Page 101 of Game On

Mac snorted beside me. “Bull fucking shit! She’s ya girl. We all saw you at the Halloween party.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s not like I don’t want her to be.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Blaise asked.

“Yeah, you two looked cute in the photo you posted the other day,” TJ said and nudged me.

A mom at the rink had offered to take a picture of the four of us, and I posted it on my social media before we got on the jet. We looked so happy, like we were actually a couple.

“Why aren’t you two official already?” Mac asked.

I sighed. “We’re both single parents. With my hockey schedule and taking care of Liam, it’s a lot to ask of someone, knowing that I won’t be around all that often. She was the one who offered the casual situation.”

“She thinks she doesn’t have time either,” Blaise said. “But you both have been making the time, right?”

I nodded.

“You had a playdate with your kids, so you could spend more time with her,” he continued, giving me a pointed look.

Mac pointed at me, and TJ nodded.

Blaise ran a hand through his flow. “She’s overworking herself. Seth doesn’t even pay her child support. V said she couldn’t remember the last time he’s seen their daughter.”

My jaw ticked at that. V let that slip to me, but Lily hadn’t said a word about it. If I ever met her ex, I’d give him a piece of my mind.

“Bro, why are you fighting it?” Mac asked.

“Yeah, man,” TJ chimed in. “When I met Max, I was all in for her, and you have the same expression on your face as I do when I talk about her. So what’s the problem?”

That she doesn’t want me that way. That I was only good enough for my body, but she didn’t want to try a real relationship. That would have stung the most.

“Dude,” Blaise sighed. “You fucking love her. Just tell her. Jesus Christ, I’m tired of you both fighting it.”

TJ nudged me. “Go call your girl and have video chat sex, so you’re not wound too tight.”

I made a face. That wasn’t something I wanted to do. Besides, unlike these guys who were on bigger contracts, I had a roommate. I was glad Cally didn’t bring chicks to the room like the guy I roomed with last season. He was young, but with Noah as his mentor, he took his hockey seriously over partying like other rookies did.

I pushed TJ away and downed the rest of my beer. “Alright, alright, get off my dick, you assholes!”

“Go, man,” Blaise urged.

I shook my head, put a tip down at the bar, and called a car to take me back to our hotel for the night.

I was exhausted. This road trip had been intense, and I’d played my heart out. I tried not to think about Lily icing me out because it could have been that she was too busy. When I studied video, and she did work at my condo, she mentioned being behind. I felt a little guilty because I pushed her to spend the whole day with me. But I didn’t regret spending it with her and the kids.

When I got to the hotel, I went up to the room and took a shower, trying to wash the alcohol off me. I lay on my bed and looked at my text chain with Lily. She hadn’t responded since I told her I got to Calgary okay. She had read all of my texts, but she wasn’t answering.

I shot her a text.

ME: Hey. Want to get dinner when I get back tomorrow? Been missing you and the kids.

I realized with the time difference, it was late for her, so I wasn’t likely to get a response. I flipped through my photos, and a warm sensation filled my chest when I looked at our photos at the Halloween party and then from the other day when we took the kids ice skating. Rosie was still too small, but the idea of me one-day putting skates on her feet kept coming back to me. The boys were right. I wanted Lily to be my girl. I wanted everything with her. Because I fell in love with her.

It happened slowly and then all at once. Like the idea of being away from her tore my heart apart. Maybe it was when she held Liam like he was her own. Or because she was my nerdy dream girl, and not having her in my bed made me cranky. If she wouldn’t answer me tonight, I had to tell her how I felt. Maybe then she’d stop icing me out.

“You good, man?” Blaise asked me as we got into his car after getting off the jet. We were home, but I was a man on a mission.

I nodded.