Page 100 of The Recovery Coach
Tiffany stared at him, her jaw on the floor.He could see the gears turning in her head, probably trying to figure out if she’d seen Livy on any hockey blogs or gossip columns.She stared out the window.
“I know I said I wasn’t hungry.But you’re buying me a milkshake.This is going to be a long night.”
Hazy knew an order when he heard one.He smiled, already feeling a million pounds lighter after giving Tiffany a non-admission.
They stopped at a drive-thru for milkshakes.She directed him to her apartment, and he parked in the parking garage.They sat in the car and sipped their ice cream while he unloaded all his emotions onto Tiffany.He explained every horrible, hopeless, sappy feeling.After his word vomit she knew more about his relationships with Livy and Lover than anyone else in the world.
Tiffany listened, nodding, smiling, and asking questions where appropriate.She rubbed his back when the words got caught in his throat and tears sprang to his eyes.He didn’t know how he felt about half the shit he told her until it was all out in the universe, straight from his lips.
By the time he finished her fingers were intertwined with his, a comforting touch while he poured his heart out.
“Well, fuck,” she said.“That’s really heavy.”
“Yeah,” his voice came out in a whisper.Talking about feelings was exhausting.
She raised their hands to her lips and placed a kiss on the back of his.“I’m glad we didn’t fuck.”
That pulled a chuckle from Hazy.“The night’s still young.”
Tiffany reclaimed her hand and unlocked her phone screen, showing him the time.“It’s really not.”
“Oh.Sorry I wasted your time tonight,” he apologized.
“Do you feel better?”
“A lot better.”
“Then it wasn’t a waste of my time.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?I was a dick to you.”
“You’re an idiot.This is what friends do.”
He let the declaration sit, unsure what to say.
Tiffany leaned across the console for a quick hug, then opened the car door.He panicked.“Wait!”
She froze.“What?”
“What do I do?”
She looked at him like he was fucking stupid.“You talk to them.”
Hazy wasn’t going to talk to them.If Lover had been home those first couple days after their heart-to-heart, he might have.But the five days left on the Freeze’s road trip gave him too long to think.
He spent the days training.His muscle was returning at a promising rate.The team doctor and Robbie were optimistic he would be able to practice on ice after the February break, much earlier than anticipated.
Facing Livy at home became harder and harder.Acknowledging his feelings made them real, and the more he noticed them, the more they grew.Every touch.Every teasing remark.Every little act of service between them that had once been second nature became agony.
Keeping secrets from his best friends was torture.Livy constantly being on her phone, laughing and smiling at texts and memes from Lover and Jake, didn’t help.
His own phone had been unusually quiet, further proof that they were both slipping through his grasp.He tried to avoid Livy, but that was worse than enduring her presence.Sharing meals, snuggling in the evenings, and talking about their days together had become at once the source of all his pain and the only balm that soothed it.
The day the Freeze returned from their trip, he was full to bursting with nervous energy.He spent more time than his trainer recommended in the gym, trying to bike and lift away the anxiety.
Despite his reservations and the information he’d been keeping from Lover, Hazy still missed him.Being away from him was horrible.He should have been there.Should have been rooming in the suite between Lover and Beanie’s.Should have been winning games with them.
He wasn’t sure whether his injury or his fractured relationships were killing him more.
