we’ve played together. Sixth or seventh would be awesome.”
“I didn’t even know you played hockey,” I say, realizing way too late that I might be rubbing salt on the wound, but Jamie doesn’t seem to mind.
“Since high school. I wasn’t anywhere near good enough to play in college, but I do just fine in rec league, and it’s fun.”
“Yeah, I would have never made it in college hockey either,” I say.
Jamie’s head whips up, which makes him wince again.
“You play?” he asks after he’s done clutching his head.
“Once upon a time.” I haven’t so much as put on skates in a decade. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure why. I always loved hockey.
“Are you good?” Jamie asks, looking remarkably more alive all of a sudden.
I shrug. “I was decent in high school, but I’m not sure if skating is like riding a bike. I haven’t played in a long time.”
Jamie just shrugs. “You can’t be worse than the guy with a concussion.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” I say with a laugh, before I register that calculating look in Jamie’s eyes. “Wait. What?”
“You can join the team instead of me.” The poor guy looks so excited all of a sudden. And kind of like he’s about to puke. I scan the room, ready to dive for the trash can.
“You’re definitely concussed, all right,” I say.
“Obviously.” Jamie taps his finger against his temple gently. “But you could. Or are you opposed to hockey?”
He raises his brows at me, and I slowly shake my head. “No.”
“No, you’re not opposed or no, you won’t play?”
I’ve never been good at being spontaneous. I need a plan to function, and I need to think things through when making decisions.
Joining a hockey team is not a good idea. I don’t have the time, for one thing. Work is always crazy anyway, and now that Jamie is out of the office for the next few weeks, it’s going to get even more hectic. Besides, I’m not sure I’d be much use to Jamie’s team. For all I know, I’d just stumble around the ice and mow people down, securing another last place for the team.
“Yes,” I blurt out.
Jamie stares at me for a long time, and I’m beginning to think he’s going to take back the offer, but then he squints his eyes at me and says, “Well, that cleared up absolutely nothing.”
“I’ll play. I’ll join the team.”
I expect panic to crash over me. I’m almost ready to deal with the dreaded sense of What have I done? But it never arrives. Instead, I feel pretty damn good. I’ve done something unexpected. Something selfish, even. Something that is solely for me.
“Great.” Jamie rubs his palm over his forehead. “I’ll call the guys and let them know they can consider me replaced. They’ll be fucking ecstatic.”
“Great,” I echo Jamie.
I check the ohshitometer. Still nothing.
It seems we’re good to go.
15
Kai
The front door bangs open as Gray rushes into the workshop. He looks windswept and gorgeous, his eyes shining with excitement as he stops in front of me.
“I joined a hockey team,” he announces.
My eyebrows fly up almost to my hairline. “Really?”
He nods, head bobbing up and down like he’s a ventriloquist doll as he loosens his tie. “I have way too much work, and almost no time to sleep for the foreseeable future, but I’m actually excited about this. I already had a call with the team captain, and he seemed cool. First practice is on Sunday.”
“That’s great!”
He’s so excited about this that it’s impossible not to get swept up in the moment.
He leans back against the wall, looking a bit dazed, but he has a smile on his face, and he seems lighter and happier than he’s been the whole time I’ve been back to Boston, with maybe the exception of our camping trip.
“I need some new skates,” he says, still looking kind of like he’s been smacked in the face with happiness.
I laugh and grab my wallet and keys. “Let’s go buy you some, in that case.”
I look down at my feet skeptically. I’m wearing blue hockey skates and holding on to the railing for dear life. I’ve never understood how people are supposed to move with those things on. It’d make more sense if the blades would be so sharp that they would actually cut deep into the ice like a knife into butter, and then the ice would hold me upright. I stare at my skates. Seems like an engineering fail if you