NICO: Perfect.
I pulled on a hoodie and sweats, glanced in the mirror, and combed my fingers through my hair. Shit. I’d have to be careful because I was tired; for me, that usually meant having no filters.
Stay calm. Be normal. Help him have fun.
14/
nico
Packy openedthe door and tried to smile, but it didn’t work. Without a word, he stepped aside and pointed at two chairs by the window.
We sat, and once again, he said nothing. Someone had to say something, so I went with what I had. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he said.
No jokes or easy banter, only a repetition of whatI’dsaid. The tension stretched to the breaking point. I bounced my knee so hard I put a hand on it to stop. Desperate to get us talking, I said, “I’m starving.”
He nodded. “Room service is on the way. Any minute.”
That got the words flowing, but we avoided what we needed to say. Instead, we discussed our teams’ schedules, how cold it was in Buffalo, and our flight times the next morning. It was all empty talk, and we soon ran out of things to say.
Packy stared past me at the wall, biting his lip so hard it looked painful. This wasn’t the same guy who used to be my best friend, or the one I’d battled with for years. He was hell and gone from the man at the charity game and locker-room press conference.
I’d had enough. “We were good today,” I said, “so why are you acting like someone stole your stick?”
He exhaled slowly, keeping his eyes on the wall. “People are getting it wrong.”
“Getting what wrong?”
“All of it.” His voice hardened. “The chemistry crap. Packo. Bromance. They think I’m your boyfriend.”
I laughed, but not because he was funny. If he was trying to make me feel bad, I could be an asshole too. “Maybe because you act like it half the time.”
He jerked his head around and glared at me. “The fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means stop hiding behind jokes and silence. If you have a problem with me, say so.”
His eyes flared, and I braced for a fight as he opened his mouth. The knock came at the worst possible moment.
He answered the door, and the room-service waiter wheeled in a cart with burgers, fries, and beer. Too hungry to talk, we ate in silence. The stress was like a thundercloud in the room.
Pack finished first. He wiped his hands, then looked at me. “You want to talk? Let’s do it.”
“You go first,” I said. “I’m not finished eating.”
“Fine.” He dragged a hand through his hair and huffed out a breath. “Why the fuck would you say I act like your boyfriend? I can’t stand the sight of you.”
My stomach twisted, and I had to work to swallow a bite of burger. I pushed my plate away. “I said it because it was true enough to get your attention. But you don’t act like any boyfriend I’ve ever had.” My nails were biting into my palms, so I forced my hands to relax. “Why does it bother you so much? Everyone knows you’re straight.”
His face turned red, and then he detonated. “You jumped me in the locker room in college. Why didn’t you talk to me first? You just came at me in front of everyone.”
“Because you spent a week running your mouth about me when—” I swallowed to slow myself down. “After the thing with Kayla, I’d walk into the room and find you laughing with the guys. It happened over and over, and Ogden finally told me why.”
The color drained from his face. “I was bragging, Nix. Like you always did.”
“You were spreading lies,” I shot back. “Stuff about the cops dragging me out of her place.”
“I never said that. Not one time.”
