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“Wanting to get to know the people you sleep with does not make you demi,” said Jake. “It’s like you pay no attention to me. Although it’s also cool if you are demi,” he added, turning to Remy.

“I don’t think so?” Remy wasn’t completely sure he knew what Jake was talking about.

“Fair enough,” said Petey. “So what d’you think? Yes? No? Wanna mull it over?”

Remy couldn’t help but smile. Petey was such a golden retriever, but, like, a small-ish, yappy one with thick black hair. So, not really a golden retriever. A one-of-a-kind Yorkie-Labradoodle cross, maybe.

“I appreciate it, Petey,” he said. “But, you know I kind of had a thing going with a guy in Montreal. And now I’m seeing that he was an asshole in some ways, and being with him probably wasn’t the best idea.”

There. It was out. Let the bro-advice roll in. Sure enough, Petey and Jake had opinions.

“That’s rough, man,” Jake said. “Was it that silver fox dude who was waiting for you at the arena in Boston?”

“Oooh, I recognized him,” Petey added. “Mike Ridder, played for Boston when I was a kid. Your coach, right? You were hittin’ that? Yeah, I can see why maybe that wasn’t the best idea.”

Petey suddenly turned serious, which was a mode Remy didn’t know he had.

“He didn’t, like, abuse the imbalance in your relationship or whatever, did he?”

“Shit,” Jake added. “Sleeping with your coach, even if he’s not your coach anymore, introduces a real power dynamic. You need to be careful with that.”

Yeah, they were smarter than he’d given them credit for. He was pretty sure Lily had used words like those herself once or twice.

“Right,” said Remy. “I see that now. At the time, he just felt like someone I could be with without worrying, you know? And I didn’t have many other people I felt that way about in Montreal. I mean, there was no one else I felt that way about, really.”

“But now you’re second-guessing your judgment when it comes to finding someone new?” Petey asked. “I see that. That actually happened to me once.”

“What? It did?” Jake asked, momentarily distracted.

“Yeah. It was before I knew you, Jakey. I got involved with this older girl, and she was, like, leading me around on a leash, and I didn’t even see it. I didn’t hook up for weeks after she finally broke up with me.”

“Poor baby. Weeks? I’m so sorry that happened to you.” Jake reached out and messed with Petey’s hair, and Petey shoved his hand away.

“I think you’re probably right about the second-guessing, though,” Remy said, watching them with some amusement. “Because the thing is, I’m already feeling like I might be interested in someone. But I can’t decide whether it’s a bad idea. I mean, I know it probably is. But I’m spending way too much time thinking about, like, what if it’s actually a really good idea?”

“Oh, right, right,” Jake said. “I wondered if we were going to get to this. Glad you felt comfortable enough to bring it up.”

“Yeah. I can see why you think—” And here Petey broke off and looked around to make sure no one was listening. “—a certain mountain man would be a bad idea. Same profile. Older dude. Team dynamic to consider.”

“Wait, how did you know who I was talking about?” Remy asked. What the hell was even happening here? Was mind reading some kind of Colorado team thing, not limited to the captain?

“You’re not subtle,” Jake said. “It’s okay. You wouldn’t be the first guy on our team to crush on him.”

“I wouldn’t?”

Now Remy’s thoughts were going off in a totally different direction. Was he about to spark some kind of team love-triangle implosion if he went down this road? Was everyone on this damn team queer or queer-adjacent? He had not seen that coming.

“Nothin’ you need to worry about at the moment. Dude’s not still on the team.”

“Okay, well, good. That’s a complication I didn’t need. It’s already bad enough.”

“Mmmhmm.” Jake nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I can see why you’d think it’s a bad idea.”

“Here’s the thing, though. I think Hal is maybe kind of encouraging me? As long as I’m serious?”

“In-ter-es-ting.” Petey drew the word out as he pondered the cards in his hand. “Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned being on this team, it’s do what Cap tells you. He’s not gonna steer you wrong.”

“But,” Jake cautioned, “only you know if you’re ready to try again. I will say this, though. The guy we’re talking about is a good guy. Solid dude, definitely gonna be worried about any power dynamic himself. I think you can trust your judgment there.”