Page 127 of Game Misconduct

I glance back into the apartment. Nick and Elsy are whispering in the corner, and I wait for the jealousy to hit, but… there is none.

Luke and I have the same sort of friendship as Nick and Elsy. It would be hypocritical of me to complain or object. We love each other, we support each other unconditionally, and everyone respects our relationships’ boundaries.

My brother crosses the room to get to us, and I grin at him. We’ve grown closer than ever since he and Elsy got together. We’re finally friends.

I have my big brother back. The guy who looked out for me all my childhood, the one who supported me when nobody else cared.

“You ready for tomorrow?” Wyatt asks Luke.

“I was born ready,” my bestie replies with a smug smirk.

“Okay, sure,” I laugh.

Luke pokes me in the side, and I giggle, twitching away from him.

Wyatt looks between us, then back at Nick, who’s still chatting with Elsy and now Audrey. My fiancé’s attention isn’t on them, though; he’s watching me, a faint smile on his face.

“You two are good?” my brother asks, and I know he isn’t talking about me and Luke.

Things are getting better between him and Wyatt. When my brother came for another road trip, the three of us went to dinner again, and they almost smiled at each other!

It helped that I bribed Nick with a blowjob, and Wyatt with chocolate cake. And magically, they were able to put aside their differences and get along for two hours!

And eventually, they’ll be working together. They’ve agreed to do a podcast. Now it’s a matter of figuring out logistics. Do they wait until they’re both done playing, or start now?

“We’re really good. Better than ever.”

“Good.” Wyatt reaches out and squeezes my upper arm, his hand landing right below Luke’s slung across my shoulder.

The engagement ring on my finger still feels foreign. I keep forgetting I’m wearing it, and I keep banging it into things. But whenever I take it off—to shower or do the dishes—I feel naked without it.

It’s a piece of me now. Just like Nick’s permanently wedged himself into my heart, his ring on my finger is a tangible reminder of his devotion to me.

Never, not once, have I doubted the depths of his feelings. Never, not once, have I felt like I’m not a priority. I know hockey will always come first; he’s contracted to play. But he’s always quick to reassure me I’m his priority. Not just with words, although he verbalizes it plenty. No, he shows me. Every single day, he reminds me my happiness is important to him.

Whether it’s fresh flowers delivered to my office, or a perfectly doctored cup of cold brew, or a single square of raw cookie dough delivered to me in bed for a postcoital snack, Nick proves to me that my wants and needs are important to him, too.

I’m still working on reciprocating. I’ve never had a real relationship before, and it’s taken some practice to realize I have to accommodate someone else in my life. Sometimes I forget it’s not all about me anymore; I have to consider his thoughts and feelings, too.

And it seems so ridiculous that I’d struggle with this concept, especially when he takes to it so readily, but I’ve been single and independent for so long, it’s taken a lot of work to lean on someone else. To open up. To allow myself to depend on someone, and trust them to take care of me when I fall.

Because I will fall. I’ll stumble and misstep; we all do. It’s how we pick up the pieces and move on that’s the hallmark of growth.

“How’s the baby making going?” Luke asks Wyatt.

My brother grimaces. “Let’s not talk about that.”

“Why? B knows you’ve had sex.” He snickers. “Are we supposed to pretend we’re not all adults here?”

“It’s not going well,” Wyatt says, voice hushed. He glances back at Elsy, still deep in conversation with Audrey. “It’s just bad news after bad news, and it’s really starting to weigh on her. Hell, it’s weighing on me.”

“Wy…”

He shakes his head. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m dealing with it.”

Luke clucks his tongue. “Should we not talk about it?”

“Don’t isolate,” I add. “We’re here for you. We love you—both of you. Family is whatever you want it to be.”