Page 76 of Hockey Bois
Brady gave a half shrug. He kept his eyes glued to the table. “Yeah. A little burnt out.”
“Ready to head to the hotel then?”
Brady looked absolutely defeated. It was like that time they’d pulled together and ended up losing to the best team in the league by a single point. It was absolute dejection: Brady had closed in on himself, and his walls were back up. Whatever had happened at the bar, it seemed like there was no chance of him talking to Nick about it, and no chance of him getting over it tonight.
That spark that had lit Brady’s eyes all day—hell, had lit him up for the past week since they’d found out about the tournament—was extinguished. He wasn’t bothering to fake it anymore, not when it was just the two of them.
“The hotel?” He gulped and looked away. “Yeah, good idea. Maybe we can watch a movie or something.”
It was a half-hearted suggestion at best. Nick saw it for what it really was: he wanted an escape, a way to get out of all the innuendos and too-friendly touches and lingering gazes.
Nick wanted to slam the table and demand what the fuck Aimes had said to him.Nickhadn’t been the one to instigate things all day! He hadn’t suggested the shared room, and he wanted an explanation—anyexplanation—and not this cowardly avoidance. He wanted to grab a fistful of Brady’s hair and pull him in for a kiss and see ifthatchanged his mind or settled his nerves.
Hewantedto do all that… but as quick as the anger came, it left. He didn’t like how things had turned out, but for whatever reason, Brady wasn’t interested anymore. Hell, maybe he hadn’t been interested at all. It wasn’t fair of Nick to put his longing onto Brady’s shoulders.
So instead, he put a gentle hand on Brady’s shoulder and waited until he reluctantly met Nick’s gaze.
“A movie sounds great,” he said with as much of a smile as he could muster.
Brady let out a sound that was likely meant to be a relieved sigh. It sounded more like a sob, choking him a bit before it could fully escape.
“C’mon.” Nick stood up and nodded toward the door.
“Yeah, okay.”
It was a small mercy they’d driven separately. It gave Nick time to recollect, to try and numb himself.
Nick showered (door locked to make his understanding of the new situation clear) while Brady settled in. He took his time drying off before pulling on clean boxers and a loose tee.
Brady was on the edge of his bed in a pair of boxer briefs with a shirt that looked like it had shrunk in the wash. He sat there, legs spread and hair tousled, looking like some fucking hockey-playing Adonis, Nick’s own Pygmalion dream come to life. Not fair. All he wanted to do was run his hand through Brady’s hair, nuzzle against his beard, and—
Nope, gotta drop that line of thinking before he got himself in trouble.
Brady looked up from his channel surfing. He must have seen Nick’s face and understood some of what was going through his mind. He looked down at his sleepwear and kept his eyes fixed on the floor.
“Disney Channel has an MCU marathon,” Brady said quietly, almost like he was ashamed to suggest it. He looked embarrassed about this whole mess, and it softened Nick’s heart.
“Sounds good.”
They made it through half a movie before Brady drifted off. Light snores filled the room, and Nick quietly turned off the TV. It took an impressive amount of willpower tonot lookin Brady’s direction, because seeing Brady softened by sleep would be too much. So he rolled over, back to Brady’s entire side of the room, and clutched a pillow close. He willed himself to fall asleep andnot dream, damn it.
He felt bereft of what could have been.
He shoved the feeling aside. They had the rest of their time in the shared hotel room, the rest of the friggin’tournamentto deal with. Yes, there was potential fallout affecting them when they got home, but Nick just wanted to survive the next twenty-four hours without things becoming too awkward.
Then he could fall apart in the privacy of his own home.
Chapter Eight: February
Nick (11:02 a.m.)
when are you coming back??
i need a night out pls come back to maryland
Jenna May (11:07 a.m.)
Terry is perfectly capable of providing moral support
