Page 51 of Tripped Up

“You two are trouble,” he mutters.

“Ooh, you’re in trouble,” Henry taunts. “Spank me, Daddy.”

“Fuck off,” Wyatt snaps, then places the back of his hand on my forehead. “You feeling better, Els?”

I nod, but it comes out wobbly. “I think so.”

But the dark is closing in on me, and it’s getting harder to keep my eyes open. I blink a few times.

Wyatt leans down and kisses my forehead. I know he does. I’m not making it up.

Because the next thing I know, the darkness overtakes me.

eighteen

Wyatt

“You’re fucked,” Henry says.

“I know.”

“No, I mean, you’re really fucked.”

“I know. Fuck off.” I glare at him as we lace up our skates for practice.

“Does she even know you’re in love with her?”

“I’m not in love with her,” I say, not meeting his eyes.

Except I’m well and truly aware it’s a lie.

I love Elsy Alexander. And she… tolerates me.

Henry fixes me with a look. “I don’t care if you’re lying to me, but at least be honest with her,” he snaps. “She doesn’t deserve to be jerked around.”

Sagging onto the bench, I rub my hands over my face. “That’s not what’s happening here.”

“Look, I… like her,” he finally says. His voice is pained, like he doesn’t want to admit it.

My eyebrows fly up. “Excuse me?”

Maybe all those jokes about threesomes are getting to him. I’m still not interested in sharing Elsy—with anyone, and especially not with a teammate. Henry might be a playboy, and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as everyone is happy, but I’m not about to blur the lines.

Elsy’s mine. End of story.

“I’m not trying to step in on your girl,” he’s quick to add. “I’m just saying, I like having her around. She’s cool. If you two get together for real and have lots of little blond-haired babies, I’ll be your biggest supporter.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

But somehow, the thought of Elsy and me having kids isn’t as terror-inducing as I expected. I’ve never given much thought to having kids before. I figured I’d get around to it eventually. Maybe after I retire. I’m thirty-two. Most guys my age are coasting to the end of their careers. The majority of them are already married and have families.

I’m married to hockey. That’s how it’s always been.

With Elsy, though… I’m starting to think I can have both her and hockey. Maybe. Possibly.

I want both. I don’t know how I can have it, though.

She and Bex slept off their hangovers in the lounge. It’s not the first time it’s happened, though usually it’s a player and not our friends and family. Jabari, one of the trainers, found a few blankets for them, and when they woke up, the team doctor even gave them IVs to combat the dehydration.