let the light in | jack hughes

Chapter 19

[December 25th, 2023]

Beatrice

We've been running around Thea's house trying to hang up a few decorations for the party, adding a few extra lights up around the house and even hanging up a few mistletoes for the players bringing a date. I know Erik is bringing his wife and kids and I think Dougie is bringing his girlfriend. As for the other boys they haven't said anything.

While Thea and I were settling up food trays after getting ready she was asking me a few questions about work before snapping. "Okay, I can't tiptoe around this anymore. How are things with Jack?" She says stabbing some fruit onto a stick as I put some homemade cookies into a bowl. "It's been going, it's really hot and cold," I tell her unsure of a better way to describe it. I tell her everything from the first hookup to me blowing up on Jack after practice. 

"Damn," She says almost out of breath, and I press my lips together before nodding slowly. "I swear he wasn't like this be-," she says before I cut her off to finish her sentence. "Before Kyndall? Yeah, so I've heard," I tell her raising my eyebrows as I say it. "I'll tell you what I've been telling everyone else, I'll wait up on him just for a little longer," When I say that she gives me a soft smile, content with that answer. 

"Just out of curiosity, what was he like when he was with Kyndall?" I ask knowing very well this could be something that pushes me into a spiral. Dorothea sighs softly before starting, "He was just so in love. Like she was a model so anytime he had an opportunity to go watch her in a show he was there, and the videos of just him watching her are so precious it hurts. But something I've heard because she said it in an interview was that when she'd get stressed over work he'd plan her a spontaneous trip and they'd go away for the weekend so she could come back and feel better." 

Even though I invited this conversation it doesn't make it easier to hear. I nod through her words, my jaw hardening as she tells me how Jack used to be. If only he could find it in his itty bitty Grinch heart to do it all again. But it's nearly impossible trying to turn a hookup guy into a relationship man, and Jack is not a project. He's just a guy I've been hoping would let me give him more than sex.

All I can hope for this time of year is a classic Christmas miracle. 

-

The boys start arriving around 6 pm, bringing a type of alcohol and some snack. I open the door, giving out hugs and introducing myself to new people. By the time we have a good amount of boys here my mom and aunts walk down the stairs introducing themselves just like I did. "Hi, I'm Beatrice's mother, I'm Kata," she smiles, pulling all the boys into her classic warm motherly hug. 

My mom sits at the table telling the boys about her time in Greece and what it's like to live there when Nico walks in. When I hear him I turn my head and smile at him, walking over to wrap him up in a tight hug where only I'll know the deeper meaning. I pull away and he chuckles, "What was that for?" I pull away, shrugging my shoulders before saying, "I just love you," I giggle, giving him a warning that my aunts have already had a bit to drink.  

And best believe when he walks into the dining room my aunts are calling him over, pressing a big kiss on his cheek. "How do you guys do it? I wouldn't be able to focus if I had a teammate that looked at cute as Nico," Aunt Meg beamed, caressing Nico's face with her thumb. "Trust me, Meg, it's hard!" Dougie says, blowing out a dramatic breath.

A few moments later I get a text from Devon letting me know she's outside. I jump up from my seat and run outside and meet her at her car, greeting her with the biggest, most heartfelt hug. "Hi sugar!" she giggles, stumbling backward from the hug. We stand outside for a little in the god-awful freezing cold weather. "Is Jack coming?" She wiggles her eyebrows.