35. BROOKLYN

CHAPTER 35

brOOKLYN

L iv shivers as we walk up to the hotel where the benefit gala is held this year. I paid for valet parking so the exposure to the winter weather was minimal, and I bring her closer against my side as I run my hand up and down her arm. "Cold?" I ask.

"What?" She looks up at me, almost as if she'd forgotten where she was. "No. I just have regrets."

"About me?" I put my free hand on my chest.

"No. About this dress." That's when I notice she wasn't shivering but trying to stretch the material of her dress. "It makes my huge hips look huger. And this little jacket is way too short."

She's talking about the same black dress that made me lose my mind in a store's dressing room. She paired it with some fluffy black jacket that looks equal parts cozy and elegant, but stops right at her waist and highlights precisely the curves that made me think with my pants when I saw her in this dress.

I slide my hand past her arm, sneaking it below the jacket until I find her waist. Liv's breath hitches and she turns to look at me. If she hadn't put so much effort into her makeup I'd be ruining it right now, never mind the fact we're standing in the middle of the hotel lobby. My hand continues its journey lower over the swell of her hip, and it parks right on a spot I now know quickens her pulse.

Dipping my head lower, I run my nose across her warming cheek until I find her ear. I whisper very softly, "Your hips are so perfect I want to bite them. I won't accept any slander." And for emphasis, I give her a little squeeze.

Gasping, she steps all the way out of my embrace and fixes up her pristine clothes. "Brooke, we're in public. You need to behave."

"How can you expect me to behave when I've been resisting you for ages?" I finish the question with a whine and an attempt to grab her. All I get is her hand in mine and I guess I can settle for that.

" Ages , you say when it's only been like nine months since we kissed for the first time." She snorts as she pulls me to follow the signs leading to the event hall. "What about me? Should I be acting like a feral raccoon because I've been resisting you for longer?"

I tug her hand hard and she yelps as her body follows the momentum. The twirl lands her right against my chest and I close my arms around her before she can react. "Yes please," I say, brushing my nose against hers. "I'm finally all yours. Unwrap me like candy."

Her eyes dart around but there's no need, I said those words low and slow, only for her.

"Well, I'm not the one who's busy making hasty arrangements to move across the continent."

I sigh, dropping my forehead against hers. "I'm sorry. But I promise I'm all yours between Christmas and New Years. Should we go somewhere that week? Or… book a hotel room?" I wiggle my eyebrows.

Liv's eyes narrow. "Actually, not a bad idea. "

As I freeze, she easily frees herself from me once again. Only when I realize that she's walking away—because my eyes are absolutely glued to her swaying hips—does my brain kickstart again. I run after her and when I catch up, I ask, "Wait, for real?"

"Mina, hi!" Liv says, completely ignoring my very legit question.

Her friend appears in my field of vision, wearing some red dress that matches the tie Dane's wearing. "Liv, you look absolutely stunning, oh my goodness."

The two girls hug it out and Liv says, "Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Because you could stop traffic."

"Is it because her dress is red?" I ask, which gets me two glares. I turn to Dane. "What?"

He's laughing at me. "Dude, you're such a dipshit. I'm going to miss you."

I put a hand on my chest. "Aww, don't make me cry. You'll ruin my makeup."

"Liv," the other girl says. "Your new boyfriend's hot but he's kind of…"

"Yep." My girlfriend—oh my shishkebab, I'm still not used to the novelty—sidles up against me, her eyes sparkling with affection as they turn to me. "He's something else." Okay, not affection. Amusement.

I drop a kiss on the tip of her nose. "I'll have you know, I'm leaving college with an excellent GPA."

"Sure…"

"For a busy Division I athlete."

"Right." Her teasing stops the second I squeeze her hip again. Clearing her throat, she turns back to her friend. "Anyway, congratulations you two! I heard you became an official couple already."

"What?" I whirl around. Sure enough, Dane's arm is also around Mina's shoulder in a way that is too affectionate for a casual date. "When did this happen and why did I miss it?"

"You were busy being a Division I athlete, trying to come up with ways to get your girl bestie's interest, and eventually also getting called up to the pros." Dane checks a finger for every one of the points. "Anything else?"

My girl bestie shifts in my arms and I feel her eyes boring into my face. "What's this about trying things to get my attention?"

"Traitor." I growl at Dane.

"Oh, look. Let me go say hi to Jamie who I've already said hi to earlier. Let's go, Mina."

The two of them leave while absolutely in stitches. I'm torn between being glad that I won't have to put up with that duo after I'm gone, and also being absolutely bummed about it.

"So?"

I take a deep breath. "Fine, I'll confess everything. I might've asked Dane and Jamie for advice to see if I could get out of the friendzone. But despite how he made it sound, it was only one time."

"Ugh, you're so damn cute." Liv lays her head against my chest, both of her arms coming around my waist.

"Cute? Me?" I scoff against her hair. "Sexy, yes. Irresistible for sure. I've even been told to drop hockey and pursue modeling. Maybe Hollywood."

She lifts her head to place her chin against the lapel of my tuxedo jacket. "All that plus cute. Sweet. Adorable. Like a cuddly teddy bear."

I hum from deep in my throat, recognizing those as the fighting words they are. I'm happy to let her think they're flying over my head, and I'm making a little retaliation plan when I get interrupted.

"Didn't think I'd see you at this place." It turns out to be none other than Kyle Warren and two of his senior goons .

I probably look like I'm sucking a lemon but it's just confusion. "What?"

"Yeah, thought you were too important for these things now," one of the other says.

"Besides," adds the third guy. "It's not like it matters to you anymore if we get more funds from boosters or whatever."

Liv tenses and before she gives them the spectacular verbal lashing I can feel gathering in her chest, I just say, "Of course I care. I'm still the captain until Dane takes over, and if you have any issues about that you should take it up with Coach Green."

Kyle raises his hands toward his buddies. "Dude, we're not being sarcastic. We really thought it was how you were gonna be."

"Oh." I lean back, blinking down at them because they're shorter. "So… Basically, you thought I was gonna act like Liam?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Liv looks up sharply. "Is that the guy who…"

The guy who caused our rift only to screw with my head? "Yep." I cringe.

One of the other seniors says, "I heard Liam got kicked off his pro team for slacking off."

"But you're not like that, huh?" Kyle does something unexpected: he bumps his fist on my shoulder all buddy-buddy like. "You made us play hard during your captaincy and now here you are, still giving a damn even though you have a foot and three quarters out the door."

"That's my boyfriend, all right," Liv says in a proud voice.

My chest swells with something bubbly. I nuzzle her hair to whisper in her ear. "I like it when you're proud of me."

She digs her elbow against my ribs.

"Anyway. Congratulations and… thanks?" Kyle cringes, red tinging his cheeks and I don't know if it's because it was ha rd to say that, or because of how obvious it is that Liv and I are this close to tearing each others' clothes off.

I drop my arm from around Liv to offer my hand. "Thanks, man. I'll still be rooting for the Bolts to the end." I end up shaking hands with all of them before they move on to attack the buffet table.

I pull at my shirt collar. "Well, that was something."

"Why do you look so surprised?" Liv tilts her head, her eyes seeing right through my soul. "Did you really think you weren't leaving a mark?"

"I—uh. Yeah. Maybe." I shrug. "It's bittersweet as hell. I'm not leaving any records or big legacy like your brother or Max."

"The news article announcing your departure from the Bolts said you're the shortest tenured captain in the organization so far. That's a record." She chuckles as I turn even more sour, but everything's okay again when she takes me by the hand. "But seriously, as you can see, more people like you and want you to succeed than you think."

"I'm just not used to it, I guess," I say, trailing behind her on the way to the food table. There's a line, of course. "My own dad hasn't even called me after the whole…" I told her everything about that conversation a few days ago, so I don't need to go into detail for her to know what I mean.

She shifts her hand to slide her fingers between mine, squeezing tight. "Maybe this time it's because he doesn't know how. Haven't you thought about reaching out yourself?"

I have. A lot. But maybe I'm the one who doesn't know how. This isn't even like when I was trying to reach out to Olivia again after a year and a half friendship hiatus. This is worse. The last time I had an actual conversation with my dad was… I don't know, sometime before he met his current wife?

Before I can find a way to voice this, someone cuts in line for the buffet right before us. But it's not anyone trying to get to the food first. Instead, a blur tackles my girlfriend.

"You look so gorgeous!" it screams. "And I told you he was putty for you!"

Liv's face is smushed into the hug. "Uhh…"

"Liv's the gorgeous one and I'm the putty? Sounds about right," I jest.

Finally, the two girls tear themselves apart and the newcomer gives me the time of day. It turns out to be Dee Meyer from the Thunder Strikes.

"You guys make such a cute couple. And about damn time." Dee shakes her head as if she couldn't believe how long it took us to get our heads out of our asses. Meanwhile, I snap my fingers because she's preaching to the choir. She offers a sharky smile. "But anyway, Tatum. Don't get complacent now that you think Liv is all yours. We may go to parties and other places where tons of hot guys will drool over us."

Liv presses her lips for a moment. "What are you doing?"

"She's trying to see if I get uncomfortable or jealous." I fold my arms. "And I sure am. You think I don't know Liv's hotter than the sun and that there are better guys out there?"

She glances at Liv. "He's sharper than he looks."

"Not really, I'm just honest." I pluck Liv from her hold and bring her back toward me. "I know I have to work hard to make this a success."

"As long as you know… We'll be rooting for Liv, and since she seems to want you, I guess that means we'll be rooting for you too." Dee sticks her tongue out at me before waving her fingers and heading back to wherever she came from.

"My friends don't hate you, if that's what you're wondering," Liv says once they're gone.

"I know. I'm glad they'll look out for you when I'm gone."

She sucks her lower lip in to bite it and keeps her attention on the buffet. Aside from pressing logistics about my impending move, we haven't talked very much about what life is going to be like afterward. This is one of those cases where it's easier to go with the flow than to think too hard about things, which is more my area of expertise than Liv's. I raise her hand and press my lips on the palm, before it's our turn to grab plates.

It takes us longer than everyone else to peruse the offerings on the table. Each dish only has a little card listing the main ingredients but not all the details. We end up having to find someone from the catering staff to get enough information for Liv to select a few tiny tarts, a handful of fries, and a salad.

"Hold." I demand once she serves herself. I swap out plates so I can comb through her salad with my fork. Then I swap again. "Coast clear."

"Roger that, captain." She spears a forkful of fries. "But I brought an EpiPen just in case."

"Where?" I roam my eyes up and down her frame. Her clingy dress has no pockets, and I don't expect any in her little jacket.

"Oh." She facepalms with the hand carrying the fork. "In my clutch. But I left it in your car."

I squeeze my jaw. "Liv, that's no bueno. Take my plate, I'll go get your purse."

"It's okay. The caterer just said?—"

"But just in case. Let's?—"

"Tatum!" We both suck in air as Coach Green heads over, two men in tow. I don't know who they are but I recognize the expensive cut in their suits. These are either boosters—St. Cloud alumni with pockets deep enough that they get buildings named after them—or sponsors from some wealthy organization.

I almost forgot this is actually what we came here for.

Shifting my plate to my left hand, I offer my right to Coach for a handshake. "Coach, great to see you. "

"Right back at you, son. Thank you for dropping by when we know you must be busy with the move." He frees his hand to point at the other two. "These are my friends Lenny Farrow and Maurice Beaumont."

I squint. The names ring a bell, even if the faces don't.

"They're my good friends from when we played in the NHL a decade ago," Coach finishes saying, giving me a look that clearly says play nice or else .

Oh. This is a third category I hadn't considered.

"And you're Bryce Tatum's kid, right?" One of them shakes his head. "We played against him back when. Real pain in the ass."

Yeah, I guess that's where I got it from. It's also why their names were familiar. Either Dad must've mentioned them, or I simply heard them when I used to watch his games growing up. But like most of my childhood, I put any knowledge of them in a vault in my mind.

I wonder if Coach's a bit tipsy because he says, "Brooklyn here isn't just the Bryce Tatum's kid. He's the Bolts player who has been called up to the pros the earliest, that's how good he is."

Mr. Beaumont whistles. "Now, that's a feat not even your father achieved."

I hope they can't see the heat creeping up my face. "I, well—" A tug behind me makes me turn. Liv's looking at me funny. "Oh, where are my manners. This is Olivia Rodriguez, my girlfriend." I push her gently by the small of her back.

"Lovely to meet an even lovelier young lady," Mr. Farrow says.

Liv shakes his hand but her attention stays on me as she clears her throat. And again.

Every fiber of my being focuses on her.

She's working her mouth, running her tongue against her palate. Like it's itchy. And she's not saying a single damn thing .

Sucking air, I push my plate onto Beaumont's hands because he's closest, before taking Liv's plate and dumping it on top of mine. "Sorry, sorry. I think my girlfriend's having an allergic reaction." I hold her face. There's no swelling yet but she's paler than before. Not even the makeup can hide that. "How bad is it from one to ten?"

"Two," she wheezes out. "But changing fast."

"Shit."

I don't care if we're making a scene. I bend down to pick her up in my arms. She grabs tight onto my neck. I don't even have time to apologize again before I'm bolting out of the event hall.