Page 63 of Drop the Gloves
If you get more hits than me, I’ll let you fuck me.
His foot caught on a step, and he almost stumbled into a wall.Instead, he only jammed his toe, and he cursed under his breath all the way to his room.
* * *
Riley had, in his opinion, done a very admirable job of ignoring the crowd.Not completely, obviously, because where was the fun in that?The fans still trying to get his autograph, he gave it to them.The ones with more creative signs during warm-ups (whether positive or negative), he posed for them.For the little girl wearing a Barczyk jersey, he gave her a stick.And the group of teenagers who gave him the finger, he pretended he was going to toss them a puck over the glass, then dropped it back on the ice and skated off.
“And now to honor Riley Barczyk and his three seasons on the Gliders, please turn your attention to the Jumbotron!”the announcer boomed over the crowd.Riley leaned over the bench to stare up as the screen showed nothing but him.His favorite kind of entertainment.
He’d expected a tribute video before the game.This one was nicer than the previous ones the Kings and Nor’easters had done for him.Way better than the one from the Rough Riders.That one had looked like an intern had made it an hour before the game and had included a clip that hadn’t been him at all.Dicks.
The Gliders, for all their faults, did him right.There were interviews from the coaches and other players, and the highlights were legit.Great goals, pristine passes, and of course the hits.Chef’s kiss to them on the selection there.They even got his fight two seasons ago with Dustin Crowne when he’d knocked out the poor bastard.
“ ‘s a good punch,” he said and turned to joke with Abs about it.“Maybe one of these days you’ll—” He stopped short at how pale Abs looked.“Hey, you okay?”
“They going to showeveryhit you ever made?”Abs’ voice was shaky, but not like he was angry or annoyed.More like he was worried.
“Nah,” he said and nudged Abs’ shoulder.“We’d be here all night.We got a hockey game to play.”He’d hoped that would be enough to get a smile or maybe an eye roll, but Abs’ eyes stayed fixed on the screen like he could turn it off by sheer force of will.
And then it clicked.
Shit.
Riley had to wait for the applause as the video ended.He waved at the crowd, boo-cheering him, and winked for the cameras.It was a nice moment, but he was happy to see it done: he was officially no longer a Philadelphia Glider, and so didn’t have to feel bad for what came next.
As things settled down for the start of the game, he leaned in close to Abs who jumped at the sudden proximity.
“Look, Abs,” he said, as low as he could over the noise of the arena.“I’m sorry if I stressed you out with our deal.I don’t give a shit if you don’t get a single hit.”
“Are you trying to back out?”Evan asked.He didn’t look sick anymore.Rosy-cheeked and with lips pressed into a thin line, Abs looked about ready to shove Riley over the boards onto the ice.
Riley raised an eyebrow and took a moment to admire what an angry Evan Abernathy looked like.
The verdict: kinda hot.
He made a mental note to rile Abs up more often.This wasn’t the time or the place, though.Not about this.
“I’m not,” he said gently, though he thought most of it was lost in the roar of the crowd as the game started.“It’s just a lot of pressure, and I didn’t want to….”There was a lot he could say here, but the honest answer was he didn’t want to ruin things.He couldn’t say that, because that would mean there was a thing and it could be ruined.
Luckily, Abs didn’t push.“It’s fine.”He swallowed, his Adam’s apple fucking delicious as it bobbed.“I’m looking forward to it.”
The universe decided that was the time for them to prove it: Moreau dumped the puck and rushed over for a line change.
Riley had been one of the resident Tough Guys™ on the Gliders.With him gone, that only left Brock Warner, a large defenseman who never went out of his way to deliver hits but could send guys flying if he wanted to, and James Marsh, their fourth line center who’d learned from Riley that throwing his body could earn him minutes.He had none of Riley’s finesse with the puck or with drawing penalties, so Riley figured Marsh would be his biggest problem tonight.
As expected, the Gliders didn’t play nice.They were definitely targeting him.Not always physically, but with tight coverage and challenging him way more than they did Abs or Vassy.Their mission was clearly to keep Riley off the score sheet; giving him a few bruises was just a bonus.He’d been a target before and didn’t mind it.Facing an old team gave him the advantage of knowing how all of them played…and knowing exactly how to piss them off.
At the next face-off when the ref’s back was to him, he knocked Fernsteiger’s stick out of his hand.There was no payoff on that one for a couple of shifts, but it drew a slashing call when Fernsteiger tried to do the same stunt to Riley but wasn’t smart about his timing and did it right in front of the ref.
When Pope iced the puck, Riley knew he wouldn’t be able to get to it fast enough, but he still skated in hard specifically so he could snow the goalie.He knew Mackintosh was pretty chill for a goalie and wouldn’t mind too much, but he also knew Warner was on the ice.He oversold the crosscheck a touch, going limp right as Warner hit him so he’d flop spectacularly.
“Not smart.You made him mad,” Mackintosh said just before Warner landed on top of him.
“Barzy, you little shit!”Warner yelled and pushed Riley’s face against the ice.He hadn’t liked Riley’s bullshit much when they were teammates, no surprise he liked it less now.“Give me an excuse to pummel you!I dare you!”
Before Riley could answer him, the weight pressing onto his back lifted.When Riley pushed himself off the ice, he turned and saw Abs dragging Warner away.Warner, for his part, seemed surprised that someone could drag him anywhere.Using Warner’s confusion to his advantage, Riley pushed to his feet and went to intervene on Abs’ behalf.Warner wasn’t much of a fighter, but he was still way more skilled than most guys.He’d give Riley a run for his money—no way Riley could let Abs get his ass handed to him.
“Hey, no harm done.”Riley grabbed a fistful of Abs’ jersey and yanked.Abs didn’t move at first—if anything, he tightened his grip on Warner—but another hard tug, and he let Riley pull him away.“See, we’re all friends.”
