Sidelined Love: A Hockey Romance (The Crestwood University Series Book 1)

My apartment is silent except for the low voices coming from the latest reality television show that is more so watching me than I’m watching it. It is Saturday night and I’m enjoying my time alone.

Jade tried to convince me to go out, but I had a date with a book I’ve been meaning to finish. I’m curled up on our couch, wrapped in the knitted blanket Jade’s grandmother made for her. Since Jade has no issue with me using it, I have no problem laying underneath it.

The cup of hot chocolate I made before I sat down is tempting me and, in a flash, I’m bringing the drink up to my lips. I take a sip and as the warmth spreads through me, I can’t help but think that this is the perfect evening.

That is, until I start thinking about Levi. Despite my best efforts to ignore the impact he is having on my life, my thoughts have drifted toward him more often than I would like.

I know he has a hockey game tonight, but I promised myself I wouldn’t check how the game is going. After all, I wouldn’t understand what was going on outside of what the final score for both teams would be. Yet the urge to check is still strong. Maybe I’ll read for a bit and then go pull up the game to see what’s going on.

I adjust the hold I have on the mug so I’m holding it with both hands, and I take another sip of my drink. When I’m done, I place it back on the coffee table and turn my attention to the book in my lap.

I don’t know how long I’ve been reading for, but the piercing sound of my phone ringing brings me back to reality. My phone is in the other room, and I’m too lazy to get up and check it. Chances are the call is spam anyway.

But when the ringing stops and quickly starts back up again, I toss the idea out the window. Someone is obviously trying to get in touch with me and I’m not sure why.

My heart jumps into my throat because the first thing that comes to mind is that it’s about my dad and there is some sort of emergency.

I scramble to my feet, allowing the blanket to slip from my shoulders as I rush to where my phone is charging in my bedroom. The screen lights up with Levi’s name as I reach for it, confusing me. Why would Levi be calling me now? Isn’t he still at the game?

“Hello?” My voice betrays that I’m breathless from having sprinted into my bedroom.

“Hailey, it’s Asher.” The words come out in a rush as if he doesn’t have much time to complete this task. What the hell is he doing calling me from Levi’s phone?

My heart slams harder against my ribcage. “What’s wrong? Is Levi okay?”

“He’s… It’s hard to explain over the phone,” Asher says after a moment. “He needs you.”

“I think you’ve got this all wrong. If he’s hurt, you need to call nine-one-one,” my voice trails off because I’m not processing any of this.

“He’s not hurting in the way you think, but I—and him too, to a certain extent—know that he needs you.”

The urgency in his voice acts like a shot of adrenaline to my brain. I forget all about the warmth of my apartment, my comfort in being alone, my book and hot chocolate.

“Where are you?” I ask as I’m grabbing my house and car keys and wallet from my desk. I’ll have time to examine why I’m even leaving the house to do this later.

“At my place. I’ll text the address to you. Please get here as soon as you can. Please.”

I end the call without another word and jam my feet into a pair of old sneakers, and as I do, I receive a text message from Levi’s phone. With Asher’s address in hand. I walk into the living area and pick up the coat that I’d thrown over a chair. My eyes land on the book I’d been reading, now almost forgotten on the couch. I’ll get back to it later.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

I leave my apartment and my fingers tighten around my keys as I make my way down the stairs. It isn’t because of a safety issue, but more because it gives me something to do with my hands.

The night air hits my exposed skin as I step outside. It’s colder than when I’d returned home earlier, and for a moment, I question whether I should’ve grabbed a thicker coat. But I don’t have time to go back now. Plus, I’m going to be driving over there so I’ll be in a warm car soon enough.

When I reach my vehicle, I slip into the driver’s seat and start the engine, taking a few deep breaths to try to calm myself down before I drive off. It doesn’t help much, but I appreciate that I tried to tame my racing heart. I pull out of my parking spot and the drive to Asher’s is a blur. My focus is on what could have happened that caused Levi to need me desperately.

What I might find could change the way Levi and I see each other forever. This is supposed to be an exclusive situationship but whatever this is, hadn’t been included in the unwritten rules.

When I finally park down the street from Asher’s place, I realize he lives in the typical home that owners rent out to college students. I barely give the houses nearby a second glance as I leave my car and quickly walk up to the house number Asher sent to me. I ring the doorbell and it’s answered by Asher himself.

“Thanks for coming,” he mumbles, closing the door behind me.

I nod stiffly, trying to avoid the awkwardness I feel about this whole situation. “Where’s Levi?”

He leads me through a cluttered hallway lined with sports gear and equipment. We make our way into a small but cozy living room, where Levi is slumped over on a well-worn couch.

Levi looks up as we enter, his blue eyes hazy but they immediately lock onto mine. His hair is disheveled, his hoodie looks wrinkled and is hanging off one shoulder. I’m not sure what to think about the sight in front of me outside of him looking worse than he did when I saw him for the first time at Brewed Beginnings.

“Hey,” he says, his voice hoarse as if it takes a lot of effort to speak.

I quickly cross to him, crouching down to get a better look at him. “What happened?” I demand softly, reaching out to gently adjust his sweater.

“He had a bit too much to drink after the game,” Asher explains from somewhere behind me. “Wanted to blow off some steam.”

I turn to glance at Asher questioningly, searching for something unsaid in his wary gaze. But before I can press for more details, Levi’s hand finds mine. His touch brings a sense of comfort and I hope my being here does the same for him.

“Do you want me to take you back to your place?” I ask quietly.

Levi nods, but he hesitates slightly, making me wonder if he can actually make it to my car and not suffer too much on the ride home.

“Are you going to be sick?”

Levi shakes his head and I stare at him for a moment to see if he’ll prove himself to be a liar about this. When he doesn’t, I turn to Asher and ask, “Can you help me get him to my car?”

Asher walks over to us and together he and I help Levi to his feet. His body leans heavily against mine, although he tries to support more of his own weight.

As he moves his body closer to mine, I worry he might lose his balance and fall. If that happens, Asher and I will have a bigger problem on our hands.

Instead, he tells me, “Thank you.”

Thankfully, everything is okay. Although we have to take our time, soon we have Levi in the passenger’s seat of my car, and I turn to Asher after I’ve closed the door behind him.

“Why didn’t you let him sleep it off here?”

Asher shrugs. “He asked specifically for you and kept making demands to go and find you. I’ve been drinking too and didn’t want to have to chase him down, and the other guys all left and headed to the bar.”

That makes some sense, but I’ve also now chalked this up to this being the result of everyone involved outside of me drinking too much. “I’ll get him home safely.”

“He’s lucky to have you, you know,” he says quietly. “Not many people would have come to his rescue.”

“I know,” I find myself saying without thinking about it.

With a small nod, Asher walks away, returning to his house and leaving me alone to care for Levi.

Once I walk around the car, get into the driver’s seat, and start the engine, I glance at Levi. His eyes are half closed, but he manages to give me a weak smile. I take it as a reassurance that everything is going to be fine, and we’ll make it to our destination unscathed.

The drive to Levi’s apartment is quick and mostly silent outside of the soft music I have playing in the background. I park as close as I can to his apartment building and help him out of the car. We make it up to his apartment without incident, and I lead him inside. Once there, I guide him over to the sofa and help him sit down gently. He looks up at me and I’m shaken by what I see in his eyes.

Vulnerability.

The typical golden boy façade is gone, replaced by something that is much more raw. Whatever has driven him to this moment has hurt him deeply, and to say I’m concerned is an understatement.

“I’ll get you some water and an aspirin to take. Are you hungry? I can throw something together if you have some ingredients in the fridge?”

What the hell am I doing? I barely know the layout of his apartment and now I’m having to navigate it as if I’m here daily and not just here when we fuck.

Levi winces before he responds. “Sure, that’d be great.”

I head for the kitchen, switching on lights as I go. I rummage through his cabinets and fridge, finding ingredients that can help me throw together a simple omelet with some toast. Before I start cooking, I fill a glass with water and grab some aspirin from the bathroom. Once I’ve handed those things to Levi, I get back to fixing him a quick meal that will help him deal with the alcohol flowing through his system.

When I’ve finished cooking, I walk back into the living room with the food and find him sitting up on the couch looking down at his hands. Him being able to do that gives me hope that he is starting to sober up.

I place the plate of food on the coffee table in front of him, along with a fork. He looks at it for a long moment before picking up the utensil and starting to eat. I watch him for what feels like eternity before sitting down next to him.

“You want to talk about it?” I offer gently. I’m not sure what else to say.

He shakes his head. “Not tonight,” he says.

“Okay,” I reply, knowing that pushing him isn’t the way to deal with this. Plus, given the state of whatever this is that is going on between us, we probably shouldn’t be having this type of conversation anyway.

We sit in silence, the only sounds in the room coming from the occasional clink of the fork against the plate as he scarfs the food down. To be honest, I prefer it because it gives me an opportunity to start thinking about how I feel about all of this.

“Thanks for doing this,” Levi’s words break through the silence. His voice is stronger now. He doesn’t look at me as he speaks, instead concentrating on a small piece of egg he’s chasing around his plate with his fork.

“It’s no big deal,” I reply softly, though it feels like I’m lying to both of us.

He finally looks up at me and I swear my heart stops beating. “No, Hailey, it is a big deal. You didn’t have to come.”

I brush off his gratitude with a shrug. “Well, someone had to make sure you got home safe.”

I decide not to mention that he could have easily stayed with Asher. What’s done is done, and now we’re at his place. Speaking of, since he’s doing better, it’s time for me to head back to my home.

“I should go,” I say as I stretch my arms in front of me, mentally preparing for the drive back to my place.

“You don’t have to,” he counters softly, almost too quietly for me to hear.

I pause, slightly confused. “Wait, what?”

Levi puts the fork down and turns to me. He runs the back of his hand along my jaw, and I shiver against his touch almost immediately. “Please stay.”

Our eyes lock, his intense gaze cutting straight through me. It’s a stark contrast to the nervous energy he gave off when we first met and the dominant nature he’d showcase in the bedroom. Every fiber of my being tells me to push him away, to uphold the carefully crafted walls I’ve built. But when I have Levi staring at me as if I’m his lifeline in a chaotic world, I can’t say no.

“Okay,” I concede. “I’ll stay.”