Page 105 of Hockey Bois
“Yep.” He grunted when the door stuck, and he had to shoulder his way inside. “Found ’em in your bag when I got your phone and wallet.”
“Is this why they call you guys Steelers?”
Brady stumbled. “You— Fuck. If I let you sit on the couch, will you get up when it’s time to get you upstairs to bed?”
Hearing Brady mention his bed was too much for his poor brain. He stood there and stared like an idiot.
“That’s… probably a no, isn’t it? Well, sit on the couch anyway. I gotta get your gear out of my car. Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”
Nick felt there was a challenge there, and he wanted to rise to the occasion and find an appropriately stupid, ridiculous thing to do. But he was also very tired, so instead he stumbled into the living room. His couch wasn’t particularly comfy, but it felt like heaven as he fell onto it. He’d wrapped himself in the wool throw blanket by the time voices interrupted his nap.
“Thanks for taking him. Not sure how quickly Terry or I could have gotten to the rink.”
“It’s not a big deal. Had to go for myself anyway.”
“Tell me how that happened again?”
“It was a rough game.”
“You get stitches?”
“No.”
“Good. Anything I should know about Nick?”
“Just what I already told you. I put the paperwork from the doctor in his hockey bag—this pocket right here.”
“Perfect. Thanks again. I don’t know a lot of guys who’d be willing to sit through a doctor’s visit for a teammate. Nice to finally meet you, Brady.”
“Uh… likewise?”
“Night.”
“Night. I’ll, uh… yeah. Good night.”
There was a pause filled with little noises—the door closing, shoes hitting the floor, footsteps—and then Jenna was with Nick. He wondered briefly if Brady was still there, and was mildly hurt when he realized that no, he wasn’t.
Why would he be?
Jenna sat down on the couch, forcing him to wiggle closer to the back. “How you feeling?”
“I feel not good,” Nick said woefully.
“Concussions’ll do that,” she said. He didn’t bother to explain that his recent abandonment was the real cause of his distress. “You mind sleeping down here tonight? I’ll take the recliner so I can wake you up to check on you.”
“I need real blankets.”
“Whiny. I’ll grab some and get you water.”
Nick expected her to leave then, to be the good cousin and friend who’d take care of him, but she hesitated. “He’s prettier in person, you know, even if he smells like blood and sweat.” Jenna brushed a few stray strands of hair from Nick’s forehead. “Nice, too. I’m willing to forgive him for the tournament thing since he broke a guy’s nose for you. Bonus points for actually taking you to the doctor.”
“Who?”
“Brady, you idiot,” she said fondly.
Nick nodded. “Very pretty. Very smelly. Very nice.”
Jenna laughed and patted his leg. “You’re more useless than usual right now. Night, tough guy. See you in a couple hours.”
