Two Man Advantage Read online

  The bartender looked back at him and smiled. “Sure, buddy.”

  “Thanks.” He pressed the home button on his phone to see how much longer he had until his flight.

  Two more hours.

  Fuck. He was ready to be home.

  He had spent the day walking through New York to clear his head, but everything reminded him of Matty, and he couldn’t take it. So he’d decided to go home. Unfortunately, he’d missed the direct flight to Colorado by six minutes, and since he had nothing better to do, he figured he’d wait for the next direct flight. He had a thing about layovers; he almost always seemed to miss them. So direct, it was. Gave him a chance to drink his sorrows away and watch his buddy on the NHL Awards.

  Man, he should have just gone. But Matty wanted to stay in New York, Avery was coming up, and like always, Wells had cared more about Matty and his needs and wants. Okay, that wasn’t fair. Matty cared about what Wells wanted, he did, Wells knew that—except when it came to being completely committed to Wells. It just sucked because, in Wells’s mind, their relationship was a runaway train and there was no stopping it. But just when things were great. Perfect, even, Matty was there, trying to throw barricades up to stop it, to take time to think and overthink the whole fucking thing. Wells wanted Matty to stop. To just love him, and things would be fine. They’d get through it, but their love, their relationship, wasn’t controllable.

  That would be their undoing.

  When his phone lit up, he looked over to see another text from Matty.

  Matty: Okay, it’s almost nine. What the fuck, dude? Where are you?

  He swallowed hard, ignoring it because if he didn’t, he’d give in. He’d ignore this incident and just go along with whatever Matty wanted. But then again, how was it fair that Wells wasn’t giving Matty a chance to explain? Matty had just gotten his ass reamed by his dad, and Wells really didn’t give him the time he said he needed. It was just that Wells felt he didn’t need time. Matty should have known what he wanted and done what he promised.

  But how many fucking chances was he going to give the guy?

  Fool me once, shame on you.

  Fool me twice, shame on me.

  There couldn’t be a third time. But somehow, that just felt wrong. He loved the guy, he did. But damn it, what he’d said hurt. He wanted Matty to be sure, to know that they were good. Wells needed time. They both need time.

  But maybe he shouldn’t leave.

  Man, he wished he could talk to Wren or Jensen. They were at the awards, dressed to the nines and having a great time while he was sulking in an airport bar. He could really use them at that moment. They’d know what to do. Or they’d say something, and he’d do the opposite. But at least he’d be doing something instead of sitting there, feeling sorry for himself.

  Glancing up at the TV, he leaned back when he noticed they were awarding the Vezina Trophy, the one Jensen was up for since he was the best damn goalie in the whole world. Wells might be a tad bit biased, but that was beside the point.

  Just as he knew they would, the presenter said, “From the Nashville Assassins, Jensen Monroe.”

  Wells almost stood, but he did clap as the camera turned to where Jensen was giving his beautiful wife a long and lusty kiss. Those two were almost too much. Wells loved it. They belonged together. As Jensen climbed the stairs, a bashful grin on his face and tears in his eyes, Wells’s own eyes started to flood as he shook his head.

  Damn, he was proud.

  “That’s my best friend.”

  The bartender nodded, obviously not believing him as he took his plate and wiped the bar in front of Wells. On the TV, Jensen held the trophy before setting it on the podium and grinning at the crowd. His speech was, of course, humble and professional, just like Jensen was. He was a class act, but when he paused, his face twisting, Wells knew something was wrong. Especially when he left the podium before jumping off the stage. Wells sat up, his own brows coming together when the camera cut to where Jensen was holding Wren up as she held her stomach.

  “Oh no,” he murmured before pulling out his phone and going into their family chat.

  Wells: Did Wren just go into labor?

  Mom: I was just about to ask you.

  Dad: Is she okay?

  Vaughn: WREN IS IN LABOR!!!!!!!!!!

  Vaughn: We’re going to the hospital. Come ASAP!

  Oh. Oh, shit.

  Gunner Cade Monroe was born before anyone could get there.

  Wells met his parents at the airport since their flights were thirty minutes apart, and the three of them rode to the hospital, all too excited to even think. No one had gotten a picture of the baby yet since, apparently, Wren wanted everyone to be surprised when they saw him. Wells couldn’t even sleep. He was so excited to meet his nephew, which sucked since his new flight hadn’t left until the following morning. He guessed that was good though, since he really couldn’t sleep anywhere but in his bed. Or Matty’s.

  And that was another reason he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about Matty. He’d continued to text Wells all throughout the night, but Wells just couldn’t answer him. He was too upset. Too hurt. And he wasn’t sure what to do with all his emotions. He believed so greatly in them as a couple, and Matty had let him down. It was killing him, honestly, since he didn’t know what to do next.

  “Why didn’t Matty come?” Wells looked up and met his mother, Elaine’s, curious gaze. “Could he not make it?”

  Wells shrugged. “Yeah.”

  Winston, his father, laughed. “Wow, that was believable.”

  His dad always could see right through him. “What?”

  “You two are fighting, I’m guessing. He’s got that lying face on,” Winston teased, and Elaine examined him more closely.

  “He sure as hell does. Wells, lying to your mom. That’s rude.”

  Wells laughed, shaking his head. “Shouldn’t you two be thinking of your brand-spanking-new grandson and not me?”

  “One thing at a time.” Elaine waved him off. “What happened? He was a darling at your wedding that turned into Wren’s.”

  “A little quiet, but nice. You two seemed all in love,” his father added, and Wells shrugged.

  “Same problem as before. He doesn’t want to fully come out… Or, no, wait, he does. He’s just thinking too much. He wants to control everything, and no matter how much I explain to him that you can’t control life, he doesn’t seem to want to listen.”

  Winston’s brow rose. “If you know that about him, why are you so upset?”

  Wells paused. “Because I want him to be all in.”

  “Maybe he is, but he’s trying to navigate it?”

  Elaine nodded. “Matty isn’t like you, honey. He hasn’t been out and proud like you have been for the last fifteen or so years. This is new for him. This is hard. Didn’t you say his parents don’t know?”

  “His dad walked in on us yesterday morning, sleeping, and lost his mind. He called us faggots, he ripped Matty a new one, it was ugly. He said Matty’s family wouldn’t love him if he kept on with this lifestyle and that he didn’t raise any gay.”

  Winston rolled his eyes. “I’ve been there, and it was not one of my finer moments.”

  Elaine grimaced. “Not at all. I still get palpitations thinking about it.”

  Wells swallowed hard, not sure what to say, but then his father went on, “I don’t know that there is a father out there who wants to raise a homosexual son, but sometimes it doesn’t work out the way we want. The thing that sucks is we don’t know how to act. We get scared our boy will get hurt, not just emotionally but physically, by stupid people who aren’t open-minded. Soon your anger bubbles over, and the next thing you know, everyone is just screaming and nothing is being done.”

  Wells nodded. “That’s how it was yesterday.”

  “And that’s how it was when I found out you were gay,” Winston said. “It’s hard. It’s not an easy pill to swallow. You blame yourself. You blame the other guy. It’s c