Page 47 of The Trade Deadline
Then he hopped off his bar stool and disappeared back into the crowd, taking Lars’s only hope of a good night with him.
Instagram: Player Takeover
[A series of Instagram Posts featured on @bmorebluecrabsnhl, each with a different player as the photographer.]
A photo of Jake Campbell, Lars Nilsson, Pierre Lauren, Logan Stewart, and RJ Russell, each holding a camera.
Caption:It’s November, which can only mean one thing! That’s right, it’s our annual Instagram Takeover! We hand over the camera to our players and let them share the real Crabs experience with fans! ??????
A series of pictures of Blue Crabs players during practice. In each, the players smile as they pose together. The players are grouped together: the forwards with their lines, the defensemen together, and the two goalies with a net behind them.
Caption:Captain Jake Campbell shows off his team
?? @jakecampbell
A series of pictures where players hold up their phones and show off pictures of their dogs.
Caption:????
?? @goalielogan1998
A series of selfies with Ryan showing off different blue crabs around the practice facility, including in the locker room, in the cafeteria, in the gym, and in Coach Thompkins’s office. Most of the selfies include Ryan with another player, who shows off the crab. In the last picture, there’s only Ryan as he makes a disgusted face with a red crab.
Caption:????
?? @ryanrusselljunior
A series of pictures that show several players posing with their cars. They range from small, practical cars (owned mostly by the rookies), to larger, more ostentatious cars (owned by the more established players), to even larger SUVs (owned by the players with children). Most notable are Pavel Vlasic’s Lotus Elise and Connor Carter’s beaten up Ford pick-up truck.
Caption:Vroom vroom ??
?? @pierrelauren93
A series of pictures of candid shots of the team during practice. There are pictures of the team in the locker room and on the ice. Every picture includes Ryan Russell, always smiling.
Caption:Chillin’ with the boys
?? @lnilsson14
Chapter16
Ryan
Ryan had spottedat least three women and two men at the bar that he’d consider spending the night with. They were all cute, all happy to be included in his celebratory gathering, and all had made it perfectly clear they’d gladly follow him back to his room. He’d told himself he’d talk to them before making a decision, a plan that had gone to hell the moment he’d found a mopey Lars at the bar.
It was really hard to avoid having feelings for the guy when he was just so damn sweet.
Hedidforget he slept with you, he reminded himself, but it was getting easier and easier to give Lars the benefit of the doubt on that one. His recent grievances against Lars were ones that seemed to have happened without any malice or intent on Lars’s part, and he was doing his best to make up for them. He got himself sloppy drunk because he was upset about taking a stupid number away from Ryan.
Ryan was begrudgingly forced to admit that the younger Lars who’d forgotten him wasn't necessarily the man Ryan knew now, and he would likely apologize profusely if he ever found out about it.
Stupid hot Swede and his being a decent guy. Ugh.
So no, Ryan didn’t end up with someone to keep him warm that night. And unfortunately, as he passed Lars’s room, silent and dark, he realized he couldn’t really regret it.
* * *
Back in Maryland, Ryan hoped throwing himself back into routine would help untangle his more and more entangled heart. The problem was that his routine now included Lars to a degree he couldn’t ignore.
