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“Yeah, why?”
“Um, no reason. He just seems older is all. "
"Hayes has...he's been through a lot. Grew up kinda quick."
Amara frowned. "Well, anyway, I thought maybe I sensed a little bit of tension between him and Ryan.”
“Oh, for sure. There’s gonna be a huge power struggle there. Ryan’s very insecure and Hayes is the dictionary definition of an alpha. Hayes’s mouth gets him into a lot of trouble. Ryan’s just gotta try not to get sucked into it, though it’s gonna be hard for him since he’s easily flustered.” He smirked. “Sorry, I can’t help myself sometimes.”
“Are you kidding? This is amazing. Where the hell were you when I met my ex-husband?” She got up from her stool. “Well, I’m gonna go check on Baylor. Nice talking to you, Rizz.”
“Likewise.”
She grabbed her beer and moseyed into the living room, where it had gotten progressively louder, and the conversation was getting pretty rowdy amongst all the guys. There was also no sign of Ryan, and one of Dalesy’s girls was missing.
“Oh, you wanna go there with me, Hayes? Question my relationship decisions?” Dalesy snickered. “OK, bitch. Who’s the one who got the boot from two different billet families at 16 for fuckin’ both his moms, eh?”
“Oh, shit. No, he did not go there!” Osi said, his face a bit panic-stricken.
“Dude, are you serious? Both?” one of the other guys asked.
“Listen, listen!” Hayes clapped. “This is fake news. I did not fuck both of them. I fucked one of them. The other one was blowin’ me in her minivan and her husband caught us.”
“Yeah, ‘cause that’s any better.”
“You at least get to finish?”
“Yup. Came down her throat right as we got caught. It was kinda hot.”
“There’s something not right with you, Hayes. It’s amazing he didn’t cave your face in. The fact that you made it here is beyond me. How’d you even recover from that shit show?”
“My juniors coach took me in. Had no choice. He saw my talent. I mean, I was the fastest skater, the top scorer, and had a straight beast of a clapper, but the program refused to house me with another family. Obviously.”
“Obviously,” Dalesy echoed. “Because you’re a filthy gutter slut.”
“Yo, dude literally pulled me aside outside his house, bags still in my hands, and said to me, I’ll never forget it as long as I live: ‘Kid, I have a shotgun and a boat. No one will even miss you. You’re here to play hockey, and unless you wanna die, you will keep your fuckin’ hands, eyes, and all other body parts to yourself.’ And guess what? I fuckin’ did.”
Troubled past is right, Amara thought sadly, immediately regretting having heard that conversation. She decided to go out onto the balcony for some air, wondering briefly where Ryan had wandered off to, though she had a pretty good idea that wherever it was, the missing girl from the living room was there, too.
???
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been outside, but it’d been a while. She’d been staring at the bustling city below, wondering what all those people were up to, where they were headed, when she heard the patio door slide open. She looked, saw it was Tyler, and turned back toward the railing. He came and stood next to her, just close enough so their elbows touched. She dramatically scooted over a smidge so they weren’t.
“What’s that all about?” he asked.
“You have a girlfriend, and you behave the way you did with me earlier? Do you know I’m 41 years old? Why the hell didn’t you tell me you’re only 20?”
“Wait: so, you’re pissed at me because I have a girlfriend, or because my parents had sex 21 years after yours did? I don’t follow.”
“What was that shit today in the laundry room, Tyler?”
“That was called flirting. And as I recall, you were pretty into it.”
“That was flirting?” She shook her head. “Man, I’ve really been out of the game for too long.”
“Why, what’d you think it was?” He gasped, then smiled. “Oooh. You’ve been thinkin’ about me, haven’t you? What’d we do? Was it good?”
She made a face. “Eww. No.”
