Page 97 of Hockey Bois
Nick was only unsure how many )’s made it into that message.
“Who’s playing?” Brady asked as he took the only empty seat. They’d taken up one corner of the bar where it curved. He was several seats down from Nick, but unfortunately with the L-shape of the counter, his seat put him directly in Nick’s line of sight.
“Who’s playing!?” GG looked legitimately offended by the question. “It’s third round of the playoffs, and you don’t know who’s playing?”
Brady half shrugged, no shame at all. “Not really.”
The Pens had gotten kicked out of a Wildcard spot their last game of the regular season. The Caps had gotten themselves booted from the first round in typical Caps fashion, crashing and burning in Game 7. Brady’s lack of interest in the playoffs was shared by most of the area, who’d tune in once it got to the finals but not before.
GG was old-school enough that he followed every game in every round for both conferences. He probably stayed up late for the West Coast games, dutifully enduring double or triple overtimes if need be and going to work the next day the hockey equivalent of hungover.
“You know,” GG said to Brady, “you used to be my favorite.”
“He still covers for your lazy backcheck when you play center,” Gail said. “So he better still be your favorite, ’cuz I’m not putting up with that BS.”
When it became obvious that no one was actually going to answer the question, Nick called out, “Jackets and Canes.”
Brady turned to Nick, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. At least until he registered what Nick had said. “Wait,who?”
Nick grinned. “You heard me. This is a doomsday scenario, right here.”
Brady made a face that was just shy of disgusted. “We allowed to disband the NHL until October?”
“If only.”
There was a pause, mostly filled by people drinking or fighting over nachos. Nick was happy to let the conversation move on (especially since Terry was watching them like a hawk; Gail too, probably).
But then, before he could think better of it, Nick blurted out, “Fuck, did you grow that beard overnight?”
Everyone turned to look at Brady. Lexi had a chip halfway in his mouth, GG and Gail squinted at Brady, trying to spot any differences, and Terry quirked his head in confusion.
Brady absently rubbed a hand over his beard. It should only be stubble, but it looked nearly as thick and long as when Nick had last seen him.
“What?” Lexi asked, voicing the group’s confusion. The chip had finally made it into his mouth, and it garbled his words. “Jensie’s always got a beard. Doesn’t he?”
“He shaved,” Nick mumbled, more to himself. He should probably stop, but he’d already said too much, confessed to Brady that he’d seen the pictures on Facebook, so what difference did it make if he stopped now? “For his sister’s wedding.”
He felt the intensity of everyone’s eyes. He prayed his cheeks weren’t burning.
“You have a sister?” Lexi said skeptically, though thankfully he was now more interested in Brady than Nick.
“You were out of town?” GG asked.
Gail was mercifully quiet. Probably because, as the only observant person there, she was well aware of the subtext of this interaction.
“My sister’s bossy,” Brady mumbled. It seemed like that was all he planned to say on the matter, but everyone was still looking at him expectantly, so he added, “She made me shave for the wedding. It’s still kind of thin…” He trailed off as he ran a hand over his beard again, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
“It looks the same as it always does, though,” Lexi muttered into his beer. “I work all November for a mustache and get jackshit. Lumberjack over here can grow a full beard in a week.”
Mags arrived then, rescuing them all from Brady’s beard.
“They already did opening faceoff? Where’s the sound?”
GG sprung into action, begging the nearest bartender to turn up the volume on the game, and they lost themselves in good ol’ playoff hockey. The one good thing about the Caps being out of it was Nick could enjoy the hockey without feeling the pain of missed pucks and bad calls.
It also meant he wasn’t completely enthralled in the game. He stole more than his fair share of glances Brady’s way, and their eyes met enough times that he suspected maybe Brady was doing the same. Under both Gail and Terry’s watchful eyes (and by proxy, Jenna’s, too), he didn’t dare do anything. He stayed in his seat, only talked to Brady during intermissions, and made sure to talk to everyone else.
He also belatedly realized he was neglecting his cousinly duties. He watched Terry and Gail, pleased to note that things seemed to be going well.
