I nodded. “Will do, man.” I wasn’t in the mood for going out, anyway. Bo had tried to coax me out of the house a few times but I stayed home and watched some old games or searched Vee’s name on Kraken for the umpteenth time, desperate for a new scrap of information I hadn’t found before, but only ran into dead ends. I sighed and put on my long-sleeved shirt. Coach Jerke’s only requirement was that we kept our muscles warm after practice. No suits. So German.
“See you on Monday.”
With no games, I had two days of pure boredom where I could fantasise about Vee.
Once I’d put my jacket on, the one with the pin Bo had got for me that read “Hearts Not Parts”, I waited for the green guy.
It wasn’t quite the same as Vee—I totally wasn’t into Bo at all, he was like a brother to me—but at least he was green and about Vee’s height.
If I squint…
Ignoring everyone, I followed him out of the rink’s back entrance. There was a commotion a few feet away, and I kept my head down and dragged myself behind my Trollish shield.
“Man, dich hab ich ja ewig nicht gesehen. Was treibt dich denn hierher? Nik, das ist Vitus,” Leo said. “Wir haben früher mal zusammen gespielt.”
I stopped dead and a gasp escaped me that sounded like someone had punctured a balloon. Shit, I had zero cool.
“Oh my God, Bo,” I said through numb lips.
“What’s going on?” he asked, raising his eyes off his phone display. “Nate, is that…?” His voice trailed off.
“Yeah.” I couldn’t move a muscle. My feet were glued to the asphalt, and I thought one push and my kneeswould buckle. Everything in me wanted to break down and let Vee pick up my pieces, but he surely wasn’t here for me.
Why is he here?
“What are you waiting for?” Bo raised both eyebrows and pointedly tilted his head over at Vee, telling me with everything but words to get my shit together and fucking head over to where he stood.
I exhaled a deep breath, and his head snapped up. Over the shoulders of my teammates he looked atme. There was so much longing in his gaze that the breath hitched in my throat.
“Nate Decker, you get over there to him right now, or I’ll make you.”
I glanced around at Bo. His fangs were bared and he glared at me.
“But what if he doesn’t want me?”
“Gods, Decks, you humans are so blind. Look at him. He looks like someone kicked his puppy. And he’s hot,” Bo added with a chuckle. “He came here, didn’t he?”
“Yeah.” I looked back at Vee. Hedidlook like someone hurt him. The feathers in his comb stuck up as if he’d run his hands through them a thousand times.
“He came here for you. Go!” Bo gave me a little shove and before I even knew it, I walked over to the flock of people, drawn by the tallest person in the group.He’s here. For me. Or maybe he was just nearby and wanted to see his former team mates.
“Hey Nate, meet Vitus Kolb.” Leo, one of our forwards, flung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. He winced when he moved his shoulder, something he thought none of us had clocked yet. Vee’s expression hardened when Leo touched me. “He used to be on our team. Seriously, that was fifteen years ago?” He looked at Vee and recoiled a little at the dangerous expression on his face. “Fifteen years,” Vee acknowledged in a stony voice and without taking his eyes off mine. He held out his hand. I took it straight away and stepped out of Leo’s embrace. “Oh, we’ve met before. Hello, Nathaniel.”
Nathaniel?I suppressed a snort.Is he trying to show off how well he knows me?The others mostly still called me Nathanor believed my parents were crazy and named me Decks Decker.
“Vee, why are you here?” I asked, still holding his hand and not giving a damn what my teammates thought.
“Can we talk?” His voice was low and full of suppressed emotion.
Does he hurt as much as I do?
“Yeah.” I nodded, unable to tear my eyes away.
“Bis bald, Leute. War nett euch mal wiederzusehen,” he brushed them off.
The other guys looked confused and said goodbye to him. Then Vee and I walked down the street, still holding hands.
“How about coffee or a walk in the park?” I racked my brain for ideas on where to go. Maybe we can find a quiet corner at Bo’s favourite bakery, or—
