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And it had been fun, hanging out with them and getting destroyed at EA NHL while Petey and Jake debated the merits of a couple of new apartments they were looking at. According to Petey, they were ready to “level up,” whatever that meant. Remy hoped they’d buy some better furniture and that he’d be around to enjoy it when they moved.

Lily was thrilled that he made the playoffs, naturally. The first round took place during her exam period, so she wasn’t able to come to any of the games in person. But she assured him at length that she would watch all of them live, possibly even at a sports bar.

“Don’t mess up your exams for my sake,” Remy said as they video chatted the day before the series began. He’d had team meetings and a light practice that afternoon, and it was warm enough for him to sit on Jed’s deck and enjoy the last few rays of sun. Jed was nearby, grilling something for dinner, and it smelled fantastic. For someone with endless aches, Remy felt almost ridiculously content.

“I’m not going to mess anything up for you,” Lily said. “Don’t worry. You concentrate on acing your thing, and I’ll concentrate on acing mine, and if we’re lucky, you’ll be putting me up in a fancy hotel for the second round.”

“Lily! You know better than that!” Remy looked at Jed and hoped he hadn’t heard. The whole team was taking the “no jinxing” rule very seriously these days.

“Sorry,” she said, not sounding particularly sorry at all. “You know it’s only a jinx if you believe it, right?”

“Seriously, Lil, I’m gonna hang up.”

“Fine. Go spend time with your big, hunky boyfriend. If I don’t come down to see one of your games, you need to bring him up here when you visit this summer, okay?”

Wow. Lily was really leaning into this idea that Remy was going to be staying in Colorado. And that Jed was, like, a given in his life this summer.

Remy risked a quick glance at Jed to see what his reaction was. They’d never actually used the word boyfriend yet. But Jed was calmly poking the chicken to see if it was done. If he’d heard Lily, he wasn’t showing it.

“No promises about this summer,” Remy said quietly. He snuck another glance at Jed and thought about saying more. Decided not to, because jinxes might only be jinxes if you believe them, but he was a hockey player. It was a job requirement to believe in jinxes. So. “Okay, I’m going now.”

“Good luck tomorrow. Love you.”

“Love you, too, sis.” He ended the call, walked over to Jed, and put his arms around him, resting his chin on Jed’s shoulder.

“Hey.” Jed reached an arm back around Remy’s waist and held him for a second. “Food’s done. Hand me your plate?”

“Smells so good.” Remy handed both plates over, and Jed loaded them up with chicken and grilled vegetables, and they washed the meal down with iced tea that Jed had been steeping on the deck all day. They went to bed early, and both had enough energy that night to do a little more than kiss. For once in his life, Remy thought, as he drifted off to sleep, maybe it wasn’t all too good to be true.

Of course, it didn’t last. Good things never lasted, and Remy should have known better than to think otherwise.

They won the first game at home, lost the second. Lost Dorsey, too, when he went down trying to stop the breakaway that led to Dallas’s game-winning goal.

Dallas had the momentum going into the third game, plus the advantage of playing at home, and the Blizzards couldn’t overcome it. They lost the third game, with Hal and Petey and Jake all getting totally shut out. And then they lost the fourth game, too, before flying back to Colorado for an anxious night’s sleep in their own beds.

Better rested and inspired by an impassioned speech from Hal, they rallied at home to win the fifth. And they even managed to tie the series up back in Dallas for the sixth game, with Jed earning the lizard for a virtuoso performance that might have been the best he’d ever played.

But they couldn’t close it out at home.

It was the end of April, and the Blizzards were done. Out in the first round.

“Not our year, boys. We fought hard, and we’ll fight again next year. Now, get some well-deserved rest,” was all Hal had to say after the game. Remy looked down at the obnoxious Blizzards-blue carpet and choked back the tears that were threatening to spill out. He wasn’t sure why he bothered. Petey’s face was buried in Jake’s shoulder, and Jake’s tears were dripping into his hair.

Remy had thought he’d be devastated if they lost.

Maybe that would come later. Right now, he was empty.

Jed took his hand in the car but didn’t say anything as they drove home. He led Remy into the house and didn’t let go as Remy kicked off his shoes. Jed gently pulled Remy into the bedroom and undressed him like he was a child, then tucked him into bed and climbed in next to him and held him tight. Remy was so wrung out that he fell asleep as soon as he felt Jed’s arms around him.

Jed wasn’t in bed when Remy woke up, light streaming in from an angle that told him he’d slept way past the time his alarm usually went off. Well, the season was over, so there was no reason to get up early.

The feelings that hadn’t hit the night before hit hard then, as Remy realized that it was really all over. One year in the NHL, and he hadn’t been able to do what his team needed and get them past the first round of the playoffs. His contract was up. He had no job and no home.

What the hell had happened?

He sat up on the edge of the bed, head down, trying to pull in deep breaths. He’d put off thinking about this for too long, but he couldn’t avoid it any longer. He needed to go back to Montreal, where he belonged. He couldn’t wait here, playing house with Jed or whatever the hell he thought he was up to, pretending that Colorado was going to make an offer.

He could get a flight that night. Find a sublet somewhere. Start looking for a job. He had no idea how to do that. He’d never had a job that wasn’t playing hockey, not one. Who’d even want him? He guessed he would find out.