Page 90 of The Publicity Stunt

"Celebrate after?" he calls over his shoulder.

Kace shakes his head no and finishes the line before skating off to the sidelines. He's not yet ready to continue their tradition like they had before the interview, and the last thing he wants to do is celebrate with other Twisters right now. Besides, if Kace hadn't been benched for almost a month, the outcome might've been different because the Twisters may not have ranked as high as they did. Can Brett really beat him if he wasn't in the game to play?

In the locker room, he showers and changes. The whole team seems defeated, but they played their hearts out. At least the offense did. But now Kace has to figure out what all of this means for him. His chance at winning the Cup may have just gone down the drain tonight. His contract's up, and there's a high level of uncertainty whether another team wants to pick him up. He's on the older side, and he has the stain of bad publicity on his record.

"Hey," Rudy says and sits next to him on the bench. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"No, I lost my head, and I shouldn't have gotten into the fight. I let my emotions get the better of me," he says and looks at his hands. "Kind of a consistently fun character trait these days."

Kace nods. "Yeah, well, there's always next year."

"Assuming we're teammates."

"We won't be."

"So, that's it? We're never talking again?"

Sighing, he casts his eyes to the ground. "I don't know."

"We can't ever be friends? There's no way for us to move past all this shit and move forward?"

"I don't know," Kace says. "I'm not trying to be a dick, but it's the honest truth. We can be in the same place without killing each other, but I don't know if I can ever trust you enough to be friends again. And the ship with any chance of becoming the friends we were before all this bullshit happened sailed the moment you did that interview."

"I kind of figured that, but I thought I'd ask. If it helps, I don't plan to see Sasha anymore."

Kace laughs. "I thought you already broke up."

"We kind of slipped up a few weeks ago."

"Don't break up for me. I don't care either way, so don't make me part of your decision," he says and stands.

"You'd hate me every time you saw us together. No, I can't do that."

He shrugs. "Seeing Sasha does nothing for me. I'm not angry or sad. I'm completely indifferent. If you two want to give it a go, and we run into each other, hell, I'd buy your round of drinks. I might chat for a few minutes, but I honestly don't care."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. I told you, before that stunt you pulled, I thought we could bury the hatchet. You did me a favor. For one, Sasha and I would have never made it. We weren’t meant for each other, no matter how much I tried to make it that way. But the biggest reason is that I wouldn't have met Bri otherwise. Breaking her heart is what makes our friendship impossible."

Rudy hangs his head but nods. He knows it's the truth, and Kace has nothing more to say. He steps into the hallway and sees Oliver with the Twisters' General Manager, Mario Hanes.

"Lyons, my man!" Oliver calls. "Got a minute?"

"I have all the minutes in the world. I'm not the one heading to the Cup."

Mario smiles brightly at Kace, and his veneers make Kace slightly uncomfortable. They're for vanity, not for missing teeth, but at least he's not as wide as he is tall. And he's played the game before. "Kace Lyons! I'm Mario."

"I know who you are. How are you, sir?"

"Looking for a new left wing."

"And you're looking at me?"

Nodding, he looks to Oliver. "The publicity didn't do well for you this year, and you missed out on some ice time, but it never got in the way of your playing when you were out there with a stick. That's the kind of player I'm looking for. Resilient and determined. Someone who can teach the new kids coming onto the team."

Playing with Brett won't be much better than playing with Rudy, but at least he could see his dad more. "I'm looking to get a little closer to home, so I'm definitely interested," Kace says.

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