Page 79

Remy’s hot streak continued through the first two games of the trip, and he was feeling good as they headed to Ottawa. The Ottawa game was a Sunday matinee, so Lily was coming down, and Levi was making reservations for them all to go out for Chinese food afterward—Levi and his girlfriend, Remy and Jed, Petey and Jake and Lily.

Remy couldn’t stop thinking about it. Everyone coming already knew about him and Jed. But. It felt like their first official appearance as a couple or something. He was excited and nervous about Levi and Lily being in the same place as him and Jed. They’d both see right away that he had capital-F Feelings.

His excitement lasted until after the Calgary game on Friday, when he saw that Lily hadn’t responded to his text confirming their plans. Earlier in the day, he hadn’t thought much of the fact that she didn’t respond immediately. She was busy. She had classes. Maybe she was sleeping in.

When she still hadn’t texted back after the game, where he’d had another assist and the Blizzards won by a healthy three-goal margin, he began to wonder what was going on. He got distracted for a few minutes, sitting next to Jed on the bus back to the hotel and stealing some time together in his room. But then Jed sent him away, telling him they both needed to sleep, and him marking Remy up wasn’t going to make it any easier. And Lily still hadn’t responded when Remy checked his phone one last time before going to bed.

They had an early flight out the next morning, followed by an afternoon practice in Ottawa, so Remy didn’t try calling her until the evening before she was supposed to come down. She didn’t pick up, and he was punching out an all-caps “Just let me know that you’re alive” when Jed knocked on his door.

“Hey.” Remy pulled the door open, eyes still on the phone.

“Hey. Everything okay?” Jed stepped in and closed the door behind him.

“I dunno. Lily hasn’t answered my texts since, like, two days ago.”

“Could she be busy with schoolwork?” Jed put his arms loosely around Remy’s waist and tugged him further into the room. “Didn’t you mention she had some big presentation before she could come down for our game tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that was supposed to be yesterday, I thought. I guess you’re right. But she could at least tell me she’s alive. She gets pretty mad if I ghost her for two days.”

“She gives you a hard time because she loves you. But if you’re really worried, isn’t there someone who can check on her for you?” Jed paused, like he was reluctant to voice whatever thought was in his head. “I know you never mention your mom, but is she around? Or Petey’s parents? You’re both close to them, right?”

Remy frowned. He didn’t like thinking or talking about this. “Our mom is not an option. Lily set some boundaries with her, and I’m not going to cross them. And Petey’s parents were coming down to Ottawa tonight to spend some extra time with him and Levi before the game, I’m pretty sure. So there’s no one but me, okay?”

“Okay.” Jed studied him for a moment. “It’s Saturday night. She’s probably out with friends. But we can figure something out if you’re really concerned.”

“Maybe it’s too early to worry.” Remy glanced at his phone one last time before putting it in his pocket and looping his arms around Jed’s neck. “I mean, she’s allowed to go out and have a good time without checking in with me. You’re probably right—she’s just out somewhere having fun. Anyway. Hi.”

“Hi.”

“How much time do we have?” Remy walked Jed back until he leaned against the door.

“Not enough for whatever you’re thinking,” Jed said, using his stern voice. He should know better by now, Remy thought, if he didn’t want to rev Remy up.

“I’m pretty fast, as you like to remind me.” Remy looked up through his eyelashes with a small smile. He’d caught on that Jed had a serious thing for his eyelashes, and he wasn’t above using it.

“Be good, or you won’t even get a kiss.”

“I’m always good for you.” Remy tilted his face up and rubbed his cheek against Jed’s beard.

“That’s a stretch.” But Jed relented like he always did. He pulled Remy tight against him with one arm and slid his other hand into Remy’s hair and kissed him thoroughly.

When Jed eventually pulled back, he said, “Fuck. They’re going to know. Your skin shows too much.”

“I don’t care,” said Remy, a little dreamy now. He still sometimes couldn’t believe he got to be held like this.

“Tell me that after Petey spends an entire meal trying to get a rise out of you.” Jed gave Remy’s ass a squeeze and added, “Okay, babe, let’s not be late for dinner.”

Remy smiled at him and followed him out the door, worries successfully pushed aside.

It all came rushing back in the morning, when Lily still hadn’t answered his texts. She wasn’t in the stands for warm-ups, either, even though he’d sent her a ticket and instructions about where to go.

Remy played the whole game distracted, with predictable results. It was so bad that Hal took him aside during the second intermission with a brief instruction to focus on the game because that’s all that mattered for the next twenty minutes of his life, and he couldn’t do anything about whatever the hell was on his mind during that time anyway.

It didn’t help.

Coach took him off the penalty kill in the third period, and Remy knew he should be beating himself up over it, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. By the time he’d waited out the end of the game, he knew what he wanted to do. He needed to get up to Montreal himself and figure out where the hell Lily was.

He was in no position to ask for favors after the game he’d played, but he rushed through his cooldown and shower and found Coach.