Page 118 of Unrivaled

“I’m not pissed off at you!” Grady said.

“Then why are you yelling!”

Grady made a grand sweeping gesture with both arms. “Gee, Max, I don’t know. Maybe I’m a little testy because my teenage captain lost his fucking mind on the ice tonight and started a fight with my boyfriend because he doesn’t like it when you throw legal checks! Maybe it’s really fucking embarrassing when anineteen-year-oldtries to defend your honor in a stupid macho sport!”

Max gaped at him.

But Grady had built up a head of steam, so he might as well vent the rest of it. “Some of us got to end the game the normal way, andsomeof us got dragged into a meeting with our captain and our coach where we had to explain what the fuck just happened and why it wouldn’t happen again, and try to pass it off as Dawg retaliating because he thought you hit me in the face! And then we had to be thankful he decided to bench Dawg for two games anyway! When the truth is Dawg is a dumbfuck with a crush and zero personal judgment!”

Finally Max found his voice. “Howdidyou start bleeding, anyway?”

Grady sighed and the tension in his jaw finally relaxed. The muscle throbbed. He wished Max had watched the stupid video. It was probably all over the internet by now anyway. “I butt-ended myself in the face.”

His mouth dropped open. “How?”

“It doesn’t matter! It’s just been a really shitty night and I’mallowed to be cranky about it.”

The rest of the wind went out of Max’s sails—he visibly deflated. “You’re right. Sorry, I just… you said you were fine, but fine doesn’t always meanfine, you know?”

Grady hoped the blankness of his face conveyed that he did not.

Apparently it did, because Max groaned and rubbed his forehead. “Sorry,” he said again. “I think I was, like, primed for drama, and ‘let’s talk later’ is, just FYI, something people in relationships take as a bad sign. I was having flashbacks to the last time we played each other.”

When Grady had ghosted him and moved across the country. He winced. “I’m sorry too. I only wanted some space to wallow, I swear.”

“You could’vesaidthat.” He crossed his arms over his chest. He looked small and cold. Grady wanted to hug him.

“Next time I will.” Grady paused. “Unless it’s, like, the Conference Final or something, in which case can it be understood that the loser needs some space?”

“Okay,” Max said. He uncrossed his arms, then crossed them again.

“Okay,” Grady repeated. “Now come here and hug me. You look like you’re freezing. I thought Canadians were supposed to be tougher than this.”

Blessedly, Max obeyed. Grady felt better as soon as he had Max’s body against his. It was both annoying and very nice.

However, there was one more issue he wanted to settle. “Since we’re talking about next times… next time can you tear me a new one in private while you’re sober?”

Max muffled a noise of regret in Grady’s shoulder. “That would probably be a better idea.”

At least they agreed on the important things.

Conscious of the fact that they were in public, Grady pressed a quick kiss to Max’s cheek and then pulled back. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for tonight. Do you want to come home with me?” He was leaving for a road trip tomorrow, the final one before the playoffs—New York, Philadelphia, and New Jersey. Waking up with Max beside him tomorrow would go a long way toward putting his best foot forward.

Max tilted his head and gave him a crooked smile. “Actually, yeah. Let me just go say my goodbyes.”

Grady should do that too. They were going to get chirped forever, but his teammates actually liked him, so he found he didn’t care. “I’ll come with you.”

MAX SENTGrady off with a kiss and instructions to bring home six points, which came out of his mouth without his brain’s input. They both stared at each other for a few seconds after, and then Grady kissed him again. They almost ended up back in bed, but Grady pulled away to leave for his flight.

Still, he was going to be gone for a week. Under normal circumstances, Max might have worried that their fight—could he call it a fight?—after the game was only a taste of what was to come, but Grady seemed determined not to let him.

The first text came in after Grady’s flight landed in New York.Do you need anything from your house in Jersey?

Max didn’t haveroomfor anything from his house in Jersey.Id say gru but my hotel does not allow pets. Or joy.

Grady responded with a sad-face emoji.

So it seemed like everything would be fine after all.

---