Page 119 of Unrivaled

The last week of the regular season flew by. Baller’s cast had come off and he was pushing himself hard in rehab, but Max didn’t know if he’d be ready in time for the first series. Whenever Max wasn’t practicing, playing, sleeping, or talking to Grady, he was watching video, analyzing his opponents, or making notes of his own missed opportunities. He did manage one phone call with El and Hedgie and two just with him and El. During the first call, El fell asleep while Max was complaining about living in a hotel. On the second one, Max kept nodding off, and he didn’t even have an excuse. It was only five o’clock in California.

He watched a lot of hockey and didn’t get nearly enough sleep. Every night he checked the standings, and a ball of anxiety grew in his stomach as he tried to gauge the likelihood the Condors would play the Piranhas in the first round. The Pacific Division was a tight race, with only five points separating first place from third. Both the Condors and the Piranhas could end up in any of those spots, and the second- and third-place teams would play each other.

Grady’s team kicked ass on their road trip and won all three games. Max didn’t have a game the night the Condors played the Monsters, so he sat on the bed in his hotel room to watch it while he ate room service. Grady scored two goals and two assists and got first star of the game, which Max took as a mark of his affections.

Aw babe u didn’t have to, he sent, followed by a number of heart emojis.

That was for me, not you, Grady replied.

Well I enjoyed it anyway.

This time the reply was a kissy-face emoji, which was adorable because Grady had never sent one of those before.We’re getting right on the plane home after media. Come over tomorrow?

When Grady was jet-lagged and bleary-eyed, and Max had a game to nap for?

On the other hand, he hadn’t exactly been sleeping well since Grady left. Maybe he could get his nap in at Grady’s place.Ok.

At skate the morning of the last game of the season, the trainers decided Baller was ready to participate fully. “Let’s try the two of you on a line together,” Barry said. “Do some rushes. See how it feels.”

Baller held out his fist for a bump. “We got this, right?”

“Hell yeah.”

The first set of rushes wasn’t quite right. Baller was a little slower than Max anticipated, probably because of his injury.

When they regrouped to wait their turn for another go, Baller said, “Let me carry it in this time and I’ll drop it back for you and screen, and Bishop can pick up the rebound.”

Bishop glanced at Max. “Kinda bossy for a guy who had his leg in a boot last week.”

Max patted him on the back. “C’mon, Captain, like you wouldn’t be going out of your mind if you’d had to sit out for this long. Let’s give him this one.”

“Yeah, Captain. Give me this one.”

Bishop groaned theatrically. “The two of you are going to be like this all postseason, aren’t you?”

This time Max exchanged glances with Baller before they both turned back to Bishop and chorused, “Like what?”

“Christ,” Bishop laughed. “Have it your way.”

They did have it Baller’s way, and then Max’s, and then Bishop got a chance to put in the rebound. When they’d scored on four out of six rush attempts, with their goalie cursing them vehemently, Bishop put his arms around them and said, “Okay. You win.”

“Wewin,” Baller corrected. “Or we will once I don’t need a nap after ten minutes of ice time.”

“Heal faster,” Max told him.

The spring air was already hot by the time he got into his car in the parking lot. He yawned as he stretched a kink out of his neck and wondered if he should cancel on Grady and go sleep in his hotel room for a few hours.

But he wanted to see his boyfriend, and Grady’s bed was more comfortable, so he textedomwand put the car in gear.

One godawful LA traffic experience later, he parked in Grady’s driveway. One of the neighbors’ dogs must’ve been out in the yard, because he could hear it going apeshit as he walked up Grady’s front step. To his overtaxed, underslept brain, the dog sounded like Gru. What he wouldn’t give right now for a good snuggle from his best boy. Maybe then he’d finally get a solid night’s rest.

He was still thinking about it when the door opened and Gru shrieked and launched into his arms.

“Shit!” Grady lunged forward and caught Max by the elbow so he didn’t go backward off the step. “Gru! Sorry, sorry, I didn’t know he was going to do that.”

Max looked down at his armful of barking, wriggling, tail-wagging dog, who was licking his face like Max had come home from the wars, and then up into Grady’s apologetic eyes, and felt his lip wobble.

“Hi, buddy,” he said softly, adjusting his grip to support Gru’s butt. “Hey. Hey, I missed you too. What’re you doing here, eh? Did you stow away? What a good boy.”

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