Page 89 of Hockey Bois
Nick waited patiently for Brady to do that same arc where Nick’s blades had already carved a big groove into the ice. He considered being a dick and giving him a bad pass, but he was too curious what Brady was going to do, so he made sure the puck went exactly where it should.
Right into the back of the net, and then, of all things, Brady broke out into the Moonwalk.
“What the fuck?” Nick giggled. “That’s actually a good one, where’d you get it?”
“Kovalev. Did it in Pittsburgh. I remember watching him when I was a kid and thinking it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.”
“It’s not bad. You should maybe show some emotion the next time you score and try it out.”
Brady considered. “Only if you do the one where you dive and pretend you’re swimming.”
“Those cellys are not equal, and you know it. I’ll give you the Jagr salute. Deal?” He held out his glove.
Brady fist-bumped him before grabbing some pucks and moving to the other side of the net. “All right, kids, show’s over,” he called to the mass of teenagers and tweens hovering nearby. “Butif you’d like to show off your own sick moves, get in line and shout-out left to get a pass from me, right to get one from Nicki over there. We’ll be rating your celly style on a ten-point scale, so make it good. And of course, make sure you actually hit the back of the net or your bros will never let you live it down.”
It was too bad they’d never figured out the whole “relationship” thing because Nick was 95% sure Brady was his perfect guy.
Oh well. They’d at least managed to work their way back into hockey. It was a safe zone for them, the thing that held their friendship together, and their best path forward.
Things were good. They could be better, but Nick could settle for good enough.
*
Nick didn’t get a goal for three more games. Brady did, though, and he dutifully did the Moonwalk. There was a pause, a moment between the goal and the celly where Brady’s minuscule smile slowly disappeared and grim realization hit him.
His grumpiness did nothing to diminish how exquisite the celly was, and the whole bench lost their collective shit.
And even if afterward he kept up the grumpy façade, Nick could tell he was pleased with the attention.
“You owe me,” Brady groused later on the walk to their cars.
“Now I’ll just look like I’m copying you. Maybe I shouldn’t—” Nick started.
“Don’t youdare. We shook on it, and now I want that salute.”
“That is completely dependent upon me scoring, and I suddenly feel a goal drought coming on. I may need to switch to defense.”
“I will careen every puck I get off of your body until one of them bounces into the net.”
“You wouldn’t,” Nick said with mock indignation.
“Don’t find out.”
They’d reached their cars, Brady’s Jeep only a few spots away from Nick’s Mazda. He could feel Brady’s usual charm settling in and trying to lock Nick in place, to make him linger a few extra minutes before he had to physically pull himself away.
Today, he broke the spell before it could take hold.
“Well, hopefully the dry spell doesn’t get that drastic. Wouldn’t want my own Alternate Captain bruising me with pucks. See ya in a few days.” And then, just to be sure, he turned away so he couldn’t fall into the trap of looking into Brady’s eyes.
See, he told himself as he got into his car.We can be friends without me losing it and making a fool of myself falling for a guy who’s not interested.
With determination and grit better saved for the ice, Nick didnotglance Brady’s way as he pulled out of the spot. He didnotlook when he passed Brady’s car and instead threw a no-look, totally suave wave. It was a lot harder not to glance in the rearview mirror or to notice that Brady was stuck at the same red light as him, but he succeeded in pretending to be aloof.
The only person he might be fooling was Brady, but if he could manage that much, he’d count it a win.
Chapter Ten: April
“Don’t you think this is maybe a bad idea?” Jenna stabbed Nick’s carrot cake and stole a bite. Terry licked his lips as he watched, hand twitching around his spoon as he obviously hoped to pull off a similar maneuver.
