“Ethan! Let me in, I need to put these down.”
He walks straight through to the kitchen, laying the bags down on the island and starting to open box after box of Italian food. Pizza, lasagna, pasta…if the nutritionist knew, he’d be taking out a hit on Alexei.
“Is there any mozzarella left in the state of Minnesota?” Jamie asks, walking in from the living room. He’s putting on a brave front for Alexei, but I can still see the worry etched on his face.
“It felt like a day for Italian, you know?” Now that I’m looking, the worry seems to sit in Alexei’s eyes, too.
“You saw the article.”
“Yes. You talk to Jack?’
“Yeah. He’s, uh, handling it.”
“Handling it? Handling it how?”
“Just, uh, putting out a statement. You know, Tremblay and Carter have enjoyed a strong mentorship since Carter joined the Huskies, blah blah blah.”
“But is not truth.”
For a moment, I am surprised by his words. Since the day he walked in on us — hell, since the day I came out to him — nothing has changed. It’s almost been like it never happened. I realize, now — he is the only one who knows the truth, the full truth.
He’s the only one whocancall me on it.
“Well, no, but since when are we in the habit of telling the truth to the fuckingNeutral Zone?”
He looks at me again, and I find my eyes dropping to the ground under his gaze. It looks like he’s about to say something when Jamie speaks up.
“Alexei, this is from that place on Grant, yeah? Did you get those breadsticks?”
I try to catch Jamie’s eyes to thank him for the subject change, but his won’t quite meet mine.
“Da. Just for you.” Alexei hands over a box of garlicky breadsticks that I somehow didn’t even know Jamie liked.
“You guys going on Italian dates without me?”
“Yes, Ethan. We socialize in public, sometimes. Perhaps you should try it.”
Is Alexei…mad at me?
“Alexei, did you drive here?” Jamie asks.
“No, I walked over a mile with all of this. Yes, of course I drive.” Maybe he’s just in a mood.
“You bring the Escalade? With the tinted windows?”
“Yes. Is not weather for the Lotus yet.”
“Can I grab a ride back to my place with you? Jack, uh, pointed out that I shouldn’t be seen leaving.”
Alexei looks at the two of us, a deep furrow forming between his eyebrows.
“You don’t want to stay?”
“No, I, uh, still need to pack. Not worth coming back tonight.”
Somehow, even in the middle of my panic over this article, that hit hard.
Not worth it.
