A huge roar of laughter filled the plane and even Coach Hoyt looked up from his laptop and grinned.
Dr. Pope looked particularly delighted.
“Hey!” Tanner protested. “Fuck you! Fuck all of you!”
“No, no I love this,” Jesse said with a gasp. “It’sperfect.”
“Fuck you especially,” Tanner said, pointing at him. “This totally would have beenyouin Toronto before you hooked up with Connor andfell in love.”
He said the last part in such a disgusted tone it made Thad chuckle.
“Yeah, but I never got a whole team sick,” Jesse said, wiping away tears on his cheeks. “Brilliant idea, Mouse and Turtle,brilliant.”
Turtle was Rafe, something to do with the Teenage Mutant Ninja variety, if he remembered right. Though that was his and Gavin’s childhood, not Rafe’s.
“Thanks! We saw something similar on a sign at the zoo this summer!” Rafe said proudly. “Apparently, one of the penguins there was very naughty. They were tracking how many days since his last incident.”
“We thought of you immediately,” Mickey said with a grin.
Tanner turned to look at Crawford, who was choking on laughter, and glared at him. “And I swear to God, I am going to make one foryoufor every time you get in a stupid fight.”
Crawford snorted. “It’s myjobto fight, dumbass. You’re supposed to be playing ice hockey. Not tonsil hockey.”
Everyone howled at that.
Tanner sat with a huff but even from here, Thad could see a little bit of a smile lurking around the edges of his mouth. He wouldn’t stay mad for long.
When Thad glanced around, he caught a glimpse of Gavin and Dakota sharing a smile and felt a little pang.
He was happy for his brother.Honestly.
It was just that now, he was starting to think he wasn’t such a lone wolf after all. Not when he could imagine waking up with his forehead pressed to the back of Graham’s neck and making him laugh as he crowded him into the shower …
The fantasy popped like a soap bubble when Thad remembered his shower was barely big enough for one man of his build, much lesstwo. And the hot water barely lasted long enough for him to scrub off, much less take his time to get his mouth and hands on Graham the way he wanted.
If Graham was waking up with and showering with anyone, it wasMadison. Someone who was perfect for him.
Someone he could proudly show off to the family.
The twist in Thad’s chest was a reminder he wasn’t that sort of person. Even if there had been perfectly valid reasons for Thad’s decade of incarceration, even if Thad had been protecting Gavin first, then Teddy, he knew how it looked to the outside world.
He knew how people viewed people who’d been incarcerated.
He’d spent the time since then being turned down for jobs, for housing, for loans. All because of the choices he’d made.
He couldn’t say he regretted them, exactly.
He couldn’t have lived with himself if Gavin had gone to jail or if Teddy had been harmed. But it left him floundering and wondering if he’d spend the remainder of his years fighting to build the life he wanted. If he’deverhave the life he wanted.
Thad sighed at the hollow ache that feeling always left him with.
Guys had returned to their previous activities and the plane quieted down, so Thad closed his eyes, tipping his head back to rest against the seat and letting his mind continue to drift.
It was fine. He’d be fine.
So, maybe Graham was the first person he’d ever met who made him think relationships were worth considering but that didn’t have to mean anything.
He’d begun to drift off when Connor’s voice rose over the hum of the plane’s engines and the sound of guys quietly talking.
