He didn’t want anyone to see him this way. It made him look weak. His family made him weak. It was only a matter of time before his dad somehow found a way to make a huge scene.
His mom had called Coach to warn her last week. She told Nancy that Sean was still seething. Time had only made things worse. His dad hadn’t tried reaching out to him. His grandfather called once to wish him a Merry Christmas, but that was pretty much the extent of their short phone call. Fletcher’smom had called a few times. She asked him how he liked the team, how he liked his new place, if he was eating three meals a day. Fletcher’s answers were always quick and short. Yes, yes, and only when he remembered.
Fletcher did not ever expect to live in a world where his dad would give him the cold shoulder over making a decision that benefited his career. He of all people knew how important it was to always strive for the best. Strive to be the best. Well, this was Fletcher’s only way to become the best. Staying in Florida and playing for the Manatees was like planting bamboo but surrounding it in a concrete box. He wouldn’t become the best if he stayed. Fletcher knew it. His dad knew it. Even his grandfather knew it.
Thinking about it only made things worse for him.
No one sat in the back of the plane, so Fletcher had the area to himself for the most part.
He threw on his noise-canceling headphones to listen to classical music. Douglas had walked in on him listening to classical music once. He was asking Fletcher for an extra roll of toilet paper. Fletcher told him it was an abuse of his spare-key privilege. Fletcher at least had the courtesy to knock first if he needed to borrow something from Douglas.
He tried to convince himself it was working. He couldn’t hear a thing beneath the headphones, and he had a weighted eye-mask that blocked out any light. Despite having both of them to block the world out, he sensed someone approaching. Of course, it was Taylor Piers. Fletcher pulled off his eye mask and took his headphones off.
It was like his body had become hyper-aware of him at all times. It knew the moment they were in the same room. It was like the Earth stopped spinning for a short, brief moment.Sometimes he could even sense an incoming text from Taylor. It’s like he justknewa text would be from him when he went to check his phone.
Fletcher considered it to be a superpower. It made them an unstoppable duo on ice. The quintessential center and enforcer duo. No matter where Fletcher skated, Taylor was always two steps ahead and able to intercept the opponent. He guarded Fletcher as much as he guarded their goal. Sánchez joked that he was useless as goalie because Taylor was somehow always there at the perfect time.
“You look so cute,” he told Fletcher, moving his stuff from the middle seat to the aisle seat. He sat directly next to Fletcher and held up his phone to show him the photo he’d taken.
Fletcher looked stiff in his seat with his legs stretched out underneath the seat in front of him and his arms folded across his chest. He rested his head on his neck pillow, which completed the whole look. He’d worn a Seaporters T-shirt and noticed he’d looked a little more muscular than he did at the beginning of the season. “Are you gonna post it?” he asked Taylor. He pointed towards his black travel bag. Taylor understood and handed it to Fletcher so he could put his things away.
“Maybe,” Taylor answered. “You know the fans would love that.”
He looked really good, Fletcher noted. His hair was tied back in a small bun—it looked more like a knot, but some of the curls had fallen out and perfectly framed his face. He wore the same T-shirt as Fletcher, except that Fletcher’s was white and Taylor’s was gray. He made himself comfortable in the seat besides Fletcher, stretching his own legs under the row of seats in front of them.
“You’re interrupting my peace corner,” Fletcher complained. Truthfully, he didn’t mind. He welcomed any distraction he could get.
Taylor held his phone out again to Fletcher. “You look pretty zen in this.”
“Yeah…until you came to bother me.” Fletcher pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a pained breath.
“It’s going to be okay,” he told Fletcher, sounding serious. “There couldn’t possibly be anything your dad could say to you about leaving that hasn’t already been said.”
“True,” Fletcher agreed. He was probably right about that. Fletcher leaned his back against the headrest of his seat and took a few deep breaths.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked.
Fletcher shrugged. “Make my family love and be proud of me.”
“Get in line, buddy,” Taylor told him humorously, with a grim edge. Fletcher was surprised when Taylor fully leaned into him. Their shoulders touched, and Taylor smiled at him kindly.
“Would it help if I told you, you have a team who’s proud of you?”
Fletcher looked into his eyes and tilted his head to the side.
“Maybe,” was all he said. His real answer was a hard “no.” Because his family was terrifying and he felt sick to his stomach even being in the same state as them.
They held an intense gaze for just a few seconds. But it felt like an eternity to Fletcher. Those dark brown eyes looked straight into his soul and read him like a book. It made him feel nervous. Too nervous. There was something left unsaid in the air as they looked at each other. A weird tension that hadbeen growing between the two of them. Taylor was probably the most fascinating person he’d met, and for some reason, he could tell that he made Taylor nervous. But Taylor made him even more nervous.
Taylor lowered his lips to his ear. “Would it help if I told you I was proud of you?” He whispered softly, sending a chill down Fletcher’s spine. He was surely blushing and immediately knew he needed to get his head out the gutter. He really didn’t want to, though.
“Nope,” he answered. “You have to be proud of meandtell me you love me,” he goaded.
Taylor narrowed his eyes, still looking at Fletcher. There was something telling about the way he looked at Fletcher. Like he was trying to say something without saying it. There was a hint of intensity in his eyes. The way you look at someone right before you dare them to do something insanely risky.
It took an extreme amount of willpower for Fletcher to ignore the intrusive thoughts that had crept into his mind. Dangerous, reckless thoughts.
And then he pulled away from Fletcher.
