“It was work.”
“Uh-huh.” He squirted water into his mouth and smiled at me over the bottle. “Luca and I saw some clips online.”
I shrugged. “Everyone’s seen those. They’re everywhere.”
“Looked like you were enjoying yourself.”
“It was work. I smiled because they told me to.”
Riley glided over, eyes wide and wearing a crooked smile. “Yeah? You smile like that at work, I’d be worried you were sweet on Harpy.”
I gritted my teeth so hard they ached. “Can we not do this?”
“Do what?” Riley asked. “We’re just making conversation.”
“For real,” Harpy said. “Why are you so sensitive?”
“You’re busting my balls.”
Holky and Dog, who’d been nearby, joined us. Holky backhanded my arm. “Seriously, buddy. After all the things you’ve said about Rossi, you go on a trip with him and suddenly become best friends? What happened?”
I slammed my water bottle down. “For fuck’s sake, we called a truce for the cameras, and that’s all.”
Harpy and Riley shared a dubious look.
“What?” I snapped.
Dog slapped my hip pads. “You seem different since you got back. Wound up.”
“I’m always wound up.”
“Not like this,” Harpy said. “Look, we’re joking around, but if the Rossi stuff is getting to you, you can talk to me. That’s what captains are for.”
His devil’s horns had disappeared, replaced by a golden halo. These guys were my best friends, and they didn’t deserve me being an asshole because I couldn’t figure out my own head.
“I’m fine.” I tried to sound like I meant it. “Really. It’s weird, spending time with someone I’ve hated for my entire adult life. My brain doesn’t know what to do with it.”
Riley nodded. “Makes sense. It’s a long time to hold on to something.”
Criswell announced the break was over and called for targeted shooting drills. The boys’ words stuck with me through the rest of practice, but there was something more: underneath the chirps was a reminder they had my back.
I needed to get my shit together. I’d spent years being furious at Nico, and I’d never once stopped to ask if I was wrong. Now I didn’t know what to think.
10/
nico
The Condors’practice facility had always been like home, but when I pushed through the doors a few days after Houston, it felt odd. Nothing there was different, but something inside me was. I couldn’t stop thinking about Packy.
Maybe I was overreacting. Two days with him hadn’t changed anything. We did our job, entertained some kids, and went our separate ways. End of story.
Except I kept replaying the one-on-one at the school. Packy and I fell into sync without trying, reading each other as if we’d never stopped playing together. I still heard his laugh when he almost went down trying to steal the puck from me. It was the same high-pitched laugh I hadn’t heard since college.
I went to my stall and started changing. Most of the guys were already on the ice, but Kai, our starting goalie, hung around, pretending to adjust his pads. Obviously, he was waiting to ambush me.
“So,” he said, glancing up. “Atlanta, Houston?”
“What about them?”
