Remy goes on. “Yesterday, you asked me how I see you. I couldn’t answer at the time. I still can’t. I barely know you, Owen, but the one thing Idoknow is that you’re not a grenade.”
I don’t think she realizes how much that lands. Or maybe she does, and that’s the point.
“No?” It’s barely even a compliment, but her words feel like a knife to the chest. A… good knife? An emotional tracheotomy? Like something sharp cutting through all the noise I’ve been carrying around since the suspension.
You know, I think I might be bad at experiencing emotions. Or maybe I’ve spent too long pretending they don’t matter.
“If I thought you were dangerous, I wouldn’t have agreed to this insane new contract.” Remy takes another swig of her coffee. “Read over my suggestions. Let me know what you think.”
I think I’d do anything she asked me to do right now. I’d sign anything. That should probably concern me more than it does. When the hell did I go from being upset that I was being handled to wanting her to handle me? That’s new. And probably not something I should get used to.
Actually, I know when. Yesterday, when she stood up for me. I can’t remember the last time that someone protected me. It’s always been the other way around. Me stepping in. Me taking the hit.
I’m grateful that I don’t have time to unpack that thought before the guys start showing up. Tristan, Cam, and Bowen arrive around the same time. Viktor and Knight come in together, both holding massive coffee cups from the good bakery in Serenity Shores. I take the clipboard and slip off to the locker room before they notice me talking with Remy. Not because there’s anything to hide. Because I don’t feel like explaining it.
When Adler turns up for morning skate, he throws one arm around my shoulder. “Hey,buddy. Has Remy mentioned me at all?”
My ribs squeeze before I can stop them. I don’t like that reaction. Not even a little.
“Literally not once,” I grumble. I like Adler just fine most of the time. I won’t say that he’s harmless, but he’s not predatory. That said, I’m pretty sure he’d flirt with a brick wall, and I don’t want him pulling that shit with Remy.
“Are you sure? I would have sworn we had, you know.A connection.” He wiggles the fingers of his free hand.
“When?” I ask. “You met her for two seconds.”
“Time doesn’t matter when there’s chemistry involved. I’m hot. She’s hot. The math is simple.”
I prod him in the ribs with my elbow. “She’s too good for you.”
The words come out without thinking. Too fast. Too certain. Like I’ve already decided something I don’t have any right to decide.
“Is that so?” Adler bounces his eyebrows up and down. “Interesting, interesting. Good to know. I willmost definitelykeep that in mind.”
Adler’s chirping aside, I’m relieved that nobody brings up yesterday's debacle. They’re too busy coming up with names for Knight’s kid.
“I think Deebee is a good one,” Viktor muses.
Knight wrinkles his nose. “What, like the letters D.B.?”
“Nah, spell it out. It would be short for D.B. Cooper.”
“That…” Knight makes a face that suggests his entire brain is melting. “No partof what you just said makes sense.”
Viktor nods sagely and clasps Knight’s shoulder. “I know, I’m a genius ahead of my time.”
“I think you’ve gotten one too many head injuries over the years.”
“You should pick something gender-neutral,” Lenyx suggests. “Just make one decision, and then stick with it, you know?”
Knight pulls on his jersey. “Something like Alex, you mean? Or Sam?”
“I was thinking more like…” Lenyx spreads his hands with a flourish. “Major Moon.”
Knight makes a sound that might have started off as a word but never quite made it.
“Mos Eisley?”
Knight closes his mouth, grabs his skates, and rejects the conversation.
