Coop told me Lily came over to help.
I’m so sorry I can’t be there.
Tyler’s mouth curved into a fond smile as he typed a response.
Tyler
He’s feeling better! Exhausted, but keeping down some broth and crackers.
Oof. Poor guy. Glad he’s doing better.
Are we okay?
So much about the situation was shitty, but weretheyokay? Would Tyler and Jamie and the relationship they were trying to build together survive this?
We are, Jamie. I’m still in if you are.
I’m in.
I know and trust that you will do whatever feels right for you and Rowan, but I need you to hear me when I say I want you at the game. I know it hasn’t been very long, and so much is still new, but I think you could be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
Tyler glanced across the room to where Rowan’s face was litby the golden-pink glow of the salt lamp. He was deeply asleep, his chest rising and falling under the quilt.
Carefully, Tyler crept out of the room.
The game was still two days away, but now there was Rowan’s stomach to think about.
In his closet, two custom-made puffy jackets–one child-sized and one adult-sized, were tucked away, the fabric pristine and untouched. Orange stitching on green letters across the breast wrote out “Sullivan,” and the number three was embroidered on the arms.
When Layla had asked for their measurements for the team-issued family jackets, Tyler had wavered. He hadn’t known then if he and Jamie had that kind of staying power, or if Jamie would want him and Rowan showing up with him to team events in any sort of formal capacity.
The two jackets were there, waiting, a visual announcement to the world that they were with Jamie. He and Rowan were the captain’s chosen few. Hisotherteam. The team he came to visit after a roadtrip. The team he went with to the Children's Museum, who got the gift of his soft smile and warmth.
The sheets were cold when he crawled into bed. Tyler grabbed his phone, typed out a quick response to Jamie, and then tossed it face down on the floor beside his bed.
Tyler
We’re with you, Captain.
CHAPTER 23
JAMIE
THE MUSKIES FAMILY
“Alright, cut.”
“Where to next?” Jamie lifted his chin as one of the network assistants unclipped the mic from the collar of his team-issued jacket. They’d been given brand new team gear with the Winter Classic logo, and the players had specific instructions detailing what they were expected to be wearing at each event leading up to the game.
Beside him, Mitch wiped his forehead. “Aren’t you the one with the schedule memorized?”
Jamie shook his head, pushing to his feet and pulling out his phone to check their schedule.Lunch. Thank god. He was ravenous.
He and Mitch had just finished filming some silly content videos intended for social media. For as long as they’d been on the same team, the media had highlighted his and Mitch’s friendship. Today, they’d taken a best friend quiz about each other, writing their answers on little white boards.
Of course he knew Mitch’s favorite candy was Swedish Fish, even though they were, objectively, disgusting.
It was the kind of stuff people loved, and the league made sureto flood the fans with behind-the-scenes videos leading up to their big events.
