Page 78 of The Trade Deadline
Lars Nilsson:I'll be visiting my mormor, sister-in-law, and my niece and nephew in Ohio.
Vladislav Voronin:My parents and younger sister will be visiting from Russia. It’s a long trip, so they will stay about a month as we celebrate.
Pavel Vlasic:I hear it might snow this year. The kids will like that, we can make snowmen and have a snowball fight. But we will obviously do presents and a big family dinner, and FaceTime with our family who live overseas. Very important for the kids to know their cousins.
Pierre Lauren:I’ll be hosting the team party on New Year’s Eve, so most of my holiday break will be spent helping my wife decorate and stock up on hors d’oeuvres and champagne. Luckily the dogs don’t need much attention, no?
RJ Russell:I fly to Montana to spoil my nieces and nephews but then usually get stuck helping clean out the barn. Real buzzkill to the Christmas spirit.
Kyle Fritz:I’ll be driving up to New York to visit my aunt and uncle to celebrate Hanukkah.
Rupert Swanson:Just me and my girlfriend celebrating in town. Very low-key. I won’t even hit the gym or the ice until we come back. Hopefully I still remember how to skate.
Stay warm, Crabs fans, and Happy Holidays!
Chapter24
Ryan
Ryan sat nervouslyon a bar stool in Rangoons. There was a half-eaten plate of crab rangoons in front of him and he was already on his second non-alcoholic beer. If they didn’t have practice tomorrow, he might’ve even gone for an actual beer, he was so nervous. How could he be nervous? This wasLars. A guy he’d already slept with three times, a guy he’d seen nearly every day for months and talked to almost every day while they were away.
He ran his clammy palms down his thighs and tried to stop his legs from shaking. He was wearing jeans.Jeans!What next, khakis? To impress a guy who’d regularly seen him in suits when they had to dress up for travel and before games.
A gust of wind as the front door opened made Ryan sit up straight. He turned to look, then sighed in disappointment as a group of strangers stamped their feet and then made their way to a booth.
Ryan didn’t like this anxious feeling. He didn’t like that something other than hockey could have his stomach twisted in knots. If this was what dating was like, he wasn’t sure he liked it. It was distracting and uncomfortable and?—
This time the cool air brought in Lars, wearing a beanie pulled too far down and a long, green raincoat over a Crabs hoodie, and something inside Ryan shifted. Their dating or non-dating was no longer relevant, because he understood he’d suffer more than a little discomfort for the chance to stay in Lars Nilsson’s orbit. Without meaning to, he’d stood halfway up but caught himself. What was he planning on doing? Going up to him? Hugging him?Kissinghim? He firmly planted his feet around the legs of the bar stool as he smiled at Lars.
Lars caught sight of him immediately. He shook off the slightest dusting of snow that made him look stupidly handsome, and walked over. He clapped Ryan hard on the back, his fingers digging into the meat there, and took the empty bar stool.
“Hi,” he said, then popped a crab rangoon in his mouth.
“Hey.” Ryan licked his lips and watched the way Lars’s throat worked as he swallowed. “How was Ohio?”
Lars shrugged. “It’s unfortunate that every time I’m in Ohio, I have to see Anders, so I’m not particularly endeared to the state.” His expression brightened slightly. “But the kids made me a scrapbook of all the fights Anders and I have had. They even drew some pictures. Mormor was very displeased.” He sounded mischievous as he said this last part, like a child who’s played a particularly good prank.
Ryan didn’t know whether to laugh or not. He didn’t at all understand Lars’s relationship with his brother, nor did he even know how to begin approaching it. It was nothing like him with his sisters, but he didn’t have a brother at all, so maybe this was more within the realm of normal than he gave it credit for.
“You were in Montana?” Lars promoted. “Did you have to clean a barn?”
“Yeah, actually,” he said in surprise. “How’d you know?”
“It was on the Blue Crabs page,” Lars said. “They asked me what I was doing, and I think they asked a lot of people where they were going for break. You said you would have to clean your family’s barn.”
Oh. He remembered that. He honestly wasn’t one for social media. He had it, because of course he did, but he didn’t engage much with it. He followed friends and family only, posted sparingly, and sometimes shared posts to signal boost a cause or event. He absolutely didnotlook at hockey stuff. The last thing he wanted to know was what anyone was saying about him, his team, or the league.
“I did,” he agreed. “I forgot, and I guess I didn’t expect anyone to actually read what I said.”
Or care. Well, no, he knew he had fans. Not at the same volume as other players, but he’d seen his jersey in the stands enough to know people liked him.
“I always read them,” Lars said. The thought that his past self was out there online had never much mattered; knowing Lars actually read them made his chest flutter. Had he gone back to read the older ones…?
Ryan suddenly wondered if he’d said anything embarrassing. Probably—he rode a line between his real self and a public persona that was a lot funnier and more easygoing than he actually was—but there was an amount of embarrassment that didn’t bother him when it was in front of strangers and then a much lower amount he could stomach when it was Lars.
“I comment on them sometimes.” There was a twinkle in Lars’s eyes.
Great. Now Ryan was going to have to dive into Crabs’ social media just to read Lars’s comments.
