushes, "including the free merch! That was super cool. Right, Ains?"

"Right," Ainsley deadpans, tugging the jersey away from her skin like it might be giving her a rash.

"I'm glad," Brett says. "Fallon's family is my family."

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard," Gerald says, putting a hand to his heart.

Brett blushes a bit, and everyone breaks into chatter about the game, about the arena, and about Cassidy's hot dog, which she's eating sideways, like an ear of corn.

"I got your picture," Brett says, quietly, pulling me into his side. June jostles a little in her sling, and Brett touches his fingers to the top of her head. I watch that little movement, feeling my heart swell.

"Oh," I say, remembering what I sent him. "You did?"

"Yeah," he says, leaning down and kissing my cheek. "I've never had my family here after a game before. It's nice."

When I turn and kiss him as well as I can, without squishing June between us, he kisses me back, making little noises in the back of his throat. When we break apart, we realize the group has gone quiet behind us.

I turn, blushing, as Cassidy and Chloe make wide eyes at me, and Gerald pretends not to have seen anything.

"Okay," Joey says, clapping his hands together, then clapping a hand on Brett's shoulder. "Byte-Sized, anybody?"