Page 26 of Body Check

Take your time.

Don’t tell me that! I work better under pressure.

Dakota smirked.Fine, then I expect your thoughts within the hour.

Done.

Still smiling, Dakota turned off his phone screen and tucked the device away. He pulled out his book but when he sat up, he saw Gavin looking intently at him. Dakota froze, unable to look away until Gavin broke their eye contact and focused on his laptop screen.

Weirdly flustered, Dakota reached for his book.

He put Gavin from his thoughts while he read, and they’d been in the air for about forty-five minutes when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out, smiling when he saw it was Gavin.

Task completed.

Impressive. And with time to spare. So, be honest, do you think that’s doable?

I think so, yeah. I’m committed to trying.

Why do I get the feeling there’s little you don’t accomplish once you set your mind to it?

Oh, you might be surprised.

There was nothing more after that, and Dakota wondered if he’d touched a raw nerve.

So he read for a while longer, checked his social media, responded to a few messages, and nibbled on the snack the flight attendant brought, but after, he felt restless. It was roughly a five-hour charter flight from Boston, Massachusetts to San Jose, California and they were barely two hours in.

He walked up and down the aisle a little, guys shooting him vague, distracted smiles when they glanced up from their card games, movies, or books.

Crawford was asleep, snoring quietly and taking up two seats. Behind him, Anker Hendriksen was head-down, rooting around for something under his seat and half-blocking the aisle.

Dakota paused, glancing around. Jesse and Tanner were seated on the other side of that aisle, playing something on their PSPs.

Jesse cackled, triumphantly saying, “Suck it, dude!” to his seatmate.

Tanner scoffed. “Well, Iwouldbut you’re apparently all wifed up.”

“Oh,excuse mefor falling in love. And, wait, does that make me the wife or Connor the wife?”

Tanner shrugged. “It’s a state of mind, not a specific role. Or should I call you a WAG?”

“I don’t even know what that earlier shitmeans,” Jesse said. “And let’s avoid the gendered shit. If there’s one thing I plan to bring with me from Toronto, it’s being a SAP.”

Tanner glanced up. “A what now?”

“Spouse and partner,” Jesse said, still staring at his screen. “That’s what all of the significant others of Fisher Cats players were called, regardless of gender. Charlie made cute little SAP jackets for the playoffs and everything.”

“Nice. Rhinestones?”

“For everyone who wanted them, yeah. Everyone else got like … airbrushed lettering or something. They were totally kitschy but in a classy way. Cause Charlie’s that kinda guy.”

“Fun.”

“Why? You want a bedazzled SAP jacket? You got your eye on a teammate?” Jesse teased.

Anker finally righted himself, muttering an apology to Dakota as he took a seat. Dakota waved it off, still half-listening to the argument as he kept walking.

Tanner sputtered, “Hell no.”

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