“Captain,” Kovac, my new savior, picked up the conversation before it became more awkward, “I was just showing Caden around the apartment. I hadn’t gotten to the part where you have an ensuite, while he and I must share the second bathroom between us.”
He waved his massive hand in the direction of Hawkin’s room.
“Erm, nooo, that’s more than fine with me. I’m just lucky to be here,” I protested. I shook my head almost violently, not wanting to offend my new captain in any way.
“But he should know the reason why he and I must share such a minuscule space while your bathroom, in comparison, is practically palatial?” Kovak continued as if he hadn’t heard me interject.
For all his bulk, Kovac stepped gracefully to Hawkins’ side, wrapping an arm around our captain with an easygoing affection, but kept his gaze on mine.
“I will tell you a little secret, Caden,” he spoke earnestly, as if his next words held vital information. “Hawk needs all that counter space to himself because of his hair, you see? He’s terribly obsessed with it and spends hours styling it only to cover it with a helmet.”
Kovac’s eyes crinkled with mischief as he spoke, moving his hand from Hawkins’ shoulder to rub his head as if he were patting an unruly puppy. The hair in question was shaved so short on the sides that I could almost see Hawkins’ scalp underneath the dirty blond strands.
Kovac’s true accomplishment lay in how he was able to make sharing a bathroom sound like an injustice done to us, rather than a playful dig at the captain.
He reminded me a bit of Kait in that way, always looking to stir up shit and watch the chaos unfold.
I’d have to reevaluate my initial assessment of his quiet, unassuming demeanor. There was a shit disturber under all those muscles.
Hawkins, for his part, rolled his eyes with an amused smile.
“Okay, Tiger. You can have first dibs on the primary bedroom next season, deal? It’s only gonna cost you,” he paused, miming counting out bills of money, “six hundred extra a month!”
“You wish, Captain.”
A smug smile appeared on Hawk’s face despite receiving another, slightly rougher pat on the head from Kovac. These two really did seem to be best friends.
He beckoned me closer to his opposite side, as if Hawkins wasn’t right there to hear everything. Once I closed the three feet of distance separating us, Kovac leaned down. Shit, I might have been six feet, but I was not Kovac tall. He spoke out of the corner of his mouth.
“Perhaps we should petition Coach Wilder for a new captain. At least one who knows that Kovac was alionand not a tiger, when assigning nicknames, yes?” He winked before straightening once more.
Hawkins ducked under the defenseman’s arm to move into the galley kitchen on the opposite side of the living room. Heretrieved two beers from the fridge and set them on the counter before bracing himself on the granite surface.
Kovac, his good-natured teasing complete, headed in the direction of his own room.
“Wait until he finds out his nickname comes from Tigger fromWinnie the Pooh. He’s more likely to bowl you over on the ice after a particularly good shot on goal in all his enthusiasm,” Hawkins chuckled.
I offered him a genuine, if slightly belated, smile in return.
I was shocked to find that the rigidity of my stance had loosened amid the sibling-like banter between them. My breaths came a little easier knowing that they both seemed to have a chill vibe in rooming together.
Now, all I had to do was make sure I didn’t say or do anything to fuck up in the face of their warm welcome.
four
ASHER
Arguably, the best thing about my new apartment was the view. Well, the view, the fact that it was walking distance to the Hammerheads’ practice arena, and that there was a Tim Horton’s restaurant across the street.
I’d had enough of Toronto gridlock to fill seven thousand lifetimes. A whole year free of insane traffic jams would be heaven.
Some of the tightness in my shoulders and chest released as I surveyed the penthouse’s view of Lakeside.
If I never had to sit on the QEW during rush hour again, it would be too soon. It backed up damn near the whole way from Toronto to my hometown of Niagara Falls at even the slightest traffic incident.
The large river that wove through the center of Lakeside was visible from my balcony. It was located several kilometers east of the arena, a far cry from my condo in Toronto that half-faced the crowded Gardiner Expressway, which ran parallel to the shoreline of Lake Ontario.
If I couldn’t have sunny Florida, I could at least sleep without the sound of honking horns at all hours of the night.
