Progress was progress.
The smell of charcoal lured me outside. I pushed open the back door to find the Wardens sitting around a fire pit. They were nursing bottles of beer, with more resting in an ice bucket on the nearby patio table.
There was a huge grill with steaks already sizzling on top, my brother shaking seasoning over every bit of them.
“It smells great,” I said. Conrad turned around, grinning at me.
“She’s up, boys. Turn up the music now.”
Lennon tapped his phone, and soon music was pouring out of nearby speakers.
“You guys have a nice setup here,” I said as I glanced around. It could probably use a garden, but they were busy guys, so it wasn’t all that surprising.
“We can’t really take the credit,” Conrad admitted. “A lot of this is thanks to the Westgrave Wardens Admin. They like that we have a place to show off, and they keep ours the nicest out of the hockey houses as a way to encourage people to fight to get to the starting lineup.”
“Too bad for them,” Lennon chimed in. “That spot’s already taken.”
“Here, here,” Cade said, lifting his beer for a sip. Then he glanced at me. “There’s beer if you want one. I think there’s some girly shit inside if you’d prefer.”
I rolled my eyes and snagged a beer before falling into one of the empty seats. I pulled my knees up close to me without a word. Wilder leaned over, pulling the cap off my beer for me and tossing it into a small bucket by the fire where they were keeping the rest. It seemed they had enjoyed quite a few beers out here.
“Thanks,” I said to him. He nodded once, opening his mouth like he was going to say something, then thinking better of it. I found myself a bit disappointed, wanting to hear what he had to say.
Maybe it was the beta in him that encouraged me to relax near him, but I was genuinely curious to know more about them. We were sharing a space, after all.
“Is this how you guys usually spend your nights?”
“Sometimes,” Conrad answered. “We don’t get a lot of time off, but the coach was feeling generous and gave us the weekend.”
“Oh, let’s not beat around the bush. We all know it’s because Sleeping Beauty here earned us the day off. Right, princess,” Lennon said, giving me a wink.
I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of me. Maybe it was a dick thing to say, but it was kind of funny. Dark humor was my style.
“You’re welcome,” I shot back.
“You still like yours medium, Lana?” Conrad called out.
“Yes,” I said. “Extra seasoning. You know I like it spicy.”
“Oh, do you?” Mason latched onto that one. Because, of course he did.
I rolled my eyes. “Does that ever work for you? Those kinds of cheesy lines?”
“I don’t even have to say anything for those to work on most.”
“Gross.”
“She’s not exactly a puck bunny, Mason,” Conrad chuckled. “I told you she was going to sweep the floor with you guys.”
It was cracking me up that he seemed so proud of that fact, but he was absolutely right. I wasn’t the type to be impressed by good hockey playing. I grew up around the sport. I could probably skate better than most rookies, though I didn’t find joy in the sport like they did.
I simply liked to skate. I always felt like there was this moment as you glided through the icy rink that was truly magical. It chased away everything bad and let your mind settle. It was better than any therapy I’d ever been a part of.
“What are we having with the steak?” I questioned, realizing they had nothing else on the table or the grill.
“We figured some chips or something would be fine,” Lennon said with a shrug.
I tried to hide my grimace, but failed, which had him laughing at my expense. His laugh was rich and raspy at the same time, and I kind of adored it. I shouldn’t be giving these men any kind of attention like this, but I swear it was nice to just be around other people and socialize. I hadn’t realized just how badly I needed it.
