AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You really never wear a fuckin’ shirt, do you?” Hayes asked, pushing past him while carrying a couple of wrapped presents. “Not that I’m complainin’ or anything.” He set the presents down on the counter and looked around. “Mar here?”
“Nope. Left with Jake for Turks and Caicos.” Ryan mockingly said Jake’s name.
“That old bitch didn’t even say goodbye to me? Eww. Fuck this, I’m takin’ her present back.”
“She was upset when she left, so that’s probably why.”
Hayes rolled his eyes. “Lemme guess: you two fightin’ again?”
“Not really. I mean, I called her out on something, and she wasn’t trying to hear it. You know how she is. You can’t tell her anything.”
“Hmm. Sounds vaguely familiar,” Hayes joked. “What happened?”
“I just asked if I could meet him real quick, and she said no. You know she hasn’t even told him about either of us?”
“And this somehow surprises you?”
“Kinda, yeah.”
“Rook, come on. You’re not this dumb, man. Put it into perspective. You’re 41, comin’ off a horrible divorce, just puttin’ yourself back out there, and you finally meet someone your own age that you can actually stomach. You gonna bring up the fact that you had flings and a fuckin’ threesome with two well-endowed hockey players in their early 20s? That one fuckin’ railed you senseless while you had the other one’s dick in your mouth? Really think about that shit for a second, man. What dude is stickin’ around after that revelation?”
“I never thought of what I had with her as a fling, Hayes. Not once.”
“Well, Rook.” He shrugged. “Unfortunately, that’s what it was to her, man.”
“Talk about a fucking gut punch.”
“You gotta let her go. Ramara is not gonna happen.” He grabbed Ryan’s hand and dragged him over to the couch. “Now sit down so I can give you your present. I gotta head out early as shit tomorrow morning. Flight’s at 6:00 a.m.”
“Damn. You going to your mom’s?”
“Yup,” he said, grabbing the larger present from the counter and bringing it over to the couch. “Hopefully she won’t be too wasted the whole time.”
Ryan watched Hayes’s face drop. He’d mentioned before that his mom was an alcoholic, but he hadn’t really talked about it that much, so Ryan didn’t push it, figuring he’d open up to him about it when he was ready.
“Anyway, so this,” Hayes said, proudly handing the box to Ryan, “is for you.”
“Wow, I…Hayes, I’m actually…I’m terrified to open this,” Ryan teased.
“Oh, piss off. You’re gonna regret that.” He had a seat next to Ryan as he began to open it.
Ryan pulled back the lid to the box, moved the tissue paper, saw the royal blue, and stopped. “No. Hayes, I can’t…”
“There’s no one else I’d want to have it.”
Ryan looked at him. “Are you sure?”
Hayes nodded. “Absolutely.”
He reached into the box, carefully lifted it out, and held it up: the New York Islanders jersey Hayes had worn in his NHL debut game. He flipped it around, staring at his name and the number 47, which was his assigned number with the big club.
“I had it cleaned ‘cause it fuckin’ reeked like ass. But I wanted you to have it. I think…I know you’re a big part of why I got there this year. Besides, your face was the only one I was lookin’ for in the crowd that night, anyway.”
Ryan put it down on the end table, leaned over to Hayes, and wrapped his arms around him, with Hayes doing the same. “I’ll take good care of it, man.”
“Fuckin’ right you will.”
Ryan pulled away from the hug, but Hayes kept a hold of his hand. Ryan checked the clock on the cable box.
