Page 36 of Scoring Slater
"Right? Apparently, it’s in retaliation for—"
"Hey, bromance! Looking good!" A guy with multiple piercings and tattoos sticking out of his Bedlam sweatshirt waved, holding up his phone. The small group with him all had their phones out as well, held like they were recording videos.
Noah stiffened, and then tugged on Slater’s forearm which had snaked over his chest.
Message received:Let go.
He dropped his arm to his side. Noah raised his stick in acknowledgment of the guy, then skated to the bench on the opposite side of the rink. Slater managed a weak smile and wave, then headed in Noah’s direction.
One week had passed since he'd shared the photo of him and Noah with the world. The attention hadn't died down at all. Every time he opened his app, there were more hearts, comments, and love showering them, whether on that photo or any of the dozen random posts he'd shared since then.
He reached the bench and grabbed some water. Before he could talk to Noah, Coach LeClair called for the team’s attention. As they all gathered around the coach, Slater stood between Rod and Leo. He couldn’t wait to see Rod’s reaction to the missing mug, and also had the feeling Leo wouldn’t be able to keep a poker face at all.
As he’d guessed, once they were back in the locker room, Rod tore apart his locker and the surrounding area. He then spun and pointed a finger at Leo. "You!"
Shoulders shaking, unable to hide a smile, Leo looked up. "What?"
"Where’s my mug?"
"What mug?"
Rod strode across the room with his hand extended like a dramatic detective from an old-time movie. He pushed Leo aside and reached into the big man’s locker. "Thismug."
Leo gaped at him. "How the hell did you see that from all the way over there?"
"Super special goalie vision." He smirked and held his mug protectively to his chest. "Plus, you never pile towels up in your locker like that. Dead giveaway."
"Fine. Now we’re even."
"I don’t know about that. Better stay on your toes." Rod backed away, then turned to Slater. "The hockey superhero you’re creating for your comic book should be a goalie with laser vision."
Slater nodded, pleased Rod had remembered. The guys were always supportive of each other’s hobbies or plans. "Cool idea. I’ll keep it in mind."
"I have the perfect coffee-stealing villain for you, too…" He mock-glared at Leo and his brother-in-law grinned before he returned the glare with his most menacing stare. They stood, squaring off like a couple of superheroes or prize fighters.
The image was too perfect. Slater couldn’t resist snapping a photo with his phone. Two stalls down, Noah cracked a smile at their antics. Damn, that smile looked good. He vowed to draw it out at least once more before they got home.
Vince walked by the two veterans and snapped a towel at Rod’s waist. "Move it, boys. I have a date with my fiancé at the coffee shop."
Rod jumped and grabbed the cloth weapon from Vince’s hand. "We all have a date at the coffee shop. My caffeine levels are running low. Let’s move. Coffee’s on Leo today."
Leo snorted. "Is it? Awfully generous of me."
"I know." With a smile, Rod returned to his locker.
Slater glanced at Leo. He’d been included in the post-practice visits to Jolt, a coffee shop owned by Rod’s best friend Ben, since his rookie season. Joseph had recently started working there as a manager. "If you’re buying, I think I’ll get the extra large cappuccino."
"Whatever you want, Knoxie. I’ll give a huge tip to whoever’s working the counter if they only give Rod a sample size."
Noah’s throat worked as he downed half a bottle of water. "Why did you hide his mug? Was it because of the whole sports drink squirted in your face thing from last night?"
Groaning, Leo rubbed a hand over his face and nodded. "He still claims that he grabbed the wrong bottle and thought it was water. But that doesn’t change the fact that I let loose a whole string of words that had to get bleeped out of the post-game interview. Not a good look for me on a nationally televised game, was it? I’m supposed to do a visit to a middle school with Vince later this week. I’m not looking like the best role model right now, am I?"
Sympathy swirled deep. Slater patted him on the back and exchanged a glance with Noah. "You’re a great role model. Anyone who gets that in the eyes, mixed with the sweat dripping down your face, knows it stings like hell. Hey, to make you feel better, I’ll cover the tab for everyone today."
The frustration melted away and Leo smiled. "In that case, I’m ordering the extra large cappuccino."
"You can even have two." He patted Leo again, then winked at Noah and elicited another smile. "And yeah, we’re getting Rod the sample size."
