“Things are still good with you and Liv?” He nods as he sips his smoothie. “She’s ready for the intensity of the playoffs?”
“Her dad is Devin Garrison, dude. Her brother is Conner Garrison, the biggest comeback kid in the league. Her baby sister is Mae Garrison, the hottest goalie in the college league. She understands all aspects of hockey.” His tone is calm but I know I’m annoying him.
I shovel more oats into my mouth to avoid saying more. I remind myself I like Liv. Crew watches me and a small smile tugs on his mouth. “You’re the one who jumped into marriage with a Garrison, not me.”
I roll my eyes. “Ugh. Don’t remind me. I left an urgent email for Charlotte last night. I haven’t heard back yet.”
“It’s a weekend, Nash,” he reminds me. “She might not get back to you until Monday.”
“I don’t want to wait that long to fix this,” I complain as I finish the oats and drop the container into my recycling bin as I grab the burrito. “We start playoffs on Wednesday. I want this dealt with by then.”
“I’m fairly certain you can’t annul a marriage in forty-eight hours.”
“I’ll pay anything.” I sound so desperate I don’t even recognize my voice.
Crew laughs. Asshole. I don't say it, but I glare it and he reads it loud and clear. "I'm sorry but it's hilarious how much your two repulse each other. You're not a bad-looking dude…"
“Thanks.”
He tips his drink toward me. "We look incredibly similar. Of course, I think you're good-looking because I know I am. Anyway, Tenley is five-alarm fire hot. Like the classic American wet dream, and yet you act like she's the Hunchback of Notre Dame. And vice versa."
"Personality-wise the Hunchback is more likable than her."
“Maybe to you, but I’ve gotten to know Tenley well because of Liv and, honestly, Nash, she’s a gem,” Crew says. “She’s always there for Liv. She’s there for Tate. She’s working her ass off to make her own dreams come true and she’s like a second mom to Dylan. Definitely the best aunt that kid could ask for.”
“Great. I drunkenly, accidentally married a woman who is wonderful to everyone but me. Good to know.” I tear off another chunk of the burrito and when I’m done chewing and swallowing I add, “I’m still unmarrying her.”
“Yeah. I get it.” Crew is still smiling.
“Stop enjoying this.”
“It’s just… You will get this sorted and no one will ever know that you and Ten were married,” Crew says, and I feel relief when his expression finally turns serious. “And when all is well hopefully you look back on this and laugh. Or at the very least the next time you want to judge me you remember this and realize that you, too, can get yourself into some really stupid predicaments. God, that’s so refreshing to know.”
“I want to the throw this smoothie in your face.”
“It cost twenty bucks. Don’t.”
I don’t care about the cost but it is freaking delicious and hydrating the hell out of me, which I need since I had a couple more drinks when I got home last night to settle my nerves. “Want me to drive you to the meeting?”
“Yeah. Sure.” I turn and head toward the floating stairs next to the bathroom door. “Let me throw on some real clothes.”
Forty minutes later we're at the practice arena for our meeting. Usually, the smell of the ice (yes, ice has a smell, like fresh winter snow) and the familiarity of the stone walls and the people in Quake gear makes me feel good. It relaxes me, as does working out, which I intend to do after our meeting with the coach. But today none of this is calming me. I can feel a tension knot between my shoulder blades.
Crew and I are meeting with our head coach Jude Braddock. It’s a standard regroup before we start our playoff run, since we’re captains and Coach wants to make sure we’re on the same page with our attitude regarding the team. It’s not just a physical challenge, the playoffs, it’s a mental one too and if the captains don’t keep a positive, motivated locker room it can tank a playoff run as fast as a bunch of injuries.
Speaking of which… the dull ache in my leg isn't getting any dimmer. I promise to add that to the list of things I have to deal with before the first round starts. Braddock walks in wearing a Quake tracksuit and carrying a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf coffee cup.
"Hey, boys. How we feeling about things?" He drops down into his seat across the desk and puts his cup down.
“Good,” Crew speaks for both of us. “We’ve been talking about how to keep the repeat pressure off and just get everyone to focus on the games one at a time.”
"That's the hardest part. And there'll be a lot of 'you scored this many goals or blocked this many shots this last season, why can't you do it this time' from the reporters. It can really get into some players' heads, so watch for it. Cut it off if reporters start it. And don't let it get in your heads." Braddock knows what he's doing. He's won back-to-back Cups as a player. There are a lot of eyes on him because if he wins back-to-back Cups as a coach too, it's something for the history books.
“Nash is better than anyone at keeping guys focused.”
“And Crew is good at keeping them motivated.”
Braddock smiles at us. “I gotta tell you both that I wasn’t sure we’d get here at the beginning of the season and I sure as hell wasn’t sure you two would become the leaders I knew you could be, together.”
