Page 34 of Game Winner
Sage pokes my arm. “We want to eat withyou. Besides, Nils is cool. And it’s like he’ll be there more in the capacity of your uncle than a coach.”
There’s enough agreement with the guys that I don’t question it.
We end up at a restaurant which claims they invented the hot wing. I take a seat with Nils at the end of one table so we can talk and the guys won’t feel like they have to be on their best behavior around a coach.
Nils grabs a wing dripping with sauce from the mountain in front of us. “My thoughts about your game are that you seem more relaxed than I’ve ever seen you. Not only yesterday’s practice and today. I’ve seen that translated into the last several games you’ve played.”
“Huh.” I bite into a wing. It’s spicy and messy, and I wonder if Tyler and Bax would like it. “I don’t think I’m doing anything differently. You know I don’t change up my routine unless something’s not working.”
He dips a celery stalk into the bowl of blue cheese dressing. “I was wondering if the change was due to something outside of hockey.”
My gaze falls to the guys, but the housemates are chatting about what to do for Phil and Gio’s anniversary, and Quinn is telling the others about something getting fixed at his apartment building.
I grab another wing. “The only thing different is I’m seeing someone. Well, two someones. Tyler Moore.”
“Your teammate.” He picks up a celery stalk. “I spoke with his coach when he was traded.”
“Yeah. And Bax Knight. He works at the history museum, and he’s in a band. We’ve been together since before Christmas. Pretty much since Tyler came to the team.”
He chomps on the celery, his gaze focused on the soccer game playing on the big screen hanging on the opposite wall. “I wondered if something was up on Christmas when you skipped out right after dessert. Brian thought something was wrong with the cake.”
“I don’t think Brian could bake a bad cake if he tried.” My mouth waters just thinking about the double chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting he made for my uncle’s birthday last year. Nils’s partner is a wizard in the kitchen. He can make anything. “The first time Remy met him, he was so inspired, he started experimenting with recipes, then ones in viral videos, and that’s how we ended up eating chili with gummy worms.”
Nils tips his head back and laughs so loud, the whole table looks our way. Seated between Morgan and Rhys, Remy leans over the table. “Did I hear my name?”
I wave a wing in his direction. “Just talking about your cooking. And Brian’s baking.”
Remy grins, sits back, and pulls out his phone. “He made me a birthday cake in the shape of Benny. You have to see it.” He addresses that last line to the Metros who don’t live with us.
With the guys stuck looking at the million pictures Remy took of the cake and Benny posing near it, I turn back to Nils.
He wipes his fingers on a napkin and gives me his full attention. “Tell me about them.”
“They’re… great. Ty’s a little shy, but he opens up more as he gets comfortable. He likes video games as much as I do,and he’s as obsessed with hockey. Bax likes history, and he’s an amazingly talented drummer. I’ll send you a link to check out his music.”
“You look happy.”
Shrugging, I think about how Gio said my eyes give me away. “I am. They care about the people in their lives, are good in all the ways that matter, and I think they care about me.” It’s a good feeling, and I’m still absorbing the wonder of it all.
Our schedules haven’t meshed well for seeing each other in person since we left Bax’s place on New Year’s Day, but we played a lot of our video games through the app during the Slash road trip last week, text all the time, and we were able to meet up at the museum two days ago.
Tyler and I surprised Bax by jumping on his last tour of the day, then had dinner together before heading back to the house and helping Tyler unpack the boxes the moving company dropped off. I got the call that I would be joining the Metros as we sorted through what to keep in his room and what would be stored in the garage.
He passes a stack of napkins to the other end of the table. “It’s good to see you excited about something other than hockey.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your world is small, mainly consisting of your teammates, though mostly your housemates. So it’s good to see that expanding. If you get too focused on one thing, you lose out on so much else.”
I frown at the small pile of discarded bones on my plate. “It’s not only my housemates or teammates. We’re friends with Rhys and his buddies.” Using a bone, I point to the guys at the end of the table.
Nils picks up his soda. His gaze drifts to his players, and he smiles at Quinn refereeing a spat between Maxim and Jonasabout stolen wings and fries. “They’re still hockey players. And they’re an extension of Rhys. Brought into your life because of Sage. So it’s the same thing.”
I’ve not looked at it that way before, and I’m not entirely convinced he’s right. After all, I still make an effort in those friendships. Though my lips and tongue are tingling, I grab another wing and drag it through the blue cheese. “Yoga. I wouldn’t say I’m excited by it. But it’s a hobby.”
An insular one. But still.
“A practice you started because it helps you with hockey.”
