Ice Fairy 4 - 16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Brett’s POV

It was a new year, 2015. Brett was anxious to be back on the road after the New Year’s blowup and Sam saying farewell to Amber once and for all. It’d not been an easy time of it; especially right after it happened. Sam put on a wonderful façade that he was coping, but on the inside… Well, Brett knew better than to think this would all blow over in one night’s time.

As they sat cuddled together on the tour bus again; Sam’s head was on Brett’s shoulder and the young skater was snoozing away. It was a relief; Sam hadn’t slept well since the night it all happened and with some help from one of his fellow skaters in the form of a light sedative; Sam was finally out cold.

With all the drama that awaited them in the form of continuing the tour, the wedding planning, and of course the exiting of a friend; Brett was just glad to be getting back into a routine again; but it also meant that this would end in two months and they’d be home again and begin searching for houses.

He had no idea what he wanted; but his parents had paired them with a realtor who sent them endless listing of all kinds in the price range they’d told her. As the miles ticked by, Brett held up his tablet against his knees and swiped his finger across the screen, looking at listing after listing and bookmarking some of them.

When the bus stopped at a planned rest; Brett felt a heavy object pelt his shoulder.

“Hmm, huh? Brett?”

Amused as usual when Sam awoke and looked adorable; Brett grinned at him and shook his head.

“Wake up, Sleepyhead. Time to eat and I’m starved.”

Sam pouted. “But I was having such a nice dream.”

That was good news for sure. Brett felt a shock of relief. “Oh? What about, baby?” He knew they had to get off the bus; but for the moment, the aisle was crowded with the other families. They had a minute.

“Just…” Sam’s eyes opened wider and he sighed. “Stuff. Houses and skating and weddings.” He looked peaceful until his mouth turned down into a frown. “Amber.”

Dammit. So much for an all-good dream. He really didn’t ever want to hear that girl’s name again. As it was she’d tried to call and text Sam and Brett finally blocked her; but like that would stop her. But in the melee of it all; Colby had become a better friend to them all. At least when he managed to send an email or respond to a text.

He’d all but gone into hiding; embarrassment he supposed, or shame over being with Amber so long or figuring out just what the hell was going on in his head. Brett and Sam would of course give him time to figure it all out and not give him a lotta crappy drama to go along with it.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Brett kissed Sam’s cheek softly. “It’ll be alright. All of it. You’ll see.” He patted his stomach. “Right now your man has gotta get up off this bus and get something to eat.” He eyed Sam’s face and waited for his reaction. “You wanna come?”

After an agonizing moment of waiting, Sam finally nodded in reply. “Yeah. Okay. Gotta keep my fiancé fed so we can get moving on that house hunt and get married.” He stood first and took Brett’s hand.

Good. At least he was talking semi-normally again and looking forward to the future that they’d share. It was a nice, sane moment in what had been a maelstrom of drama beforehand.

“Lead the way, baby.”

*

Sam POV

After a filling meal and a nice break; the bus was back on the road again and Brett perused the house listings again; but this time Sam was awake enough to look at them with him.

“Ooh. That one. Go back.” Sam pointed at the screen. “Four bedroom, four baths and a gourmet kitchen.” He glanced up at Brett and laughed. “My mom would be in heaven there.”

“I bet she would. But she seems very happy where she is right now; at least since you fixed it up for her.”

Sam nodded and leaned into Brett’s shoulder. “Yeah. She is.” He sighed and thought about his mother and how she sacrificed everything for them; even living with a monster of a man for thirty long years of marriage.

“She deserves only the best.” He reinforced his thoughts. “So does Kim. I wish I could do more for them.”

Brett cocked a brow and gave him a look. “What more can you do, Baby? You’ve fixed up the house and go visit and do everything you can from the road and when you’re in town you see them. What’s missing from that list in your head?”

“Just…” Sam rolled his eyes and shut them for a moment. When he opened them again he saw the gorgeous blue eyes of his fiancé looking softly at him. “I could give her more leeway with this wedding thing. Or let her help with the house hunt. Hell, we don’t know what we want or need.” He swiped at the screen and went back to the listings.

“You’ve given her free reign, baby. She can go as Japanese as she wants; didn’t you tell her that?”

Sam shrugged. “I guess.”

“Plus my mom too; it’ll be a great wedding. Remember, Ryan and Caleb are keeping track too for their own; they’re budgeting things out now, getting ideas.” He turned the tablet off and turned to Sam. “Wanna tell me what’s really on your mind?”

Dammit. He couldn’t hide it from Brett much longer; he never could. He’d tried before but the truth always came out one way or another. He sighed again and just gazed into Brett’s eyes for a long, long time. Finally, his mind let go of the chokehold it had on him.

“Replacing Amber hurt.” He spit out at last. “Plus it sucks my dad was such an asshole I can’t even invite him.”

There, the truth was out. He felt so small right now, insecure, hurt, like he was as a child. He was curled up in the fetal position in the chair, but was happy he saw Brett’s arms go around him and hold him as close as he could.

“I know. I know.” Brett whispered as he stroked Sam’s hair. “But you’re better off without the poison in your life, Baby. Amber… what can I say? She fooled everyone and I’m damn sorry she jacked you around forever. As for your father; he was a greedy scum. You’re just better off, Sam.”

Sam blinked rapidly to stop the tumult of emotions from making him cry about his lost friend.

“This just sucks rocks.” He commented and it made him feel worse. “I wanna go home and just look at houses and be with you. Is that too much to ask?”

Brett dropped a kiss on his head. “No, that’s not too much to ask. This tour will be done soon and we’ll be home, looking at those houses, and I’ll be teaching the next generation of hockey players.”

Oh right, Sam had almost forgotten that Brett was signing up at the local rink to be a hockey instructor. He’d gotten hired on the spot; the rink manager had known him for years and they were always looking for great teachers. Brett was a natural and Sam couldn’t wait to gather his own roster of students and teach them the spins, jumps, and stroking that he’d done most of his life.

“You’ll be great.” Was all he could utter, but he meant every syllable of it. “I just want us to begin our lives.” The wedding would be the toughest thing to get through for sure; it was wearing on them both. “Would you mind if we moved it up?”

“Moved it up?” Brett laughed. “Our moms would kill us and so would everyone they’ve already booked.”

Sam cuddled deeper into his man’s arms. “I know, but I just wanna be married. Right now. I wanna be in our house and come home from the rink and curl up by the fire and get naked every night.” He stroked Brett’s face and leaned in to kiss him.

“We will, Baby. We’re almost living together now; the house will make that official. I’m not going anywhere, Sam. I know your life has been turned on its ear; but I’m staying. Forever.”

The words were like a balm on Sam’s fractured heart. The loss of Amber weighed heavily on him and the whole Caleb situation had too; he hadn’t even thought about the big guy much. Being away from them was what they needed right now; especially after what had been revealed.

At least this time he didn’t long for Caleb’s hands on his body; he wanted only Brett’s this time. He felt better for having known the truth; and was thrilled to death it didn’t break his friends up.

“I love you, Brett.” Was all he could think of to say at the moment. But it said everything.

The gorgeous blue eyes met his and Brett grinned. “I love you too, Sam.”

They kissed again and after tucking the tablet away, they leaned on each other and napped while the bus took them to the next tour stop.