Matt and Pierce Attend the Organization’s Holiday Party: a Game Plan bonus scene
In Game Plan (Vancouver Orcas #1), Matt “invites” Pierce to his organization’s holiday party. The scene below is them attending the party together.
SPOILERS ABOUND!
If you haven’t read Game Plan yet, turn away! This bonus scene occurs between the last chapter and the epilogue. You will be spoiling yourself if you haven’t read the book. You’ve been warned.
This bonus short story is about 2,000 words, so it’s short and sweet. Grab a snack, sit back, and enjoy!
Matt and Pierce Attend the Organization’s Holiday Party
The cat was out of the bag.
Sort of.
As intended, Matt had arrived at the organization’s holiday party with Pierce on his arm. Nasser and Toussaint already knew Pierce, and they hadn’t blinked twice at seeing them together, which meant Jason had probably told them what was going on. Matt introduced him to players and staff as “my partner, Pierce,” earning himself a beaming smile from Pierce, or Pierce introduced himself as “Matt’s partner, Pierce Langley-Brown.” And since his surname was different from Jason’s, nobody put two and two together.
Until Jason bounded up to Pierce and said, “Dad, can I borrow twenty bucks to buy Mae and me a drink?”
Because apparently hard-working twenty-somethings weren’t shy about asking their parents for cash.
“It’s an open bar,” Matt told him.
“Sweet,” Jason whispered, bounding away again.
“Drink responsibly!” Pierce had shouted after him.
Since Matt and Pierce had been standing near several groups of partygoers, it was safe to say the word was out. No one commented on their relationship, though, at least not to his face.
The party was held at Vancouver Lookout at Harbour Centre. At almost 170 metres high, it gave a 360-degree view of Stanley Park, Gastown, the North Shore Mountains, and the downtown core. Poinsettias shone as the centrepiece of every table, a massive Christmas tree stood sentinel over dozens of presents that Santa—aka Alan dressed in the infamous suit—would distribute to the kids later, and a band played Christmas covers. Somewhere on the other side of the circular space were several tables with craft activities for the kids.
It reminded Matt of the corporate holiday parties his dad’s office used to put on when he was a kid.
Today’s party was meant for everyone associated with the organization and their families—office staff, current and retired players as well as signed players who’d never seen game time, and coaches and management. Charlie was here, of course, because he was the baker for their NHL team, and Dorian was around somewhere as the new social media coordinator.
During the catered lunch, Pierce latched onto Matt’s arm as the main course was being served. Bug-eyed, he stared at a nearby table and whispered a furious, “Matt. Matt! That’s Tenor Jones.”
The famous singer-songwriter sat next to Emery Stanton. Also at their table were a few retired NHL players—Emery’s former teammates—and their families.
“He’s my skills coach’s husband,” Matt told Pierce.
“No, I know that. But he’s here. In the same room. We’re breathing the same air in the same space.”
Seated next to Matt, Charlie chuckled. “You sound like I did the first time I realized I was in the same building as him. Super intimidating, right? But honestly, he’s one of the nicest people ever. I can introduce you after lunch.”
The sound Pierce made was inhuman.
Matt got separated from Pierce after lunch with no idea where Pierce ended up. Matt had already had enough of socializing, so he nursed a beer by the windows with Charlie, who looked as tired from socializing as Matt felt. Outside, it was overcast and grey, whereas inside, it was cheery and warm and full of laughter.
He hadn’t told a single soul yet, not even Pierce, but Jason Gauthier was going to see NHL playing time in January. He’d proved himself as an Orca, scoring consistently, and as Matt always stressed, showed up for his teammates. It hadn’t gone unnoticed. Matt found himself in the same bittersweet mindset as when Nasser had been called up. Proud and sad, all at once.
And if Jason kicked ass and took names in the NHL like Matt knew he could? Matt wouldn’t be seeing him play for the Orcas again, just like he hadn’t seen Nasser outside of the infrequent joint AHL/NHL practices.
Christ, it was satisfying as fuck to watch his players make it to the big leagues.
Dorian popped up out of nowhere, brandishing a cell phone. “Smile, you two.”
They smiled—or in Matt’s case, he rearranged his features so he didn’t look so serious while Charlie beamed—and Dorian snapped a couple of photos. He fell into a nearby chair and muttered to himself as he typed. “Coach Shore and Charlie the baker, ready to spread the Christmas cheer at this year’s holiday party. Hashtag hockey, hashtag cousins of the NHL.” He cocked his head. “Cousins of the AHL? Hm. I’ll have to think about that one.”
Where most of the attendees had opted for some sort of business-casual attire with the occasional suit or dress thrown in, Dorian wore a suit and tie in red, white, and green, with cartoon Christmas trees, snowflakes, and silhouettes of Santa’s sleigh. It looked like he’d taken someone’s pyjamas and had a tailor design a suit out of them.
Matt turned his stare on Charlie.
Charlie shrugged. “I tried to talk him out of it.”
Dorian rose and twirled in place, as though modelling fancy couture on the catwalk. “Tell me who else could pull off this suit?”
“Literally no one,” Charlie said.
Thing was, it suited Dorian.
“Hey.” Charlie pulled on Matt’s elbow. “Can you point Brawsiski out to me?”
“Why?”
“Oh. I didn’t tell you. He emailed me and said he could use a PA after all. Good timing too, since my job at Lululemon ends the first week of January.”
Matt’s eyebrows flew upward. “He did?”
Well. That was unexpected. Good, though, that Blair Brawsiski was finally sorting out his priorities.
“Yeah. We were supposed to meet up a couple of days ago, but he didn’t show up,” Charlie said. “Later, he told me he had some kind of emergency with his sister’s kid.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Dorian flapped his arms. “He stood you up for what would basically amount to a job interview? The fuck, Charlie?”
Charlie’s smile was forced as fuck, his shrug jerky. “It’s no biggie.”
“Fuck that. Why would you want to work for someone who doesn’t respect your time?”
Charlie’s lips flattened. “I don’t need you to play guard dog for me, Dorian.”
“Excuse you, I’m way more vicious than a dog.”
Cutting Dorian off before his cousin could rant about keeping promises, Matt called, “Hey, Lin,” snagging the attention of the second half of the Brawsiski-Lindstrom defence duo. “Brawsiski around?”
“He didn’t make it. Dunno why.”
Dorian threw his hands up. “That’s the person you want to work for, Charlie? First, he stands you up, then he ditches the organization holiday party after RSVPing yes. Which I know he did,” Dorian added quickly, pointing a finger in Matt’s face when Matt opened his mouth to argue. “Because I was given the guest list so I could brainstorm fun holiday party social media posts.” He turned back to Charlie. “If he can’t even show up when he says he will, how do you know he’ll pay you on time?”
Matt raised an eyebrow. “Says the guy who’s late for everything.”
“Hey.” Red-cheeked, Dorian poked him in the arm. “I always show up when it matters. You know that.”
Charlie let out a long sigh that spoke of weariness. “How do you know his sister didn’t have another emergency?”
“How do you know the ‘emergency’ isn’t just an excuse not to show up?”
“Because I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt.”
“But—”
“Enough,” Matt said, quietly enough that they both zipped it to better hear him. He narrowed his gaze on Dorian. “You. Stop bad-mouthing my player. And you.” He turned to Charlie. “Dorian’s not completely wrong.”
“Ha!”
“But,” Matt continued, ignoring Dorian’s crowing, “you’re responsible for your own life. Brawsiski’s a good guy. One of the best. I’ve known him a long time, and he’s the first person I’d ask for the shirt off his back if I found myself naked in a snowstorm. But he’s got a lot of responsibilities, and sometimes he lets other things drop because of them. Just make sure that if you do end up working for him that you negotiate terms, including salary and payment schedules. Okay?”
“Yeah.” Charlie bumped Matt’s elbow with his own. “Thanks, Matt.”
“If you’d just let me pay off your debt,” Dorian muttered, “you wouldn’t need a second job. You could just bake to your heart’s content and happily bask in pastry dough and custard until the end of time.”
Instead of getting annoyed at what sounded like nagging, Charlie hugged him. “I love you, Dori. But I have to clean up my own messes.” With that, he headed for the bar.
Dorian watched him go. “I worry about him. He’s too kind for this world.”
Matt grunted and side-eyed his cousin. Dorian was kind too when he allowed himself to be. Matt kept that thought to himself, though. If he called Dorian kind to his face, his cousin would prickle until his hair stood on end and upend his beer all over Matt’s head.
A tingle of awareness traced its way up Matt’s spine, and he looked over the second before Pierce rounded a bend in the circular event space. Pierce smiled at something Alan was saying, and on his other side was the senior vice president of marketing for the Orcas. The three of them made their way to the bar.
There’d been a time when Matt hadn’t thought love was in the cards for him. That he was meant to be alone.
Now he couldn’t wait to live the rest of his life with Pierce.
It was too soon for a proposal, but the intent was there, and they both knew it. One day, Matt would walk down the aisle with this man. He wasn’t letting him go again.
Pierce must’ve sensed him looking because he glanced over, and his smile morphed into pure joy, sending Matt’s heart into overdrive and his stomach into a tangled knot of love and desire. Pierce said something to his companions and detached himself from them. As though pulled by a tether that ran from Matt’s heart to Pierce’s, he muttered a low, “Excuse me,” to Dorian and met Pierce halfway.
“Matt!” Pierce grabbed Matt’s biceps and shook him. “I just spent the past hour talking to Tenor Jones and it was amazing! Also, did you know his name’s not actually Tenor Jones? It’s Felix, which suits him way better, if you ask me. Charlie introduced us, which, by the way, how did I not know two years ago that Charlie was good friends with a superstar?”
“You do know that I was the skills coach for that superstar’s husband two years ago?”
Pierce’s jaw slowly dropped. “That’s right!” He gently punched Matt’s arm. “How did I not know you were friends with a superstar?”
“I’m more his husband’s friend.”
“Semantics,” Pierce said, waving a hand.
Fuck, a happy Pierce was gorgeous, all rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed. The desire to be alone with him swept over Matt with sudden urgency, and he took both of Pierce’s hands in his.
“Hey.” Matt kissed him softly. “You good, LB? You happy?”
“Perfect,” Pierce said, eyes alight with love and exhilaration. “You?”
“Yeah,” Matt eventually said. “I’m perfect too. Did you have fun today?”
Pierce nodded.
“Enough fun that you could blow this popsicle stand early?”
Eyes darkening, Pierce stepped closer. Against, Matt’s mouth, he whispered, “What’d you have in mind?”
“Maybe a game or two of Ring Fit Adventure?”
Pierce stared at him. Stared some more. Then, with no warning, he flung his arms in the air and whooped, drawing the attention of nearby guests. “Yes! I knew I’d lure you over to the dark side. Can we go now?”
“Lead the way.”
Pierce’s grin as he towed Matt toward the exit was all their future Christmases, all of Matt’s future coaching wins, all of Pierce’s antiquing success rolled into one.
* * *
THE END
Copyright 2023 Amy Aislin. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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