Page 157 of The Home Game

“I know,” Antoni said. “We’ve got this.”

“Oh! What about one of the SAPs? They sounded willing to help out.”

“I am sure they are,” Antoni said. “And if I need their help, I’ll reach out.”

But a part of him wanted to prove—as much to himself as anything—that he could do this. Sure, it was stressful. But it was still so much better than it had been this summer. He’d figure out how to make all of the pieces fit.

There was a learning curve, yes, but he had this under control.

“Okay,” his mom said, sounding doubtful. “I just hate leaving you in the lurch.”

“You’re not,” Antoni promised her. “We knew this moment would come. But I have some good meal prep routines Matty showed me, we switched to grocery delivery, Elena had some tips that helped me keep the laundry under control, and I have a reliable vehicle now. I am in so much better shape than I was before.”

“I know. And I’m proud of you. Honestly, I am. I just worry.”

“I know you do. And I love you. But go rest.”

“Fine, fine.” She grumbled a little under her breath but finally said goodbye and ended the call.

Antoni slumped back in his chair with a sigh. God, she was so stubborn.

“Uncle Antoni!” Alexis called out. He jumped in surprise at the knock on his bedroom door. “River was getting some juice out of the fridge and she dropped it and it went everywhere. I tried to clean up as much as I could but I need your help moving the fridge so I can clean under it.”

“Motherfucker,” he swore under his breath, dropping his head to the desk. He’d blocked off the next hour for grading. Looked like he wasn’t going to get that done now.

“Uncle Antoni? Did you hear me?” Alexis called out again.

With a fortifying deep breath, Antoni rose to his feet. “Be right there!”

Yeah, it was going to be a long-ass week with Matty gone.

After a loss in Buffalo, the Fisher Cats moved on to Boston.

They’d played the Boston Harriers tonight and won, and tomorrow they’d play a back-to-back against the New York Rockets, then have a couple of days off before their next game in Carolina.

Matty was keyed up about more than the win. Some of the guys had gone out to celebrate and enjoy the New York City nightlife but Matty had stayed at the hotel. It was a Friday, so Antoni had promised he’d stay awake so they could talk.

Not that they hadn’t talked in the past two days. There had been plenty of texting and some midday video chats so Matty could interact with the kids but he was really looking forward to having a face-to-face conversation alone with him.

Jerking off in the shower wasn’t really cutting it anymore.

“You doing okay?” Antoni asked the moment he answered the call, his dark eyes big and concerned. “It looked like that puck hit you pretty hard tonight.”

Matty shrugged, poking at the bruise on his thigh, pleased that Antoni had watched the game. “It’s nasty-looking already but it’ll be fine. I’ve been icing it and I’ll do some more before I go to sleep tonight. How are you?”

“Sleepy.” Antoni admitted, yawning.

“Aww, sorry. You want me to let you go?” Matty asked.

“Hell no. I’d rather talk to you.” Antoni propped himself against the headboard, his dark hair flopping over his forehead.

Gah, that made Matty want to reach through the screen and smooth the curls out of the way.

“Yeah? What do you want to talk about?” Matty asked softly.

Antoni shrugged. “Anything. Just want to hear your voice.”

“Hey, speaking of, how’d the kids do getting to sleep tonight?”

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