Page 6 of Punked By the Playmaker
Cole sat in the tub to my right, giving me a once-over. “You look like shit, man.”
I huffed out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s because I feel like it.”
“Davenport might be running us ragged out on the ice, but that’s not causing the dark circles under your eyes. Everything okay?”
Blowing out a breath, I pressed my fingers into my eye sockets and rubbed. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that the walls are thin at the hotel, and this past week, there’s been a baby in the next room over from mine who, apparently, prefers to scream all night instead of sleeping.”
His eyes widened. “You’re still staying in a hotel?”
I lifted one shoulder. “Hasn’t been much time to find a place with me coming over in the middle of the season.” It certainly didn’t help that I’d shown up right before a ten-day East Coast road trip. I’d spent more time in other cities than in San Diego since the trade.
“If you’re interested, I can send you the contact of the realtor I used when buying my house last year.”
“Upgrade?” I asked.
Most assumed that all professional athletes were millionaires, and while that was the case for some, hockey was the lowest-paid of the four major American sports, and our contracts followed a different structure. All rookies, regardless of talent level, were signed to the same three-year entry-level deal, and after taxes and the amount withheld to support profit sharing between players and the league, you were looking at mid-six figures annually. And if you happened to live in an expensive area—like Southern California in Cole’s case or New England in mine—those dollars didn’t stretch as far. My “starter home” in Hartford had been a modest three-bedroom, and for several years, I’d been forced to rent out the extra rooms to my teammates so the mortgage didn’t eat up a large chunk of my paycheck.
“Divorce,” Cole replied.
Yikes. “Shit, I’m sorry, man.”
He gave me a tight nod, accepting my condolences. “It was over for a long time before we finally called it quits. If I’m being honest with myself, it was doomed from the start. We wanted different things and expected that the other would change their mind.”
“And neither of you did,” I surmised.
“Nope.”
“Aw, fuck. Please tell me you’re not regaling him with tales of the she-devil.” Crew’s voice called from the open doorway.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the nickname he’d given his twin’s ex-wife. “She-devil? Was she really that bad?”
His nose wrinkled in disgust as he used his fingers to list off her negative attributes. “She was self-centered, clingy, jealous, controlling, selfish. Not to mention, a lying, cheating gold digger.”
Damn, she sounded like a piece of work.
Cole let out a weary sigh. “Okay, that’s enough, Crew.”
Glaring at his brother, Crew continued to rant. “Did he tell you he let the woman put tracking software on his phone, so she’d know where he was at all times? That’s how little she trusted him, yethewas the one who came home early to find her blowing the neighbor.And after all that, she had theaudacityto demand half his assets.”
“I said, that’s enough!” Cole shouted, his fist slamming into the water to punctuate his statement.
My eyes volleyed between the two brothers, the air thick with the tension vibrating between them.
Crew shook his head, muttering, “Never would’ve happened if you’d listened to me in the first place.” Then he turned on his heel and left.
Cole’s eyes slid shut, his head dropping back against the edge of the tub. “Sorry about that.”
I gripped the back of my neck. “Uh, yeah. No worries.”
Not sensing that I was beyond uncomfortable after that exchange, he explained, “He never liked Kennedy. At first, I thought it was because he viewed her presence in my life as a threat. We did everything together, including sharing a womb, and he didn’t want to lose the closeness we shared. But the night I told him I was going to marry her, he lost his shit—in hindsight, he had some valid points—and after the worst fight we’d ever had, he outright refused to stand by my side as my best man. Even now, despite how it all fell apart, I’m not sure I’ve ever forgiven him for that.”
I was at a loss. I didn’t know jack shit about relationships, and even less about marriage, so it’s not as if I could sympathize in any meaningful way. So, my best option was to extricate myself from this situation before I made an ass of myself.
“Well, my balls have successfully retreated into my body, so I think I’m done.” Rising to my feet, I shivered when icy rivulets of water cascaded down the grooves created by my muscles.
Cole chuckled. “Yeah, I’m getting to that point myself. A few more minutes will do me good, though.”
Grabbing a towel, I dried off as I headed for the door. “Catch you tomorrow.”
