“It absolutely is.”
I shake my head, smiling as I start stacking trays. “At least you say what you’re thinking.”
“Always. It feels like honesty.” He sets the charms down, then nods toward the door the girls just left through. “Saw you talking to Hannah and Clara.”
I pause, just briefly. “Yeah. Those two seem to be having a ‘who’s in charge’ competition. I noticed it last week over where they were sitting and with who. I can’t call them mean girls, but they’re close to it. Rude-adjacent?”
He leans a hip against the table, arms crossing. “They’re like that on the ice, too.”
That surprises me. “Surely it’s not good for the team.”
“It’s not. Part of why Emma wanted to do the team bonding, I think. They are the best two on the team.” He exhales a quiet laugh. “Also the most likely to take each other out mid-drill.”
“What?”
“Full-on collision course energy. Doesn’t matter what Emma tries. Switch lines, separate them, put them on opposite sides…” He shakes his head. “They still end up in each other’s orbit.”
“Strong personalities. High standards. Probably both think they’re right.”
“Accurate,” he says. “And very insightful.”
“Well, I am a girl. I understand my people.” I tilt my head. “Do you know why they’re like that?”
He hesitates before shaking his head. “No.”
It’s simple. Honest in a way I didn’t expect.
“I mean,” he adds, pushing off the table, “if I had to guess? They’re too similar.”
“That usually does it.”
“I think Emma signed them up for this whole thing hoping they’d magically bond over beads and emotional growth.”
“Did it work?”
He gestures vaguely toward the door. “Ask me in a couple of weeks.”
I smile, but something about the way he said it lingers. “You care.”
He looks at me like that’s obvious. “It’s my sister’s team.”
“That’s not what I meant.” There’s a flicker there. Quick. Gone just as fast. He grabs a box, stacking it with a little more force than necessary. “They’re good players. It would be better if they weren’t constantly trying to prove something to each other.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“Tell me about it.”
I study him for a second. “You’ve seen that before.”
He huffs a quiet laugh. “Yeah. Once or twice.”
There’s more there under his surface; I can feel it, but he doesn’t offer it. So, I don’t push.
I glance at him, just for a second. “You’re running deep today, aren’t ya?”
“Don’t get used to it.”
I wink. “Wasn’t planning on it.”
