AllFreeNovel
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“She’s…41, I think.”
“Bro. And she’s recently divorced? Holy hell, Ryan. Jackpot! Is she hot?”
“I mean, sorta? I guess. I found her Instagram, but it’s private, so there’s only one pic that I can see. She’s OK. Definitely not ugly, but not really my type.”
“So, what you mean is she isn’t blonde and completely, 100 percent fake from the top of her head down to her toenails?”
He rolled his eyes, then shrugged. His brother knew him too well. “I mean, I guess she’s cute. I don’t know. She’s old though.”
“So? When’s that ever stopped you before? Juniors tournament hotel room ringing any bells?”
“Stop it. That was one time and a huge mistake. I mean, it was a really fuckin’ hot mistake though.”
“Exactly! And dude: over 40 and divorced? Do you even have any idea what kind of sexual awakening that woman is probably experiencing right now? You do know they go through a ‘slut phase’, right? It’s like a rite of passage for divorced chicks. Screw this, I'm coming to visit. I’m not even kidding. I’m literally on my way right now.”
“Right,” he smirked, shaking his head. He knew his brother was just trying to make him laugh, keep his spirits up. But he also knew what an unapologetic pervert Luke could be. “And I’m sure Shan will be totally cool with it.”
“Need to know basis, bro. Different state, doesn’t count. Yo: send me her Insta.”
“Get the fuck outta here!”
“I know you. I give it a couple weeks tops before you smash her, if that. I’m calling it right now. And I guarantee you it’s gonna be, hands down, the best shit you‘ve ever had in your life.”
“Eww. I’m hanging up now.”
“Wait. Ry?”
“What?”
“I love you, man.”
“Love you too, Luke.”
And there it was: homesickness hit him like a ton of bricks, as he had no clue when he’d even see Luke or his mom again. Their dad had passed away unexpectedly in a car accident when Ryan was 17 and living with one of his billet families while playing juniors. He’d taken the rest of that year off and moved back home to be with his mom. As soon as he returned the following year, Luke and his then girlfriend, now fiancée Shannon moved in. He said it was because they were saving up money for a wedding and a house, but Ryan knew it was because he was leaving again, and Luke didn’t want their mom to be alone.
He stopped himself from going any further with these thoughts, deciding that this was an emotional rollercoaster he didn’t have the energy to ride right now. Instead, he focused on busying himself, as there was more than enough to do. And just as he’d started going through his first bag, he swore he heard someone at the door.
Shit, maybe Luke was serious, he thought briefly, though he was utterly perplexed at who the hell could be knocking on his door right now, six floors up, in an unfamiliar city where he knew absolutely no one.
He opened the door to find two young guys standing there. Both were tall, roughly the same height as his six-foot, three-inch self, and on the slimmer side with dark hair. The slightly shorter one’s longer, wavy hair poked out from under the sides of the gray beanie he was wearing. He had a lollipop stick hanging out of the side of his mouth and held a six-pack of some kind of beer, while the slightly taller one held a bouquet of pink and purple flowers.
“Don’t get too excited. Is not for you,” Flowers said with a heavy Russian accent.
“Osi. For real? That’s how you greet the kid? How about hi?”
“Yes. This too. Hi.”
“Hi?” Ryan half-asked, as Beanie shoved the six-pack his way.
“You’re the rookie, right? Ryan Baylor?”
“That’s me.”
Beanie threw his hands up. “Surprise! Meet your teammates. This is Osi, formally Aleksey Osinov. I’m Hayes. Tyler Hayes, but my mom’s literally the only person in the world who I’ll allow to routinely call me Tyler.”
Ryan swung the door open. “Uh, yeah. Hey. Come on in. It’s kind of a mess right now. I just got in a bit ago, but uh, thanks,” he said, setting the beer down on the counter and mentally adding “unexpected visitors” to the list of everything that currently had him on the brink of another panic attack. “How, uh, how did you know I was…”
“Dunny,” Hayes replied. “Nick. We're down on the fourth floor. He said you’re gonna be living with his cousin or some shit?”
