“Well, you’re here, so I can stop panicking,” Tucker said.
“Why wouldn’t Jonah be here?” Matty asked.
I swore under my breath, but Tucker didn’t miss a beat. “Hemorrhoids. And he ate Indian hot curry last night, so?—”
“I’m literally going to fucking kill you. No, actually, I’m going to go eat some fucking curry, and then I’m going to crop dust your hotel room and give you pink eye,” I told him. And I would too.
Tucker was laughing so hard I was pretty sure he was crying as I swept past him and got onto the bus. I made my way to my usual seat, ten down on the left, and settled into the aisle row since I didn’t need the window, and I liked to be the asshole who took my shoes off and dug my toes into the cushioned side of the wall.
I listened as everyone else got on the bus, and just as things were starting to quiet down, my phone began to ring.
“Best Friend Vanya,” it chirped at me.
I answered quickly. “Tell me there’s not an emergency.”
“No emergency. I go with your friend Killian today to take Dad for haircut. He was badly needing. He looks good. You know you look nothing like him?”
“I mean, no. I didn’t,” I said. No one had ever told me whether or not I looked like my parents, and frankly, by the time I was old enough to give a shit, I didn’t.
Vanya was quiet for a second, and then I heard the sound of a palm slapping skin. “Right. I’m forget. You never see him, right? Not even when a baby?”
“Nope. I was born this way.”
“Ooh, yes. Jonah! We do karaoke together!”
“What? Dude, no. I can’t sing. Trust me, like, not even a little bit. It probably would have been nice if I was one of those blind prodigy kids who could play better than Mozart at three years old, but I am trash at that kind of thing.”
“Get drunk—really good Russian vodka. No one cares.”
“They will. Believe me.” I grimaced. I’d done karaoke once. They shut my mic off halfway through my rendition of “Friday I’m In Love.”
Vanya scoffed. “Fine, fine. You come listen to me. I make angels weep.”
I very much doubted that. “Sure. Sounds fun, bud.”
“Good. Bring friends. Your friend, Matty? He seem like he needs buddy to hang out with.”
I tried to hide my smile. I had no idea if Matty liked karaoke or hanging out with giant Russian goalies with boundary issues, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. “I’ll check in. Anyway, I have to go. We just got on the bus.”
“Have good game, yes? Crush them. Don’t break any legs!”
“I’ll do my best, bud. Give Alexio a big, ugly, wet kiss for me.”
“Yes, will do now. He’s right here.”
“What the,”I heard Alexio shout, and then I heard smacking kissing sounds, and my heart twisted in my chest.“Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Is Jonah. Says to give you kiss.”
I heard fumbling noises after that, then Alexio’s deep, gorgeous rumble into the phone. “This doesn’t count, Adams.”
Then the line went dead. I felt a little tight in my pants and twisted to make sure any of the guys who could see wouldn’t notice, then rested my head against the back of my seat.
“So. Vanya?”
I almost burst into laughter at Matty’s hesitant voice.
“Sorry, I overheard your phone. Then I thought I heard my name?”
