Page 41 of Scoring Slater
Once on the plane, he took his usual seat in front of Leo and Celek. Noah sat beside him and immediately leaned across the aisle to talk to Vince.
As soon as the seatbelt sign clicked off, Noah moved a few seats up to play a strategy card game with Rod, Celek, Vince, and Paquette.
Slater turned his gaze toward the window and watched the scenery change below. A chill gripped his body and he couldn't get comfortable.
"Knoxie," Leo tapped him on the shoulder. "No plane ride selfie?"
He twisted until he could see Leo over the seat. "Not today."
Leo's face creased in concern and he leaned forward. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Never better."
"Lying to me or to yourself?"
"Maybe both." He flicked the edge of the comic book he'd tucked into his bag. As much as he'd been looking forward to reading it, his concentration was shot. "Is your family coming to the game?"
"They'll all be there, and like usual, they got an entire suite. They’ve promised they’ll all be in Bedlam attire. My dad said he got a Knox jersey. He figured Ryan, Xavier, and Shane could sport the Brennan name."
That made him smile. A suite of Bedlam blue in an arena filled with gray and yellow was one thing, but Leo's dad wearing his jersey was another level of awesome. "Your family is great. You're lucky."
Leo hefted himself out of his seat and swung into Noah's vacated spot next to Slater. He lowered his voice so only Slater could hear. "Talk to me, kid. What's going on?"
Slater glanced at the surrounding seats. Guys were either involved in card games, conversations, reading, or watching game film on tablets. "Noah and I aren't working out too well."
"What happened?"
"The quick version is he's too freaked out about the attention, and I apparently post too many pictures."
Elbow on the arm rest, Leo leaned in and lowered his voice. "I think I might need a little more than the quick version. But that can wait until we get to the hotel and have more privacy."
He glanced up the aisle at Noah, fingers aching to stroke the dark hair falling over his forehead as he studied his cards. "I was so happy. I thought, finally, it's happening, you know? But I think he's regretting everything. Like he opened a box and can't shove back in what's escaped."
"I'm sorry, Knoxie."
Shrugging, he crossed his arms over his chest, but that didn't stop the ache blooming there. "He drove himself to the rink this afternoon."
Leo's brows shot up. "He hates driving."
"I guess he hates it less than being with, or being seen with, me." The very thought of that made him ache, like he'd taken a skate blade to the heart.
Leo laid a hand on his shoulder. At the comforting touch, the backs of Slater's eyes pricked with the threat of tears. "I've got your back. Whatever you need, okay?"
He nodded and swallowed hard. "Thanks."
"And on that note, both of you haven't been playing well lately. You guys need to figure out how to fix whatever is going on between you because it's already spilling onto the ice. This team needs you both."
"I know. I'll get my head right. I hate letting you guys down."
With a sigh, Leo looked past him, out the window, when he refocused his attention on Slater, his gray eyes held a mixture of brotherly affection and sincerity. "You could never let us down, kid. You're one of huge parts that make up the heart of this team."
His gaze drifted to Noah once more. "My own heart feels like it's pretty hollow right now."
"Don't worry, Knoxie. It'll get better." Another pat on the shoulder accompanied Leo's words.
"Will it?" Slater wasn't so sure.
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