I looooved writing this chapter! So much fun to write. This one is for my sister who begged me to add the one bed trope into this book. Who am I to deny her?
Yes, decided to post the extra chapter today. Hope you all enjoy!
Remember to comment and vote pls :)
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When Tatum woke up that morning, she didn't expect to end the day in Brady's bed.
It wasn't intentional.
Really, it wasn't.
It started when she decided she was going to the away game. The hockey game was at another school this week. Originally, Tatum wasn't entirely sure if was going to go. But when Brady's knee started acting up when she was feeling the muscles around his kneecap, she knew that it would be risky for her not to go. If he got hurt and she wasn't there to help... it just wouldn't sit right with her. Not at this point.
The game was in Massachusetts. The team at the university was notoriously good. Really good. It was a couple of hours away, though. Tatum didn't have a car, and so her only way to get to the game would be to tag along on the bus with the team. It wasn't ideal, exactly. She didn't ever want to see the inside of that bus, if she was being honest. But she didn't want Brady to get hurt and not have her there. He was only just starting to let her help him. It wouldn't be likely that he would accept anyone else's help.
So, there Tatum stood... staring at the bus, contemplating everything.
She tentatively headed towards the open doors, her duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She braced herself for what she might witness in there. It was likely as pleasant as the boy's locker room. Loud. Messy. Dirty. Heading up the stairs of the bus, Tatum sucked in a deep breath and held it nervously. She stood at the front of the aisle, eyes taking in every detail.
It was... clean?
But it was anything but quiet.
The guys on the team were howling with excitement, yelling nonsense at each other. Tatum glanced around to try and spot Isaac, her eyes landing on him towards the back of the bus with another player. He shot her an apologetic look. She mentally cursed at him, but couldn't exactly blame him. She made the decision to come on the trip a bit last minute and only texted him a few minutes ago requesting he saved her a seat.
Naturally, there was only one seat open that wasn't next to the coach.
And that seat was next to Brady Parker.
A few weeks ago, she would've rather sit on the roof than sit next to Brady.
But that was then. This was now.
Brady nodded her over once he spot her at the front of the bus. He placed his bag under his feet, making room for her. Tatum shot him a grateful look, maneuvering through the aisles towards him. She shoved her duffel on the shelf above the seat before sitting down next to Brady.
She felt a fluttering in her chest when she realized how close they would be for the next couple of hours. Their shoulders were pressed against each other and Tatum crossed her legs to avoid those touching his as well. He gave her a loose smirk, as if able to read her mind.
Brady, like the rest of the team, was in a suit. It was custom for their school to wear suits to away games. Tatum didn't quite understand it, but she suddenly didn't care enough to question it. Brady looked... very good. His suit fit him like a glove, his jacket laying over his thigh. His tie was hung formally around his neck.
"Nice suit," she remarked, trying to brush it off as a teasing comment.
Brady chuckled. "It's required, all right?"
Tatum glanced around, curiously asking, "No bus buddy?"
"Perks of being captain," Brady responded with a shrug. "Earned a seat to myself."
"And now you're stuck with me," Tatum pointed out.
"More like you're stuck with us," he countered, glancing back at the rest of the bus. "You've never had to deal with this many of us at once. And you're stuck here. You sure you don't wanna back out?"
Tatum scoffed, giving him a challengingly look as she settled into her seat. "Like you'd let anyone else look at your knee if you got hurt."
"I don't get hurt."
"I hate you."
Brady grinned at her and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when Coach Mercer stood up. He clapped his hands to catch everyone's attention. "All right, everyone good to go? Looks like it's gonna be around three and a half hours till we get there. I want everyone locked in. I'll give you thirty minutes to do whatever you wanna do. But after that, you listen to music. You visualize. Whatever you need to do. This team is good, we know that. We have to be focused."
The team nodded in response and Tatum couldn't help but feel a bit out of place. Coach Mercer turned his attention to her, pointing at her. Tatum's eyes widened, glancing around. He continued, saying, "And we have company. Behave."
Tatum offered a sheepish smile, tentatively raising her hand to say hello as the players turned their focus to her. Coach Mercer sat back down and the players went back to whatever it was they were doing. Tatum yawned, her hand going to cover her mouth. Brady raised an eyebrow, asking, "You good?"
"Mhm," she let out tiredly. "Just didn't get much sleep last night. Wanted to get some stuff done in case I came today. Glad I did."
Brady shrugged. "Get some sleep then. You heard coach, we'll be here for a bit."
Instinctually, Tatum almost denied the idea. She always had something to do to prevent her from sleeping. But then she realized she truly had nothing she had to be doing right now. She hummed in acknowledgement, shifting a bit to get more comfortable. Resting her head against the back of the chair, she let her eyes slip shut as she let out a deep breath to try and relax. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was forgetting something— something important. She tried to ignore the nagging in her head, forcing herself to focus on getting some rest.
Some sleep couldn't hurt, could it?
●・○・♥︎・○・●
"Tatum."
The voice was distant as she felt herself get shaken gently. Tatum turned her face into her pillow with a groan, having no desire to wake up yet. It felt like she barely slept for some reason. She must have been tossing and turning a lot. A few more minutes couldn't hurt. She couldn't even think of anywhere she needed to be.
Someone cleared their throat, but the weird part was that Tatum felt it. That was odd. That didn't usually happen. How could she feel someone clearing their throat?
"Tatum, wake up."
Then she realized she was not sleeping on a pillow.
No, she was sleeping on a shoulder.
And that shoulder belonged to one Brady Parker.
Tatum jolted up, feeling her face heat up.
As it turned out, some sleep could hurt.
She dared to take a glance at Brady, embarrassment flooding through her. He couldn't help himself, lifting an eyebrow as a smirk quirked at his lips. His voice was dripping with an excessive amount of pride as he asked, "Sleep well?"
"I'm... sorry," Tatum said tightly, squaring her shoulders back. "Did I sleep on you the whole time?"
He nodded and she seriously wished she reconsidered taking that spot on top of the bus. "We hit a bump pretty early on. But I didn't mind, seriously. It's not like you've never touched me before."
Tatum blinked, wondering if she heard him correctly. Her head darted to face him as she felt her face heat up once more. "What?"
Brady's lips twitched, explaining, "My PT plan, Hartley."
"Right," she agreed, shaking her head as if she was following the whole time. Her eyes fell to her lap, forcing herself to release the tension she was holding.
He paused and his eyes remained fixated on her briefly. Brady swallowed once before gesturing outside, catching her attention once more. "But anyways, wanted to let you know that we're here."
"Oh!" Tatum realized, looking outside at the campus. "Right, yeah."
Tatum hastily stood up from her seat, eyes shutting once as she scolded herself for acting so odd. Brady followed suit, crouching as he maneuvered his way out of the seat. The rest of players were either already off the bus or waiting to exit. She reached up for her bag but it slid back on the shelf. Slightly embarrassed at holding up the rest of the team, she let out a frustrated grunt as she tried to reach for it. Tatum rose to her tip toes, wiggling her fingers. It was just out of her reach.
"I got it, Hartley," Brady told her, looking nearly pained by her height. He reached up with ease and gripped the handle of the bag, pulling it down. He slung it over his shoulder, nodding at her to go.
"Thanks," Tatum breathed out, slightly taken aback that he was carrying her bag for her.
He scoffed, shaking his head. "That was hard to watch."
"Oh, shut up," she snapped lightly, fighting a grin.
Making their way off the bus, she nearly sagged with relief. After being stuffed into a vehicle with nothing but axe body spray in replacement of air, she inhaled sharply at the crisp autumn air. They were parked near the school's ice rink— it was massive. There was already a line forming of students waiting to get in. Part of Tatum was surprised by the crowd, but both these teams were ranked highly among the nation. She watched as members of the team headed towards the double doors of the stadium rink, clapping each other on the back.
"What time's the game?"
"Not for another hour or so," he told her, fiddling with his tie. It must have gotten undone sometime during the ride because it was all messed up and loose. After a moment or two of unsuccessfully trying to fix it with his free hand not holding her duffel, he seemed to give up.
"Here, give me my bag," Tatum offered, holding her hand out.
"I got it," he said stubbornly, pulling at the collar of his shirt.
She gave him a blank look and Brady just stuck his chin up. "Fine."
Tatum took a step towards him, keeping her eyes on his. He gave her a questioning look, fingers wrapping around the bag strap. She rolled her eyes as she lifted her hands up, starting to fiddle with the tie. Brady relaxed a bit, his gaze locked on her as she focused on the material in her hands. Her eyebrows knitted together in concentration. "God, did you double knot this thing?"
Brady didn't say anything, he just let her work. Eventually, she was able to undo his attempt of tying the tie and start to secure it properly under his collar. His chest was warm under her fingertips and she did her best not to react again. Tatum reached up to try and even out the back of his neck collar to make sure it was smooth. Brady bent his legs slightly to make it easier, his gaze still fixated on her every movement. A strange tingling sensation went through her chest and she could feel her ears heat up as she finished. Her eyes locked on with his and her breath caught in her throat.
Tatum pulled her lips in as she patted his chest gently once, moving the knot of the tie in place securely. "There, all done."
"Where'd you learn how to tie a tie?" Brady asked curiously, straightening his back up.
She smirked at him. "I know everything, remember?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he suggested in a teasing manner. She rolled her eyes, heading towards the double doors.
Once Tatum was through the doors, an arm was slung around her shoulder. She jumped in surprise before relaxing into it. Isaac grinned down at her, happily saying, "Can't believe you're at an away game, Hearty. Never thought I'd see the day you chose to be at a hockey game."
"I'm just here to make sure Parker doesn't need a knee replacement by the age of twenty-five," Tatum quipped sweetly, crossing her arms over her chest.
He hummed in acknowledgment, giving her an annoyingly skeptical look that made her wish she had some duct tape to seal his mouth. "Weird, don't remember you coming to any away games when the other guys had injuries you helped with."
"What a great observation," Tatum commented sarcastically before throwing his arm off her shoulder.
Isaac dramatically clutched his arm, unable to fight the smirk. "Just saying, seems like you really care."
Tatum tried her best to disagree, but it was hard to considering he was right. She had never gone to an away game just because she was assigned to someone. But this was different. She had to do this. Tatum needed to fix his knee. It wasn't as if she wanted to spend more time with Brady. She just needed to do this to get the recommendation. That was all this was. It was the only reason she was here. Obviously.
"In a way, I guess you could say I'm using him for his body," Tatum mused to herself as she tilted her head.
Isaac blinked. "What?"
"If she fixes my knee, she gets some surgeons number," Brady called out as he caught up with them.
"Damn, didn't know you started hooking up with older guys," Isaac said thoughtfully, looking almost impressed with her.
Tatum whacked his shoulder harshly and he helped, dodging her the best he could. "You are so annoying. Need his number so I can force my way into an internship."
"I like the first one better."
"Boys!" Coach Mercer called out, catching everyone's attention. "Hit the locker rooms and get into your gear. We'll hit the ice in fifteen to warmup. We got a game to win."
●・○・♥︎・○・●
For the first time, Tatum was actually enjoying watching hockey.
She didn't know what the change was. All she knew was that she found herself cheering when the Falcons scored. Cheering.
Brady whipped across the ice so quickly that Tatum nearly lost sight of him. Most of the time, the only way she could keep track of him was by spotting his jersey number. A player on the opposing team wasn't far behind him, jutting his stick out in attempt to steal the puck. Brady was quick to slide the puck to Isaac who swept by and easily received the pass.
The team went on the offensive as they crossed to the other team's half of the rink. Isaac flicked a wrist shot at the goalie which was unfortunately stopped short by a defenseman. The puck went flying across the ice, multiple players chasing after it. Tatum's eyes widened with anticipation as it neared the Falcon's goal, but another player was quick to get it out of their zone.
Once the puck was back with the forwards on the opposing side, Theo wrangled with an opposing player behind the net before coming out with the puck against his stick. He flipped the puck to Brady with ease before a defenseman on the other team could get to him. Another player skated towards Brady who quickly disposed the puck to Isaac before hip-checking the player into the plexi. Tatum winced, eyes immediately going to his knee. But Brady didn't falter, much to her surprise. Isaac faked a shot to the net before slapping it back to Brady who easily slipped it into the net.
The scoreboard lit up as the Falcons got yet another goal. They were up by two at the moment and it was nearing the end of the game. The crowd was booing and shouting all sorts of heckling insults. But it only seemed to motivate the team. They clapped each other on the back, the timer on the clock quickly coming to an end.
Tatum cheered for the team as the buzzer sounded, trying to be louder than the hecklers. She wasn't exactly successful, but it caught Brady's attention. He gave her a grin under his mask, and it sent a fluttering feeling through her chest. Brady looked so pleased with the game that he even gave Theo an approving nod before skating over to Tatum on the side.
"Pretty impressive," Tatum complimented with a tilt of her head. That was an understatement— he was unbelievable on the ice, honestly. She heard the rumors about his talent but even those didn't quite do him justice.
He beamed at her. "Thanks, Hartley."
"How's the knee?"
Brady opened his mouth and Tatum had a feeling it was going to be a comment brushing off her question, but then he surprised her. "Sore."
She was careful not to react, simply nodding and replying with, "We can do some stretches before heading back to the hotel."
He nodded at her, seeming somewhat resigned to have admitted that he was in some pain. But Tatum was thrilled. Not that he was in pain, of course. But that he admitted that he needed help. Brady wasn't the type to just ask that. Either he was in so much pain that he couldn't keep ignoring it or he was starting to trust her. Tatum had a feeling it was the latter with the way he was moving with no sign of being in pain.
The team eventually moved into the locker room, briefly going over the game with the coaches. It didn't take as long as Tatum had expected— likely since the team seemed pretty exhausted. Tatum took around twenty minutes to do a few easy stretches with Brady in hopes of easing the pain in his leg. It seemed to loosen some of the tension he was holding in his knee. For once, he actually seemed grateful for it. After they finished, they went to meet with the rest of the team on the bus. The team was staying in a hotel for the night. The game was late enough that the coaches didn't think it made sense to drive all the way back to New York tonight.
And when they walked into the hotel, Tatum realized what she forgot.
She didn't have a room.
"Oh, shit," Tatum cursed under her breath as she stopped in her step. She knew she forgot something.
Brady glanced behind him, no longer walking. "What's wrong?"
She huffed out stressfully. "Don't suppose you guys have an extra room?"
"Shit," he realized, glancing around before finding Coach Mercer at the hotel front desk. Making his way over, Tatum crossed her fingers in hope that they could perform some sort of miracle. "Hey, Coach. We need an extra room."
Before Coach Mercer could even say anything, the man at the front desk spoke up. "We're fully booked for the night, unfortunately."
Unfortunately was an understatement.
Nerves hit Tatum like a truck, the gravity of the situation settling in. She scolded herself for being so reckless that she didn't plan where she was going to sleep tonight. There was no use dwelling on that, though. She needed to figure out a plan quickly— it was only getting later. Tatum wracked her head for any sort of solution, wondering if she could remember them passing any other hotel nearby.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" Coach Mercer pled, leaning over the desk.
The man shrugged apologetically. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I can just sleep on the bus, right?" Tatum offered nervously, looking at the coach hopefully.
"You're not sleeping on the bus," Brady interjected immediately with a scoff before Coach Mercer even had a chance to respond, taking her bag from her hands. "Just crash in my room for the night."
"What?" Tatum checked, wondering if she heard him right.
"You sure you're good with that, Parker?" Coach Mercer checked, looking relieved that the situation was seemingly handled.
Brady nodded in confirmation but Tatum was still hesitant. But before she could protest any further, Brady was heading towards the elevators. Tatum glanced back at Coach Mercer one more time unsurely. He knitted his eyebrows, asking, "And you okay with that?"
"I—" Tatum began, eyes darting towards Brady. She weighed her options, realizing that her best and safest bet was likely with the hockey player. "Yeah, yeah, that works. Thanks, coach."
She hurried after Brady, meeting him at the elevator. The ride up to the room was quiet except for the quiet ding to let them know they arrived to their floor. The rest of the team had already head up to their rooms. Tatum wasn't surprised, really. It was a long day and a hard game. Her mind was racing as they made their way to their room. Their room. If someone had told Tatum a couple weeks ago that she would be sharing a room with Brady Parker... she would've probably gone on a ten minute long rant about how improbable that was.
But here she was.
Brady slid the hotel card against the door and a soft click filled the air. He jiggled the doorknob once before it opened. Brady swung the door open, holding it as he gestured for her to go in. She gave him a quick nods in thanks before stepping inside, her eyes immediately going to the middle of the room.
One bed.
But there was a couch. She immediately took her bag from Brady and placed it on the couch, giving the fabric an experimental push of her hand. It felt like cement. But it was fine— it was better than sleeping on the bus. Brady watched her carefully from the corner, placing his bag against the wall on the floor.
Tatum let the silence continue to fill the air as she grabbed her toiletries and pajamas, hurrying to the bathroom. She shut the door behind her, leaning against it as she gathered her bearings. This was... hard to grasp. It couldn't quite register with her that she was sharing a room with Brady tonight. If it weren't for the couch, they'd be sharing a bed.
She was quick to brush her teeth and wash her face, switching clothes to her oversized t-shirt and sleep shorts hastily. Besides being exhausted and just wanting to get to sleep, she didn't want to hold up Brady from getting in here. She was infringing on his room— she just wanted to get this night over with, really.
When Tatum exited the bathroom and Brady went in, she noticed that their bags were swapped. His were on the couch while hers were now on the bed. Tatum scoffed as she put them back as they originally were, rolling her eyes at his attempt. She sat down on the couch, wincing at the rough material. The sound of water running filled the air and Tatum assumed Brady was taking a shower. Her mind began to wander slightly, her imagination running wild as she realized Brady was taking a shower only a few feet away from her. She felt her cheeks heat up and she shoved the thoughts away.
Tatum sat on the couch, scrolling through her phone. She responded to a few texts from her mother, asking how the game went. Around ten minutes past before Brady came out in a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants, his hair wet from a shower. He glanced at his bag on the bed and then to where she was sat on the couch.
He tossed his bag to the floor, sighing out as he said, "All right, enough. You're not sleeping there. Get in the bed. I'm taking the couch."
"Brady, I'm not letting you sleep on the couch," Tatum insisted as she crossed her arms. "Your knee—"
"Well, I'm not letting you take the couch either," he argued, gesturing to it. "I'm pretty sure it's just a rock covered in fabric."
"What? So, we'll just share the bed?" Tatum asked challengingly with a bit of a scoff, as if it was out of the question.
"Fine," Brady conceded. Tatum jolted slightly in surprise.
"Fine," she said softly after a beat, shrugging as nonchalantly as she could.
Tatum hesitantly lifted the bed sheet, eyeing him daringly as if he would change his mind. He did the same, pulling the hotel comforter back. When neither said a word, Tatum slid under the silky sheets, her eyes remaining locked on Brady. He got in next to her, his body heat reaching her immediately. She slowly laid back, allowing her head to hit the pillow. He mimicked every movement she made, almost as if he was following her lead.
The bed was large, sure.
But it wasn't big enough to share without touching.
When either of them shifted around to get comfortable, his legs would tap against her own as her hand would brush his arm. Tatum tried to contain herself and bite back any reaction she may have. A set of shivers rushed over her whenever they would touch. It was like electricity, almost. All Brady had to do was touch her, and she would feel like her body was on fire.
The only thing illuminating the room was a sliver of light through the curtains on the windows. It hit Brady's face, shining across his features. Tatum laid on her side, watching carefully as Brady laid on his back, his lead lolled towards hers. Their eyes locked and Tatum swore she could see the stars in his eyes. Neither said a word, a hazy sense of peace falling over them.
Tatum could feel Brady's hand near her own under the sheets. Experimentally, almost instinctually, her hand twitched towards his. When he didn't move, she soaked in the brief warmth of his touch. Her fingers just grazed the palm of his hand, but it felt like lightning. Her breath hitched quietly, allowing her hand to relax near his.
Eventually, Tatum relaxed her body and let her eyes slip shut. She could feel his eyes on her still, like his calloused hands were touching every part of her body. Like his eyes could reach her in a way she didn't know was possible. She let that feeling accompanied with the sound of Brady's soft breaths to lull her to sleep.
And naturally, the next morning, Tatum was encased in a strong set of arms.
She half expected to end up on the floor at some point in the night. But there she was— her back against Brady's chest with his arm slung comfortably over her waist. Her head was tucked under his chin and Tatum swore she could hear his heart beating.
Her eyes widened at their position, unsure how to slip out of his arms unnoticed. It wasn't that it was unpleasant, but Tatum wasn't sure she wanted to deal with Brady's reaction to their current predicament. She wondered when exactly in the night they ended up like this. Her mind wandered a bit and she started to unravel slightly. What the hell was going on? One minute, they were fighting like they couldn't stand the sight of each other. The next, she was in his arms.
Tatum was desperate to not think of what Kinsley would think. This was her best friend's brother. Her estranged one, at that. This was crossing so many lines that Tatum didn't even know existed. She knew that this wouldn't sit well with her friend. But this was... something. She couldn't keep ignoring that.
"I can hear you thinking."
Tatum jumped at the groggy, low voice behind her. She twisted her head to face him. She expected him to remove his arms, but they remained heavy on her waist. Her neck strained at her position and she twisted around in his arms, turning to him. Logically, she knew this would make their current position even worse proximity wise. But it was something else entirely when she was just inches from his face. His brown eyes pierced into her own and it was like a trance she couldn't look away from.
Brady smirk loosely at her, as if amused by the entire predicament. "Morning."
"Good morning," she replied, her voice tense. Tatum sat up, pulling herself gently out of his embrace. She leaned her back against the headboard, pulling her knees up.
Brady watched her, staying in his laid down position. His voice was smug as he asked, "Sleep well, I take it?"
"Says the guy who basically used me as a body pillow," Tatum shot at him teasingly.
"Same can be said for you," he countered casually, moving his arm to rest behind his head. His muscles in his arm were incredibly pronounced when he sat like that and Tatum had to consciously move her eyes away.
She rubbed her arms against her bare legs. "What time does the bus leave?"
Brady checked his phone. "We have to be downstairs in thirty."
"Okay," Tatum said softly, nodding slowly. But she made no indication of moving.
He stood up from the bed, his gray sweatpants hanging loosely around his hips. Her breath hitched sharply when she saw his muscles on his lower stomach, prominent and strong. She didn't even realize her eyes were glued to his body until Brady cleared his throat, asking, "You good, Hartley?"
"Mhm," she squeaked out, feeling incredibly shrunken all of a sudden. Brady smirked at her, as if able to read her mind. He knew exactly what he was doing, that much was evident.
Her head was spinning with all of this.
But one thought was clear.
Tatum couldn't stop thinking about how right it felt to wake up in his arms.
●・○・♥︎・○・●
Tatum falling asleep on Brady's shoulder. Brady carrying Tatum's bag. Tatum fixing Brady's tie and him bending down so she can reach. Tatum cheering for Brady. Tatum and Brady sharing a bed. Tatum and Brady waking up cuddling.
You were fed WELL this chapter, my friends.