Page 156 of Puck Me Back to Life

Ash doesn't even hesitate. “A little over a month.”

I almost drop my stick.

Tyler whistles. “Damn.”

Another defenseman joins the conversation. “So who made the first move?”

Ash's grin is impossible to miss. “I did.”

“I don't believe that.”

Ash raises an eyebrow at him.

“You seriously just walked up to Hayes?”

Ash shrugs, glancing over at me. “Pretty much.”

I stare at the ice.

Technically, he's not wrong. He had approached me first.

Granted, his version leaves out several important details.

Like accidentally becoming my Dom.

Like buying me Dickens.

Like somehow bulldozing every wall I'd spent two years building.

Another whistle cuts through the rink. We reset for the next drill. This time Coach pairs Noah and me together on the same rush.

For one brief second, panic threatens to grab hold. Then instinct takes over.

Noah carries the puck through the neutral zone while I drive wide toward the boards. The defense closes the middle, forcing him toward the wall. He doesn't panic.

Instead, he threads a crisp pass across the blue line.

Tape to tape.

Perfect.

The puck settles on my stick like it belongs there. I cut toward the slot before snapping a quick wrist shot past Andy, who's filling in as our practice goalie.

The puck rings off the back bar.

Coach nods. “Again.”

Noah doesn't say anything. Neither do I.

We skate back to the line. The next rep goes even smoother. This time I carry the puck.

Noah recognizes the defense collapsing toward me and slides into open ice exactly when I expect him to.

The pass finds him cleanly.

He buries it.

Coach blows his whistle. “That's it.”