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“Yeah, sucks for the dude. But the thing is, he came back here, and he’s a fuckin’ wreck. Jake feels bad about kicking him out right now.”

“Of course.” Remy tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I mean, he’s gonna go home at some point. But maybe not for a few weeks more.”

“Really, it’s fine, Petey.”

“Thanks for understanding.” Petey didn’t look like he was fooled by Remy’s expression. “Hey, we should still hang out, though. We’re gonna take Jake’s cousin out tonight. Wanna come?”

“Uh, thanks, but not tonight.” Remy had no interest in watching McBride’s cousin get wasted, and he had a feeling that Petey wasn’t going to let the guy drink alone. Tomorrow was Remy’s chance to fix the first impression he’d made with the Blizzards, and he needed to be at a hundred percent. More than a hundred percent.

“Why not? It’ll be low-key, I promise.” Petey frowned at him through the phone.

“I need to watch some tape tonight. Get up to speed for tomorrow. Don’t want a repeat of last time.”

“No one’s worried about last time except you. But yeah, I feel you. New team. Wanna come out strong. Go watch your tape. We’ll get you next time.”

Petey ended the call, and Remy stood there for a minute, packed-up toiletries case in one hand and phone in the other. As much as he’d been half dreading moving in with Petey and all his loudness, he realized that he dreaded staying in this beige shoebox with the weird ghost horse painting even more.

Well, he didn’t have a choice.

So he’d unpack and start watching the many, many clips the video coach had sent him after practice. And then maybe he’d watch a Blizzards game from earlier this season so he could keep improving his sense of how his new teammates played. He knew how to prepare for games, he reminded himself. He was actually good at this.

He was also just, like, feeling a bit of a letdown after everything that had happened that day. Maybe even a bit homesick, because if he were still in his crummy apartment in Montreal, he’d at least be able to go for a walk and get a coffee and be around ordinary people for a while.

Against his better judgment, he found himself debating whether to text Mike. Lily would probably have a strong opinion about it. A strong opinion that he shouldn’t have slept with Mike in the first place—well, she would say Mike shouldn’t have slept with him—and that he definitely, most certainly should not text Mike now.

He texted a “Hey,” anyway, then dropped his phone on the nightstand. He forced himself to go back into the bathroom and unpack his toiletries instead of waiting for a response. But to his surprise, Mike replied almost immediately.

M

Hey

Shaky start bud

I know u can get there tho

Hows the team

Remy

Team’s good

Trying to take it one

day at a time

M

Thats right

Bet ur buried in game prep

I wont keep u

Good luck tmrw

That pretty much summed it up. I won’t keep you. No one ever had, so far. Remy tapped out a ttyl and watched the phone for another minute, but Mike didn’t add anything else.