Page 85 of Delayed Penalty

Keller: Thenturn it back over.

Hayes: Not happening.

Lawson: Haha, Kells, you suck the most now.

Keller: Not as much as your mother sucks.

Hutch: Booo!

Locke: Booo!

Hayes: Booo!

Fox: Booo!

Lawson: What’s it like to be the most hated, Kells?

Keller: Never felt better.

Lawson: Liar.

Keller: Fuck you, Lawsy.

Lawson: Love you too, buddy.

CHAPTER 17

HAYES

I love being on the road. Exploring new cities and meeting new people is one of my favorite parts of playing hockey. Right now, I should be loving it even more with the eight-game heater we’re currently on, but on this long, nine-day trip, all I want is to be back home with Flora.

And fine, if I’m being honest, Quinn too.

It’s not even entirely because I miss the smell of butterscotch or the way she tastes or the way she sounds when I’m inside her. I miss the ten thousand throw pillows she’s put on my couch and the punny dish towels she’s hung around the kitchen. I miss her snark and her eye rolls, and I even miss those ridiculous earrings she wears all the time. When I called to FaceTime with Flora last night, she hadon a pair that were kittens wearing space suits. It reminded me I need to ask Lawson about adopting a cat for Flora.

“Yo, Lawsy,” I ask during the second intermission. “Can I get Rory’s number?”

The room goes from a bunch of loud-as-fuck hockey players all chatting at once to complete silence in two seconds flat.

Lawson lifts his head from his stall opposite me, then cocks it to the side. “I swear, Hayes, if you’re about to make some uncouth comment about my woman, I will murder you, witnesses and all. I’m not opposed to spending a few years behind bars if it means defending my girl.”

Honestly, the thought of making a sex joke about Rory didn’t even cross my mind, and that’s saying something for me.

I hold my hands up. “Nah, man. Totally innocent. I, uh, I want to adopt a cat, actually.”

“What? All sad and lonely by yourself, so you’re becoming a cat man now?” Keller asks.

“Guarantee even with that kid, I still get more pussy than you.”

There’s my old self.

“Your new nanny already putting out?”

I rise from my stall before I can stop myself, marching toward Keller, who is smirking like a cocky prick.

“Hey, whoa, easy,” Fox says, standing up too. “Let’s chill.”

Locke joins in, both of them looking ready to hold me back if they need to, but they aren’t the ones I’m paying attention to. It’s Hutch. His head is tipped to the side, his eyes sharp as he studies me.

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