“Hey man, get the door for me.” Brandon bellows from upstairs.

I give up trying to tie my bow-tie in the hall mirror, and let it hang over my shirt. Fucking hate these things.

I figure Brandon knows who’s at his door, so I don’t bother looking through his peephole.

It’s also comically low, and I’m sore as fuck from conditioning with the PT yesterday.

I pop the door open, not surprised to see Mickey. She looks much more tame today. Her hair is a muted dark brown instead of the red it was when we met. Her slim face looks really…glowy.

I don’t know what women call that, but it looks kinda cool. She’s wearing a long white dress that has some dark beige mesh type details over it that almost blend into her skin.

“Nice to see you again, Mickey.”

“You too, stud.” She walks in and leans up to kiss my cheek. I barely know who the woman is, but she acts like we’re so familiar that I can’t do anything else but just…go with it.

Brandon comes clunking down the stairs, fiddling with his own bow tie. “I fucking hate these things.”

“Tell me about it.” I sink my hands into my pockets, watching as Mickey and Brandon meet at the bottom of the stairs silently, giving each other a look I feel uncomfortable just watching. “Hey, none of that. Spare me, please.”

“Did you figure out who my sister is yet, Harlan?”

“What do you mean figure out? You didn’t give me any real details.” I shrug on my suit jacket and make sure my phone and wallet are in the inside pocket, heading towards the door.

“Well, you’ll get to see her tonight. You’ll get to meet our dad too! It’s going to be a nice little family affair.” She glides out the door past me and Brandon gives me a confused look. I return it, throwing my hands up.

“Why the fuck does your girlfriend speak in riddles?”

“Not my girlfriend. But honestly, I’ve been a little lost since I met her in high school so I don’t have any good tips.” He mumbles back before he rushes to open the car door for her.

I palm my phone, turning it over in my hands on the drive. I keep wanting to call Kaija.

I said some stupid stuff that night at Brandon’s. Stupid seems to be my only mode around her, but maybe we can work on it.

I’m used to just doing things however I want to do them, saying what I want, not really having to answer to much. I try not to be crude or disrespectful, but no one really questions my opinion unless it’s about hockey. Even then, I’ve always got an answer.

I didn’t even ask what she was doing there or how she knew Brandon.

“Brandon, do you know a girl named Kaija? I don’t know her last name.”

Mickey snorts, crossing her legs, and I frown. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“No, what? And can you please use plain speak this time?”

“I guess I can’t really blame you, it’s not like we’re blood sisters or look like, but I’d have thought you’d put it together by now.”

“Who are y’all talking about, babe? You got other sisters other than Little K and Big K?” Brandon questions, and finally, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

“You really don’t remember Little K’s real name?”

“Kaija, Kaija is your sister?? Fucckkkkkk.” I gape, shaking my head.

“Look at that, he put it together quicker than you did.” Mickey swats Brandon’s leg and he grabs her hand, kissing it with a wink.

Gag.

“You know Kaija?” Brandon asks.

“Yeah, yeah, we…uh…yeah.” I unlock my phone, pulling up my messages and starting a new one. When I type in her name, her last name comes up but I hadn’t paid attention to it before.

“Wait, did you say your dad’s gonna be there?”

“Mhm. Dad, mom, sisters, the whole shebang. Gotta get these good-will pictures.”

“Good-will?”

“Our dad’s running for mayor.” She laughs again. “You hooked up with a senator’s daughter, stud.”

I close the message I was going to send to Kaija and forget any notion I had about apologizing to her.

There’s no way I can touch her or be seen with her, now. Not with me not knowing what’s going to happen with this sex tape. She doesn’t need to deal with that if she’s going to be in the spotlight with her dad.

“You goof, let me tie your tie.” I sit still and silent while Mickey ties it, sitting back numbly when she finishes.

When she said Kaija would be there, I was excited to smooth things over.

Now all I feel is dread.

* * *

I’m hiding in a curtained alcove, nursing my second glass of bourbon when I hear her voice for the hundredth time that night.

Sigh.

I feel shitty.

The rest of Mickey’s family met us just inside the gala, where everyone was gathered for drinks before the kid’s pageant and auction. I met Senator Banks, Mickey’s mom Sina, and their sister Keyra. Mickey just introduced me as Brandon’s friend, and I realized I’ve met Senator Banks a few times just as Marcus. We’ve been at some of the same events at the team’s GMs house.

Kaija came up and we introduced ourselves like we’d never met, then I gave her the cold shoulder and tried to pretend like she wasn’t there.

Thing is, I knew where she was at all times.

She sat directly in front of me for the kid’s pageant, and I had to look at the soft column of her neck the whole time, remembering what her skin felt like under my mouth. How she shivered when I bit her near her collarbone.

Had to smell her perfume every time she brushed by me, and watch her eating dinner and laughing with Sina. Watched the way her pale pink dress flowed over her curves and draped off her shoulders, modest but still so sensual that it should’ve been indecent.

The one time I accidentally caught her eye, she cocked her head like she was questioning my behavior, and I blinked slowly and looked away. I just dismissed her.

Mickey tried to corner me earlier, but she was pulled away by their sister Keyra and I was spared. I’ve even managed to avoid Charlie, and I spent time with a lot of the kids to keep me away from too many of the adults.

There’s no way Kaija will figure I’m in here, so I lean against the wall by the edge of the curtain so I can hear better. If I can’t have anything else, I’ll take just listening to her.

Didn’t realize exactly how interested I was until the possibility completely disappeared.

“…talk about this with you, Keyra. I’m a fucking adult.” That’s definitely Kaija.

“Sometimes you don’t see what’s best for you, Kai. I just want you to open your mind a little more.” The proper voice talks back, cool and sure.

“I’m dating someone, so no, Charlie can’t be my plus one for the rest of the events. Are you happy now?”

Keyra gives a short laugh. “You don’t date on your own anymore. Not unless someone puts the equivalent of a gun to your head.”

“You of all people know exactly why that is.” Kaija says softly, a hard note to her voice, and both of them are silent for a minute.

“Who is this young man?” It’s funny. When I met Keyra, I thought she seemed more like the mother than Sina. I can practically here Kaija roll her eyes.

I want to know who this guy is too. If he’s a good guy, it’ll make me feel much better about being such an ass tonight.

Apparently it’s not Charlie, so that’s all the news I really need.

“You met him tonight. It’s…it’s…” She pauses and I creep a little closer, hoping I didn’t miss it. “It’s Harlan.”

Holy shit.

“You two have barely interacted all night.” Keyra’s voice is suspicious. Hell, even I wanna know how she’s going to explain this.

“Not everyone wants to parade their personal lives in public. You already know this about me.”

“Well, where is he? I want to talk to him more since I know you two are together.”

“You mean you want to harass him about behavior and grill him to see if he’s good enough stock to be associated with you.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re dating him, not me.”

“But we’re all extensions of you and dad, Key. Don’t worry, I know the score, big sister. He had to take a call.”

“Find me when he’s back. It’s been ages since we’ve met anyone you’re interested in.” I hear a kiss and I assume Keyra kissed Kaija on the cheeks, like she did earlier. I hear heels moving away and I stand there, waiting for Kaija to walk away.

“Why the fuck did I say that?” Kaija hisses, stomping a heel on the tiles. “Fuck me.” I debate for a quick second on if I should show myself.

Sex tape.

Fuck. I pull the curtain back, and grab Kaija, pulling her behind it quickly.

“Sssh, it’s just me.” I’d clapped a hand over her mouth and I remove it, flinching a bit when she immediately punches me in the abdomen with more force than I thought possible.

“Jackass! Do you know I was about to knife your ass?”

“With what knife?” I can’t resist. Immediately, she moves aside the slit in her dress and flashes a small sheath and my eyes almost pop out of my skull.

“What the fuck kind of life do you lead that you carry a weapon on you at a children’s gala?”

“I don’t like being caught by surprise.” She avoids my question, dropping her dress again. “What do you want? You’ve been a dick all night and now you want to talk?”

“I heard you talking to your sister, heard what you said about us.” I drop down heavily onto the cushioned bench behind me, picking up what’s left of my drink.

“Oh.” She breathes. “Well, the good thing is, there’s only maybe three things that Keyra prefers I have a plus one for. The rest, it’ll just be the immediate family.”

“I can’t do any of it, Kaija.” I confess, throwing back the bourbon. “You’re not gonna want our names linked, not for something important like the end of your dad’s campaign.”

“You’re an all-star hockey player that donates a shit-ton of money to charities. What’s the worst that could happen? We just pretend we don’t hate each other.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“That’s nice.” She crosses her arms, face blank.

“Cold as fuck.”

“I’m just taking my cues from you tonight. What is this about you can’t do any of it? And why do you sound like a sullen teenager?”

I lean against my knees, shaking my head with a laugh. “Everyone’s about to see me in all of my sexual glory.”

“What do you mean?”

“A sex tape, Kaija. Everyone’s about to see a video I thought didn’t exist anymore, that I filmed on a whim with my first girlfriend after I got drafted. I was young and cocky and didn’t want to listen when everyone said she was bad news.”

I don’t even lift my head to see what her reaction is. I’m not even ashamed about filming the tape itself. I’m comfortable with sex, it was something I did that I thought was private and I don’t think I can be faulted for that.

But my mom, my brother, my friends - it’s just embarrassing because of the situation and who it was with. What I did, how I acted. And I feel ashamed telling Kaija about it because I thought I knew it all back then. Thought I had it all figured out and now it’s come back to bite me in the ass.

“Well…I can’t say that was what I was expecting.” She breathes.

“Not someone your dad’s gonna want in your life.”

“I’m sure you heard me tell my sister I’m an adult. I said I was dating you, and I’m sticking to it. What kind of girlfriend would just ditch you because of an easy mistake made years ago?”

I raise my head, needing to see her face to see if she’s just fucking with me. Her eyes are steady, though. Resolute.

“That’s a stupid idea. It’s the whole reason I was avoiding you tonight.”

“We can both be bad seeds together, redeemed and all that jazz. I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal, plus I really would like Keyra off my back about Charlie. We’ll deal with whatever happens when it happens, but we’ll do it together.”

“Did you not just tell me you never wanna see me again just last week? I’m getting whiplash.”

“I don’t remember using those exact words. Did I say that?” She shrugs, rising from the bench. “Well, today’s a new day and it’s convenient for me to like you right now, so that’s what we’re going with.”

She pulls open the curtain, motioning for me to follow. “Come on, so Keyra can grill you to her liking.”

I’m too shell shocked to do anything but follow.

There’s no way this won’t go up in flames.