Page 114 of Thrown for a Loop
“Am I breathing?”
He gives me a catty smile. “Splash of milk, right? Just like mine?”
The memory of all our synchronicities socks me in the chest. “Yes, please.”
“Help yourself to anything in my bathroom. And I think I know where I can score you a pair of sweatpants that might fit. Hang on.”
He leaves the room, and I investigate his luxury bathroom, done up in light wood and sage-colored glass tiles. I treat myself to a quick shower under an outrageously overdesigned showerhead and then snag a fluffy white towel off a stack of them.
I’d bet a hundred bucks, which is all the money I have, that someone else cleans this bathroom.
In Chase’s medicine cabinet I find an unopened toothbrush from United Airlines and help myself to the toothpaste. When I’m feeling refreshed, I venture out into his bedroom in my fluffy towel just as Chase is entering the room with a tray containing two glasses of orange juice and two mugs of coffee.
The tray wobbles suddenly, and I extend a hand to steady it. “Oh heck! Problem?”
“Hmm?” Chase asks distractedly. Then he peels his eyes off my cleavage and meets my gaze. “Um, coffee’s ready.”
“That’s so nice,” I say, taking the tray from his strangely incompetent grasp. “Is it getting late? You probably have morning skate.”
“It’s optional today, and I’m blowing it off. This is for you,” he says, pointing at the bed, where there’s a pair of sweatpants with the Brooklyn Bruisers logo running down the leg.
“Enemy sweatpants?” I yelp.
He grins. “Tremaine’s hookup left them in his apartment to be obnoxious. They’re clean, and they’re probably your size. I found you a Legends sweatshirt to counterbalance it, though.”
“Good thinking. Right back!” I grab the clothes and dash into his bathroom again to get dressed.
When I emerge, Chase is seated on the freshly made bed, still shirtless, which I appreciate. He smiles over the rim of his coffee cup when I appear. “Get it while it’s hot.”
Oh, I wish.I join him on the bed, and he hands me a mug. The coffee is the exact shade that I would have made it for myself. I take a sip. “It’s perfect. Thanks. But you don’t have to blow off morning skate for me. Nolan Sharp is still not your biggest fan.”
“Yeah.” He chuckles. “I know, and it’s a problem. But I was planning to skip anyway. I have a meeting later, but it’s a secret.”
“A secret meeting? With who?”
“Hold on.” He trades my coffee for the OJ. “Try this. Fresh squeezed by Marnie.”
“Wow” is all I can say after my first sip. “MaybeI’llmarry her. Now what’s this meeting?”
He takes a sip of his juice, too. “It’s a lunch with an old friendwho plays for Montreal. I’m pretty sure he invited me out because they’re thinking about making an offer.”
It takes me a second to understand. “Oh.Do you want a contract with them? You’d have to move to Montreal?”
He takes a thoughtful sip. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I have a nice setup here. I think you called it my Mojo Dojo Hockey House?”
I cringe.
He grins. “The thing is? I love New York, and I love living next door to my two best friends. But I’m twenty-nine years old. This contract will be my last one. I want to go somewhere they appreciate me, Zoe. I don’t want to end my career as Nolan Sharp’s whipping boy. Montreal is a good option. And if a little competition makes Sharp appreciate me more, that’s not the worst outcome, either.”
“That’s great,” I say, forcing a smile. Even though I can’t imagine the Legends team without him. “When will you have to decide?”
“Not for a while. I can’t sign with anyone else until July. Bess will use the time to get Sharp’s offer up a bit. He’s lowballing me a little.”
“Alittle,” I repeat. “Does this mean the bar shove hasn’t tanked your career?”
He takes a slow sip of the coffee and sets the mug down on the bedside table. “Since we’re in our honesty era, it’s only fair to tell you that I never thought it would ruin me.”
My heart leaps. “And your sponsors? They’re staying?”
