At least, Jace was going to go to bed early. Noah was kind of a night owl, especially now that he didn’t have to get up for work in the morning. That suited Jace fine, with his weird hours. Noah could work while he wasn’t there, and hang out while he was. It was the perfect arrangement.
It took Jace a second to register what he was seeing. Rafe hadn’t come to shower with the rest of them. Instead, he was sitting on the bench, fiddling with a pair of skates.
Familiar skates. Not Rafe’s skates.
Noah’sskates. Noah’s bright yellow, old fashioned, really distinctive skates.
He was loosening the nut that held the left front wheel on. Jace could see the wrench he was using from where he was standing, glinting under the fluorescent lights of the locker room.
If that came off in the middle of the game—which was the next time Noah would be wearing them—it could cause serious havoc.
“Hey,” Jace said. “Did Noah ask you to do that?” He nodded to the skates, though Rafe hadn’t turned to look at him yet.
Jace knew for a fact that Noah wouldn’t have let anyone else touch his skates, let alone modify them. Even Jace himself wouldn’t have touched Noah’s skates, and they were supposed to be married.
Rafe turned, going pale when he saw Jace. “I was just checking them out, man. Thinking about a new pair. No harm meant.”
“Checking them out with a wrench?” Jace raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”
The wrench had vanished, but Jace was sure it was in one of Rafe’s pockets. Not that it mattered. They both knew what he’d seen.
There was a tense pause, and then Rafe bolted. Not fast enough, though. Jace leapt over the bench he’d been sitting on and rammed him against the wall, pinning him in place one-handed.
“What thefuck, dude? First you throw Noah into me and get us both knocked over, then you hit him in the chest last game—and I don’t think that was an accident anymore. Not now. Not when I just saw you tampering with his skates.”
Jace could hear some of the other guys coming out of the showers, hanging back. On the one hand, it was good to have witnesses.
On the other hand, Rafe had been trying to hurt Noah. Jace might have been tempted to do him some permanent damage if no one had been watching. He wasn’t sure whether he was glad he’d been stopped, or disappointed.
“Is that true?” Noah asked from behind him.
Rafe looked away. It wasn’t quite a confession, but it was enough. More than enough for Jace, anyway.
“Jesus, why? What did I do to you?” Noah asked. “I thought we were friends.”
Rafe swallowed. “Why this asshole, huh?” He gestured to Jace. “Why not me? Why was it never me? I have worshipped you from day one and you’ve been making doe eyes at Mr. Straighter-than-straight here since forever. I overheard you planning to marry him for your green card. Why do that when you could have had me?”
Jace’s stomach bottomed out. Rafe had heard them. What if he got it into his head to make a fuss about it to immigration? How could they prove they were married for all the right reasons?
How could anyone prove that, if it came down to it?
“I love Jace,” Noah said. “I’ve loved him for so long, and I understand your pain, I really, really do, because he only just saw me. But I never tried to hurt him to make it happen, and I can’t believe you tried to hurt me.”
Before any of them could say anything else, Diego stepped in. He’d always had the position of Team Dad. He moved Jace away from Rafe gently, putting himself between them.
“That’s a very serious allegation, Rafe,” he said. “Marriage fraud is a federal offence, and the immigration department doesn’t take kindly to it. You sure you didn’t mishear?”
Rafe swallowed. In general, people didn’t stand up to Diego. They laid down and let him walk over them, because it was much, much better than the alternative, where he went through them.
Diego had been a cop once upon a time. A cop in Baltimore. His balls were made of brass, no question.
Noah cleared his throat. “Rafe heard right, but he didn’t realize it was a joke. Jace and I got married a little quicker than I would have liked for immigration reasons, but it’s a real marriage. I really love him. I have done for a long time. We kept it quiet from you guys because we didn’t want you to treat us any different.”
Jace could hardly believe how well Noah was handling the situation. He was still in shock.
“Well, that’s that cleared up,” Diego said, in a tone that didn’t leave any room for argument. “If I were you, Rafe, I’d get the hell out before Noah decides that he’s calling the cops. Sabotaging a guy’s skates could be considered a serious crime. Especially if a room full of people told them it was serious.”
That sounded like bluffing, but Rafe was clearly too scared to notice. He nodded, eyes wide, and squeezed past Diego to grab his bag and run.
