“And Erik did his stick salute thing,” Mia continued.
“Then Skyler himself skated by and made direct eye contact. These are not coincidences,” Benjifinished her thought.
“So what are you two saying?” Jacks’s voice was careful now.
“Maybe this meeting is about the fact that you’re dating the team captain and they want to make sure you’re not a crazy person before this goes any further. Maybe one or more of Skyler’s teammates are even more protective than you already thought.”
I nearly choked on my own tongue trying not to laugh.
“They think I’m crazy?” Jacks sounded concerned.
“Not crazy crazy,” Benji said. “Just, you know, normal-level crazy, like, ‘are you going to sell our secrets to the paparazzi’ crazy. Or ‘are you going to boil his pet rabbit’ crazy.”
“Skyler doesn’t have a pet rabbit,” Jacks said.
“Because you boiled it!” Benji countered, index finger raised like a bad French detective in a film noir.
“And how do you know?” Mia continued. “He could have a rabbit and he’s hiding it from you, keeping it safe from the boiling bandit.”
“Boiling bandit?” Jacks nearly shouted.
Mia and Benji were rolling now, and there was no stopping their momentum. “Hockey players have all kinds of pets. Exotic pets. Maybe he has a falcon.”
“A falcon?” Jacks asked.
“For hunting. It’s very Viking-esque. Erikdefinitelyhas a falcon.”
“Erik doesn’t have a falcon,” Jacks said.
“Erik absolutely has a falcon,” Benji insisted. “Look at him. He screams, ‘falcon owner.’”
I was shaking with silent laughter now, tears streaming down my face as I tried not to knock over the mop bucket.
“Okay,” Jacks said, “setting aside the theoretical falcon situation, do you really think they brought us back here to interrogate me about my intentions?”
“Maybe,” Mia said. “Or maybe Skyler wanted to thank you personally for coming. Maybe he couldn’t wait until later to see you.”
“That would be romantic.” Benji sighed. “Veryromantic, the kind of romantic that might make me believe in love again.”
“When did you stop believing in love?” Finn asked.
“Tuesday, but I’m back on board now. This whole thing has restored my faith in the power of athletics-based romance.”
“Athletics-based romance?” Mia repeated. “Is that like jockstrap love?”
“OMG, YES! That’s now an official category! Like enemies-to-lovers or fake dating, but with more support and significantly better arms.”
That’s when I lost it.
The sound of my laughter burst through the closet door before I could stop it, and suddenly the conversation on the other side went dead silent.
“What was that?” Finn’s voice, sharp and alert.
I tried to muffle myself, but it was too late.
Another snort escaped.
“Is someone in here with us?” Jacks’s voice was cautious.
