Meet Me in the Penalty Box (Orchid City, #1)(63)

Her chest rose as she inhaled deeply and I watched it fall as she released her breath. “You can’t always fix everything, Nico,” she said with her voice soft and gentle as her eyes searched mine. “But I’ll let you try.”

“Thank you, love,” I told her as I stepped to her to wrap my arms around her waist.

She looked up at me. “I need to go back to my place sometime today.”

“I’ll come with you,” I told her without any hesitation as I just invited myself along. I was still feeling shook-up and didn’t want to be away from her if I didn’t have to be. My sister would be fine here without me, especially since she was going to be living here now too.

She smiled at me and shook her head. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t, but I want to,” I told her as I pressed my lips to her forehead.

“Okay,” she agreed softly as she wrapped her arms tighter around me.

I knew I was never going to be able to let her go.

And I was never going to let anything tear us apart.





CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE





NICO





After we had gotten back to Harper’s apartment, I told her about the plans I had made with Malakai. I instantly felt like an asshole, considering the information she shared with me about her call with Phillip. I should have stayed in with her, but she insisted I go meet Malakai. She declined when I invited her along.

Harper was the most important part of my life. I wanted her involved in every aspect, every space of it, but she was adamant about staying home. She said something about how I needed to catch up with my friend without her. There was also a look of exhaustion that had settled into her features and she needed some time to herself to process the news she had just received.

As I stepped into the bar, it was already crowded and most of the tables were occupied. I pushed my way past some of the groups of people that were standing around, drinking and talking. When I reached the bar, I paused for a moment and scanned the backs of the heads sitting in front of me.

Toward the very end, I caught sight of his dirty blond hair as he tipped his head back and sipped his beer. It was a little longer than the last time I had seen him. It was a mess of tousled waves that rested just above his eyebrows.

As he turned his head to the side and spotted me from across the bar, he gave me a swift nod. No wave, no smile. That was Malakai Barclay.

We were a peculiar pair of friends when we were younger. It wasn’t often that any light shone through the darkness that cloaked Malakai; he was generally more reserved and quiet. We were a stark contrast to one another, but I suppose that was why our friendship worked.

There was a seat that was empty next to Malakai and I walked over and slid onto it as I turned to face the bartender. My legs were tucked beneath the bar and I folded my arms in front of me as I turned to look at my old friend.

Malakai glanced over at me, his stare blank with a hardness settled in his jaw. He had filled out over the years and you could tell he had been working out to stay fit, considering his blossoming golf career. The coldness was still enveloping him like it always had.

“How have you been, Kai?” I inquired as I waited for the bartender. “It’s been years. You look good, dude.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Thanks. I’ve been all right. How about you?”

I shrugged dismissively. “You know how it goes. Busy with hockey and shit.”

“I can only imagine.” His voice almost sounded thoughtful for a fraction of a second, but Kai was never one to give much away. He was always slightly distant, but something about him made it feel like he was completely disconnected from it all.

The bartender walked over and I ordered a beer before turning my attention back to Malakai. “I had no idea you were going to be back in town. What brought you back? Golf?”

Kai lifted his beer to his lips and absentmindedly stared at the TV hung above the bar. “Just some unfinished business.”

I stared at the side of his face for a moment, taking in his appearance. There was a tiredness that had settled into the corners of his eyes. Even though he was in his mid-twenties, you could tell the demons he had been battling had taken a toll on him.

“Are you staying at your parents’ place?”

“Fuck no,” he ground out the words as he looked over at me. “I have a condo in town.”

His anger wasn’t directed at me, and it was valid. After the shit he went through not living up to his father’s expectations, I felt like an asshole for even asking that he would stay at their place. His last statement took me by surprise. “I didn’t know you had a place here.”

Kai shrugged and drained the rest of his beer. “Sorry I’ve been shit with keeping in touch. You’ve been busy with hockey and me with golf.”

“It’s all good,” I told him, although I couldn’t help but feel like I was talking to a complete stranger. “That’s what happens in life. People grow up and grow apart. I haven’t been the best at staying in touch either.”

He didn’t bother responding to that and the silence settled around us for a moment before Kai chose to speak. That was how Kai operated. If he didn’t have anything to say, he wasn’t going to fill the void with meaningless shit. “Have you settled down yet or are you still fucking anything that moves?”