Eventually Coach blows the whistle.
"That's enough," he calls.
Players coast toward the boards, breathing hard, tapping sticks against the ice.
Mason skates over to Gabriel and jerks his head toward the tunnel.
"Shelly. Walk with me."
Dex immediately perks up. "Ooooh. Field trip."
"Mind your business," Mason says without looking at him.
"That has literally never happened," Dex replies.
Gabriel pushes off and follows Mason toward the hallway by the tunnel.
From the stands it just looks like two guys going to talk after a drill.
I don't think much of it.
A few minutes later I head down the corridor toward the coffee machine.
Maddie is still happily occupied with the other kids, their laughter drifting faintly from the stands behind me.
The hallway is quieter. Cold air. Fluorescent lights. The distant scrape of skates from the rink.
Then I hear Mason's voice.
"I know what's going on."
I stop.
Gabriel answers calmly.
"Do you?"
"Yeah," Mason says. "I do."
There is a beat of silence.
Then Mason says it.
"You break her heart, I end you."
I freeze in the middle of the hallway.
Gabriel doesn't raise his voice.
"You think I'd do that to her?"
"I think you're a hockey player with a history," Mason says flatly.
"And I think Natalie can handle herself," Gabriel replies.
The air between them goes still.
Then Gabriel speaks again, quieter this time.
