“Who could blame him,” Dakota says. “The first time his parents come to Valley and they’ve made a spectacle.”
“Wow.” That’s all I get out before Rhett waves and comes into view. Unlike Maverick, he didn’t bother styling his hair, but it doesn’t matter. He’s still the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. He runs a hand through that messy hair and all I can think about is how I can’t wait to spend the evening with him. It isn’t exactly the celebration we would have had after the Frozen Four, but he’s here and I’m here and that’s celebration enough.
After several more speeches, the guys are released. They mingle into the crowd and by the time we get to them, Rhett already has two beers in hand, one stacked on top of another.
“Hey,” I say cheerily as I step to his side.
“Hey.” He wraps an arm around my waist, chugs the top beer and then tosses it and pops the tab on the second.
“I’m surprised they have beer here,” I say.
“They don’t,” Heath says. “We had to bring our own cheap booze.”
Maverick takes out a bottle of Mad Dog, takes a long swallow and passes it to Rhett who does the same.
He offers it to me.
“No thanks. Kind of early for shots.”
He shrugs and passes it back to Mav.
Our little group is interrupted by alumni and important people from the university approaching the guys to personally congratulate them. Rhett never lets go of me as he thanks each and every one of them, but his grip on me tightens to the point I feel like I’m the anchor keeping him from floating away.
“How long do you have to stay?” I ask quietly.
“Coach said three hours, but I doubt anyone is going to miss me. Do you need to get back?”
I don’t. Not really. I have everything ready for tomorrow and it isn’t like I’d be sleeping even if I were at home, but something tells me he needs to leave. I can feel it. The pain and frustration radiates off him.
“We can stay if you want.”
“Nah, you’ve gotta skate tomorrow. What’s Coach going to do? Kick me off the team?”
We say hushed goodbyes to our friends and then sneak out and walk back to his apartment. Rhett grabs another beer from the fridge and sits on the couch. He doesn’t speak, but at least we aren’t confined to his room for a change.
I get a text from my sister saying they made it to the hotel. “My family is in town. They’ll be at the arena tomorrow if you’re up for meeting them.”
“Yeah, of course. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Good, because my sister is so excited. She knows all your stats and she’s totally going to fangirl.”
He laughs like I’m kidding, but she totally will.
“I thought tomorrow night we could take her out somewhere or have a small party here?”
“Saturday night… it won’t be hard to find people drinking and hanging out somewhere.”
Rhett turns on the TV and I text my sister, making plans to meet up with them in the morning.
The rest of Rhett’s roommates and their girlfriends aren’t far behind us. First Ginny and Heath appear, followed by Adam, Kota, and Reagan.
“Where’s Maverick?” I ask, looking at Dakota.
“He went to let Charli out. I’m sure he’ll be up soon.” Adam sits between me and Rhett on the couch and my boyfriend passes him a controller. “Hey, buddy. Doing okay? You haven’t said much since we got back from Minnesota.”
“Not a lot to say, I guess.”
“Was your mom pissed we left early?”
My ears perk up. “What do you mean you left early?”
There’s a flash of guilt on Rhett’s face before he shrugs. “We missed the funeral so we could catch the early flight back to Valley.”
My mouth gapes.
“She chastised me a little,” Rhett admits. “I don’t see what the big deal is. I paid my respects to Carrie’s family at the visitation. Staying wasn’t going to bring her back to life.”
A heavy silence falls over the apartment.
“As long as you got the closure you need.” Adam is the first to speak.
Rhett scoffs and lifts the controller in his hand. “Sure, man. Whatever. Are we going to play or what?”
I’m on edge after that trying to process this information. He didn’t go to the funeral?
Mav enters, still wearing his dress clothes, but the shirt is unbuttoned and untucked. He’s got a box under one arm and carries a bottle of Mad Dog in the other hand.
“Did anyone make it the full three hours?” Rhett asks.
“We told the freshmen if they left before midnight, we’d fill their dorms with that fucking confetti.” Mav grins. He sets the box on the kitchen counter and opens the bottle of Mad Dog. The second, or maybe third of the night. “Rauthruss, that box is for you. Delivery guy fucked up and left it outside my place by mistake.”
Rhett glances up to the box. “For me? Who’s it from?”
“Someone in Minnie-soda.” He picks it up with one hand and tosses it across the room.
Rhett stands to catch it. He stares down at the label and his face pales.
“What’s wrong?” Adam asks, picking up on the change in him.
“It’s from Carrie’s family.” He sits and sets it on the coffee table, glaring hard at the small box.
“Are you going to open it?” Heath asks.
“It’s probably just pictures or something. I’ll open it later.”
“We’re all here and the booze is freshly stocked. Might as well open it now and get it over with.” Mav sits on the arm of the chair across from him.
We’re all staring at him, so he proceeds. He rips off the tape and opens the flaps. His throat works before he reaches in.
My pulse thrums quickly as he sets the contents on the coffee table.
“My first college goal.” He holds up a hockey puck.
“No way, let me see.” Mav grabs it.
“I remember that game,” Adam says.
I have to admit I feel a pinch of jealousy for all the years I missed. For the history I’ll never have with him. I could never admit that out loud, not now, but before all of this happened I was jealous of Carrie and the time she had with Rhett. But as I watch him pull out mementos from their time together, I realize how stupid I was. He wouldn’t be who he is now without her. He’ll carry pieces of her with him forever, and I’ll be thankful that he is who he is no matter how he got here.
Among the other items he removes from the box is a Bruins hat that looks nearly identical to the one he always wears, a few newspaper clippings highlighting Rhett’s high school hockey days, and the last item is some sort of collage or photo cube.
“Oh, hand that over.” Adam grabs it. “I need to show Sienna what your Gumby ass looked like at sixteen.”
The pictures of them together are heart breaking, as are the words cut out from magazines to say things like perfect couple, true love, and forever. But the real punch to the gut is the sound that comes from it. At first there’s a hint of confusion on Adam’s face when a female voice giggles. “I love you, Rhett.”
But when Rhett’s voice repeats the sentiment back, we all stare at him and then the cube where the sound is coming.