Page 78 of Drop the Gloves
His mom rolled her eyes, but Evan could tell she was amused.“Something like that.Though I have a league full of commentators who already do that.”
“They don’t like me much in Canada, eh?”He winked, and the impossible happened: his mom laughed.
“On the contrary.We love to hate you.They ever let you boys into the Olympics, you’ll be the bane of our existence, I’m sure.”She gave Riley a once-over, her gaze critical as she assessed him.“You’ve been doing well for the Riveters, so I’ll give you a pass.For now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”Riley clapped Evan on the shoulder.“See you at the hotel.Have fun, Abs’ mom!Keep him out of trouble.”
Then Riley was gone, and somehow Evan had survived the encounter.
“He’s charming.I’ll give him that,” his mom said as they walked to her car.“Wish he hadn’t hurt my baby so I could like him.Though you seem to have warmed up to him.”
Evan escaped into the car so she wouldn’t notice him blush.By the time she’d situated herself in the driver’s seat, his cheeks weren’t burning hot anymore.
“He’s not as bad as I thought,” Evan said carefully.
“Good,” she said, backing out of the space and setting her GPS.“Let’s grab some food.I’ve got us tickets to the aquarium this evening.”
They didn’t talk about hockey for the rest of the day.It was like a factory reset, where Evan felt like himself for the first time in ages.He could enjoy a beer and burger with his mom, while she caught him up on all the family drama (the drama being no worse than someone forgetting someone else’s birthday, or the aunts squabbling over the next family vacation location, or the moms placing bets on whose son would go farthest in the playoffs this year).And while his mom squealed over shark eggs and manta rays, he knew that whenever he figured out his Riley-situation, his mom wouldn’t judge him.
That was a small relief.
* * *
His mom was rinkside for warm-ups, as usual when they played the Terrors.Her seats would be higher up—anything lower than the 200s, and she said she couldn’t see enough of the game—but she knew he liked to see her while he was there.When he’d been really little, he’d liked to find his mom in the bleachers.It’d been easy enough in rinks that couldn’t hold more than a few hundred, but it’d gotten harder over the years.
In Toronto’s arena, it was impossible.It could hold over 18,000 spectators, and unlike many arenas around the league, they’d had a sellout crowd every game for decades.
It took Evan a few minutes to spot her against the boards, and he skated over to her.She wore her signed ABERNATHY jersey (embarrassing) but thankfully didn’t have a sign.This time.She waved excitedly to him and nudged everyone around her.He couldn’t hear through the plexiglass, but he could read her lips as she pointed at him: “Look!Look!That’s my son!”
He stayed a little longer, tossing a couple of pucks over the glass for the kids near his mom, then he skated off.There was something he needed to do.
Riley was waiting for him at their usual spot, the top of the left circle.Instead of doing something productive like stickhandling or shooting, he was bopping along to the music.Katie Perry, maybe?Fuck if Evan knew.
“You’re late,” Riley said.
“Sorry—”
“Holy fuck, Abs.I’m just giving you shit.Do not apologize for saying hi to your mom.We play in Boston, I’m gonna have a little cheering squad.”
“You’re from Boston?”Evan joked.“I’d never have guessed.”
Riley took off his glove to give him the finger.“Hey, fuck off.I’ve done a lot of work to lose this accent.You should watch old interviews.I sound fuckin’ hilarious.You can take the boy out of Massachusetts, but...”He shrugged.
“You’re not actually from Boston, right?”
“Nah.Salem.”He motioned for Evan to turn around.“Come on, big guy.Hometown ice isn’t saving that ass.”
Evan spun around, mostly so Riley wouldn’t see how his words affected him.“I’m notfromToronto.”
“Close enough, Mr.Canada.”Riley whacked him three times in quick succession, then once more for good measure.“You better score.I just paddled you in front of your family.I don’t want it to be for nothing.”
“Wha...”He trailed off, looking first down the ice—his cousin was paying them no mind—and then back over to his mom.Shewaswatching, though he was too far to see her expression.“Well, fuck me,” he grumbled.She knew about their weird routine, but it was different having her a hundred feet away versus seeing clips online.
“Only if you ask nice,” Riley said.“My turn.”
Ignoring the innuendo, Evan did exactly what Riley had done—four butt taps, and Riley was his usual theatrical self as he hit the ice at the end and yelped—and skated away.
Admittedly, a lot of Evan’s current issues were his own internal bullshit; some of it was definitely Riley, always throwing him off balance in little ways.As off-kilter as it left him, Evan liked that about Riley.Riley didn’t tiptoe around things.He pushed Evan’s comfort zone, but without throwing him off the deep end.
