The Boys 'Round Here

Meghan turned the doorknob and called out, “Hello?”

“Hey.”

James looked like hell. His too-long hair was a mess, no hat to cover it, and there were dark circles under his eyes. In a t-shirt and shorts, Meghan had never seen him so skinny. For all the living with him she had done, she’d certainly failed to take care of him in any sense of the word.

Not my job, she told herself. But she still wanted to do it.

“You look terrible,” she said honestly.

“I feel terrible,” he admitted right back. They stood there studying each other, both wondering how something that lasted through 15 years of hockey - of traveling, tournaments, missed holidays and long-distance phone calls - had come apart so quickly.

James forced his eyes from Meghan’s pretty face, her glowing tan skin and swishy, sexy sundress to the open door behind her. Looking for him.

“It’s just me,” she pulled it shut. She’d called before coming over and this was a job she needed to do on her own.

“Your stuff’s upstairs.”

The room was as she’d left it - pieces of her life everywhere, in no particular order. It matched her relationship with James. She pulled two duffel bags out of the closet and set them on the bed. Much of her stuff was still at her parents’. With no job or cold weather to worry about for the summer, Meghan hadn’t needed much. She opened the drawers and starting moving piles of shorts and t-shirts.

James followed her upstairs on slow feet. He didn’t need her to physically leave to know she was leaving, didn’t need her room empty to have an empty place in his heart. The worst part was that even now, he wasn’t sure he loved Meghan. Wanted her, yes. Needed her too. The impulse to wrap his arms around her and hold on tightly nearly overpowered the knowledge that he shouldn’t. But to love her was something James could not promise. Not the way John could. So he leaned against the door and watched her pack it all up.

“Where will you go?”

“My parents’,” she said. One strap of a sundress caught in the zipper and Meghan paused to free it. “My mom cleaned her stuff out of my room.”

James nodded. Even if she was lying, he appreciated it. Maybe she was feeling charitable enough to give a little more. “Will you guys still come to the cottage?”

Meghan paused, a knot of bathing suit pieces spilling from her hand. It was a big gesture on James’ part to keep the invitation open. She knew it was selfish - he didn’t want to go alone, needed her to accept so Steven would too - but the fact that James was willing to spend a long weekend days cooped up with two lovestruck couples said a lot about how much he wanted to make this right. She turned and gently sat down on the mattress.

“Are you sure you want us to?”

His mouth twitched left, pulling at the corner. He did in interviews when he had nothing to say for a bad game, but Meghan knew he’d been doing it much longer. There were not many situations James Neal could not talk his way out of.

“Yeah,” he finally said. “We’ve gotta just move on, right? I….”

Meghan held her breath. Here came the part where James said he knew John was a good guy. Where he respected her, gracefully accepted defeat and they began the process of repairing the friendship that was so important. But that didn’t come.

“I don’t want to ruin everybody’s summer. Please come.”

Not quite, she thought. But it wasn’t half bad.

“Okay James. We’ll come.”
____

John cleared out two drawers in his bedroom. He tucked the neatly piled clothes onto a shelf in the closet, where Meghan wouldn’t notice the difference. Then he looked back at the drawers - it was half the dresser. He returned some of the clothes to their drawer.

Enough? Not enough?

He wanted Meghan to feel at home in his home. She’d always moved so easily there: curling up to nap on his big chair, using her own keys. He glanced at the bed - that was another story entirely. It was basically a throne and Meghan was the queen. By that token, so were the bathroom counter and the floor in front of the couch and the…

Stop, he pinched the smile from his lips. This wasn’t about the sex. This was about getting her in and making her never want to leave - except to go with him to New York. But John had never invited someone to move in before and had no idea the right way to do it. He was lost in thought, still staring at the dresser, when the girl in question appeared at his side.

“There you are… oh.”

Meghan’s eyes followed John to the sight of empty drawers. He’d been expecting her and she was surprised when he didn’t answer her hello. No sign of him downstairs so she went to the next logical place.

“Hey, I, um…,” he reached for one drawer. It shut with a hollow bang, shouting it’s emptiness to the world. The other one stayed open. John flinched, then dropped into a sigh. Meghan’s own heart was pounding but John’s frown took precedence over all that. She tossed her arms around his neck and gave him a big squeeze.

“Wanna move in?” he asked rather miserably into her hair.

“Oh John.” She leaned back and studied his face. “It’s too soon, baby.”

It’s too soon, right? Meghan asked herself. They’d been together all of a month, no one moved in that quickly. Of course no one contemplated moving to a new place - a new country! - over a guy they’d just started dating but Meghan was well down that path too. All her stuff was in the back of her car, just outside John’s front door. Her own father had suggested it. But Meghan felt like an avalanche, picking up speed as she went, laying damage everywhere. Just moments ago she’d been heartbroken over James and now John was patching it up.

“I knew you were going to say that.”

“Because you know I’m right,” she tried a smile and he almost smiled back. “Let’s give it some time, okay? Now that everything is open and everyone knows, let’s just try this before we think about the next thing.” Meghan touched the soft patch of skin below John’s ear. “Things are already happening so fast, I don’t want to speed them up.”

So now would not be the time to say I love you, he thought. It was impossible not to think that, holding her close, looking into those green eyes that somehow, impossibly, had been only for him all summer. Lust roared in his chest. John’s hands cheated beneath her skirt and grazed the soft bare skin of her thighs. A month had never lasted so long and his desire only got stronger every day.

His voice caught, husky. “I don’t want to slow down.”

Me neither. Meghan felt it like a stab in the heart.

“I’m not saying no. In fact, I plan to stay over a lot. So….”

She stepped out of John’s embrace, reached down and pulled her sundress right over her head in a single motion. Then she balled up the cotton and tossed it right into the open, empty drawer.

John could not help but smile. Meghan had taken him from scared and disappointed to grinning in seconds. It didn’t hurt that she now stood in his bedroom in red and white striped panties and a strapless bra. He couldn’t think of any better use for that drawer than if it only ever held the clothes she wore through the door.

“... how about just kiss me?”
____

Three days later, Meghan opened her eyes to the sound of an alarm clock beeping. The first thing she saw was that dresser.

“God,” John groaned, somewhere nearby. “If Gary knew what you were like, he’d let me off training.”

Her mouth twitched into a wicked smile. She turned to see John on his back, one thick, strong arm bent behind his head. With his shirt off, hair a mess and a little stubble along his jaw, Meghan could not imagine a better sight to wake up too. She crawled up against his chest. “Are you sore, honey? Want me to take it easy on you?”

“Not for a second,” he said. Just the night before, she’d been the one begging for mercy as he tickled her until she shrieked, flailing around on the couch. That had quickly turned to kissing, which turned to sex on the floor atop a pile of clothing. John looked forward to winter when there would be a lot more clothing between them and the rug.

“You coming today?”

Meghan had been hesitant about the gym. She didn’t want to upset whatever balance John and James had achieved, but today was the day they left for the cottage and she’d have to see him anyway. Best to get her feet wet now.

“Yes.”

He watched blatantly as she climbed from bed and fished around in her bag for gym clothes. It was set right atop the drawers he’d given her, empty at the moment. John knew it was only because their clothes were still on the living room floor. Meghan wiggled into shorts and a sports bra, braiding her hair as she pushed her feet into sneakers. The long lines of her body were becoming familiar but no less fascinating to John. His eyes marked the spots where he’d found weakness - the back of her neck, where her thigh met her hip, the inside of her ankle. She looked over her shoulder and caught him watching.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said.

Meghan smiled. He was all muscle, tanned from the sunshine and half-asleep with the blankets around his waist. If Meghan had never seen John the Dork, she wouldn’t have believed this guy could be anything less than a bombshell. She crossed to the bed and sat down, his hands closing around her waist.

“This from a guy who looks like you.”

John settled for a few minutes of making out, stopping just short of getting to excited and not being able to have Meghan. That was no way to get through the Gary Roberts Workout of Death, which today was sure to be. After this they had an unheard of three entire days off for the long weekend. Only one workout stood between them and vacation.

When they pulled into the gym, before getting out of the car, Meghan leaned over John and gave him the kiss she couldn’t deliver inside. “I hope you survive.”

“Don’t worry, I bought you a nurse outfit.”

They hurried inside to find Gary waiting at the counter with a perfect dad-like smile of someone who’d caught his kids getting into trouble. “Well, well. Good morning, you two.”

Meghan elbowed John. “You actually told Gary?!”

“He guessed!”

She rolled her eyes. “First my dad, now this.”
John grimaced. “He is much scarier than your dad.”

Meghan ducked off before she could make John any later, and before considering that Gary Roberts knew they were having sex. Some adult things she was not prepared to deal with. John fell into line next to James and Steven with a casual hello. Things had been fine at the gym all week. Neal was on best behaviour and while he wasn’t inviting them all out every night, he was pleasant and conversational. Not once had he given John a word of grief over Meghan, nor had he asked where she was staying. John would have told him the truth - she hasn’t moved in - and maybe left off the part about her staying over every night anyway. He’d won the girl and intended to be as good about it as Neal was. Right now, that was very good.

“Guys ready for this weekend?” James asked. He was looking forward to a bit of space between him and life, a chance to make up for some of the drama he’d put everyone through.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be great,” Steven said.

Gary arrived before John could answer. The boys shared a frown and went to work.
____

Beepbeep!

Meghan giggled as she pressed the horn. After the gym she’d run an errand - picking up a different rental car replacement for her wrecked Volvo. Now all she needed was John and it was off on vacation.

“You’re kidding!” he called, closing the front door behind him. Meghan was behind the wheel of a bright red Mini Cooper convertible with the top down. Her ponytail was pulled through the back of a Blue Jays cap and she looked like summer itself. John tossed his bag into the back seat and dropped in beside her.

“I always wanted to ride in one!” Meghan leaned over a kissed him. “If you’re good I might let you drive.”

He shook his head and took in the sight of her short shorts leaving plenty of room to put his hand on her thigh. She was even barefoot, bright purple toenails poised above the pedals. “Nope, I’m already on the scenic route.”

The drive flew by as they played the radio loud enough to be heard over the wind. Convertibles weren’t made for talking, so John leaned back and enjoyed the sunshine. Meghan sang along to every song - even the ones she didn’t really know. Instead of growing more anxious as the cottage neared, which John had been afraid of, he felt more relaxed as the miles rolled by. So when Meghan pulled into the drive behind Steven’s Mercedes, he was looking forward to a weekend of grilling, swimming and sunning. And Meghan, of course.

“Whatthisplaceisamazing!” Meghan practically leapt out of the car. The cabin was single-story, in dark brown wood siding, set on a hill just shy of the shore. Below it a two-door boathouse seemed to float on the surface of the water, surrounded by a low, blond plank deck with Adirondack chairs and chaise lounges. The calm, flat lake stretched out endlessly, light bouncing of every ripple.

The Mini had a surprisingly big trunk, which Meghan had stuffed with beer, food and board games. They each grabbed what they could carry and headed inside.

“YessssssssssIloveit!” she called, nearly taking out James as he opened the door. The inside of the house was open plan, with a big kitchen and island in light wood spilling into a living room full of overstuffed white couches and wrapped by picture windows. A fireplace they’d never use was built into one wall and from the living room, Meghan could see kayaks tied up at the end of the dock next to a 15’ white center console powerboat.

“Hey man,” John said as James approached, offering to take the cases of beer he carried.

“Thanks, we’ve got enough beer for a month.”

“Where are Steven and Kaylynn?” Meghan asked.

“Snuck outside already, so don’t look too close out the window,” James said. He even smiled. This might be okay.

“Grooooooosssss,” Meghan replied, adjusting the bags over her shoulder. “Which room are we?”

It was like the first shot fired in a battle. Everyone held their breath a beat, waiting to see if Meghan’s use of the word “we” to describe her and John would start a war. Or talk of a shared bedroom. James, though, didn’t even flinch.

“Whichever one they didn’t take. There are two doors on the left, I’m last on the right.”

Meghan maneuvered around a rocking chair and down the hall. The first door opened to a king-sized bed with head and footboard, piled high with downy comforters and pillows. A pair of guys’ pants were strewn across the bed, topped by some smaller, daintier girls’ clothes. Steven and Kaylynn had wasted no time getting their clothes off. John stuck his head in.

“They’re going to be gross all weekend, eh?”

Meghan laughed, moving to the next door. John playfully pushed her through it like he couldn’t wait to get her alone… then stopped.

“Oh,” Meghan said. The room, while very cute, had two twin bunk beds built into the wall.

John made a noise in his throat like an animal makes when threatened. It was a low, quiet growl, more of a warning that anything that you should stop what you’re doing. Meghan spun around.

“He did this on purpose,” John hissed. Just like that his mood soured.

Meghan held up a hand. “I don’t think he….”

“Did you guys find,” James appeared in the doorway. “Oh. Shit!” His face went pale and he looked so surprised that Meghan instantly felt all the bad of the last week return. This was not the start she wanted.

“It’s okay, we’re…,” she started.

“No, I just - I forgot it’s two beds. I let Steven and Kaylynn have the master and when I booked it I, uh,” he scratched the back of his neck, “I didn’t know. You guys can have mine. I’ll just move my….”

“No, James. We’re fine. We’ll stay here.” Meghan said. If Meghan knew anything about James it was his room would be a mess inside of ten seconds. Already his stuff would be all over that back room like he’d lived there for a week. John rolled his shoulders back, about to protest but a look from her shut him down.

“Are you sure? It’s no big deal, I can move.”

“No.” She thumped her bag down on the bottom bunk. “We’re staying. Now get out so I can change.”

James went obediently, just as John made a point of staying very much in place. When she closed the door, he gave her a disapproving look. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“You’re hot when you look at me like I just failed a math test.”

John almost cracked a smile. “Meghan! I’m serious. He brought us here, peace offering and all, and this is the first thing he does.”

“What? I’m not making him sleep in a single bed when he paid for this whole thing, John! This is his cottage, we stay where he puts us.”

“He did this on purpose!”

She stopped moving and stood in front of him. “Well that backfired.”

“What?”

“Are you saying you don’t want to share that tiny little bed with me?”

“I don’t, er, what? Oh.” His face softened. “Ooooh. I thought you meant….”

She reached for the belt loops on his shorts. “Sleep in separate beds? You really do plan on slacking off this weekend.”

John, who felt as if he should be blushing from head to toe, just picked Meghan up and wrapped her legs around his waist. She squeaked in surprise but he held her easily, feet off the floor.

“Oh no. I plan to make someone very sorry he didn’t give us the bigger bed.”

Meghan let the challenge slide and just gave John the kiss he wanted. After all, if he could pick her up like this she might get some extra fun out of a twin bed after all.
____

Notes