Page 134 of Hockey Bois
They slept after, limbs tangled and the sheets rumpled. When they woke up, it was still raining. The room was darker, but it wasn’t as oppressive as earlier. It was dark because of the late hour, not the storm, and that had to be an improvement.
They shared a shower before they bothered checking out. Whether it was the warmth of the water or the company, Nick felt more relaxed than he had since he’d woken up that morning to the plane debacle. This was good,reallygood, and Nick dragged the moment out. They were in a cocoon of safety right now, one where they could enjoy things without having to deal with the consequences yet.
And then Brady had to ruin it by checking his phone.
“It’s almost nine,” he said, voice quiet like he was afraid of shattering the peace… but also afraid of making Nick miss work.
“Shit,” Nick mumbled. “Check out?”
Brady nodded grimly. “Lemme get my stuff.”
They didn’t talk as they packed the few things they’d taken the trouble to unpack.
They didn’t talk as they checked out and grabbed a few snacks for the road.
They didn’t talk the first twenty miles or so, the light drizzle not loud enough to wash away the silence.
“Sooo…” Nick said. “Awkward car ride all the way back to MoCo?”
Instantly the tension dissolved. Brady laughed, and his hand relaxed on the wheel, and they were no longer trapped in the weirdness of a one-night stand that wouldn’t end. They were two friends who’d hooked up and had a good time and were magically still friends.
“We could play ‘License Plate Bingo’ or ‘I Spy’ if you think that would help,” Brady teased. Like the road wasn’t dead around them.
“Hard pass.” He held his breath until the count of ten, daring himself to justtouch.
Fuck it, he said with a mental shrug.
Nick reached across the shifter, put a hand on Brady’s leg, and carefully watched for a reaction.
Brady’s eyes went wide, though he didn’t take his eyes off the road, and there was a hint of a smile there.
“This doesn’t have to change anything,” Nick said. Brady looked down pointedly at where Nick’s hand was not quite groping his thigh. “Or…” Nick continued, “it could. I’m fine with either, but the ball’s in your court. Or, uh, I guess the puck’s in your rink? I don’t know, I don’t think that one converts to hockey very well.”
“You know, I would actually kiss you right now if I weren’t driving.”
“Because you want this to keep going?” Nick asked hopefully, motioning a finger between the two of them.
“Mostly to shut you up.” A pause and a bashful smile, one that Nickreallywished he had a picture of because it was friggin’adorable, before he mumbled, “And yeah, maybe we could do that again.”
“Good.” Nick rewarded him by reaching forward and rubbing a hand over Brady’s beard like he’d wanted to formonths. Brady melted into the contact like he was starving for it. “Hopefully not just in other states, though. Not sure my boss will let me out of the DMV for a while after this.”
Brady took an extra second to pause, no doubt mentally spelling outDC/Maryland/Virginia, before he answered. “I think…” He started slowly before rushing through the rest. “We could make the DC area work. I think I could, uh… I could handle that.”
“Really?” Nick wished he sounded maybe a third less excited. Excited was fine, but he didn’t want to convey any of the supernova exploding in his chest because that would be too much, right? Maybe one day he’d be able to keep his chill around Brady Derek Jensen, but today was evidently not that day.
Who was he kidding? He’d probably never get there. Wasn’t sure if he wanted to, either.
“Yeah,” Brady said, oblivious to Nick internally melting into a puddle of gooey happiness. “Maybe even spice it up with a tourney all the way in PA every now and then just for fun.”
For once the memory of that last tournament didn’t have a bitter sting, and Nick beamed. Not quite him reeling it in, but hey, if Brady was focused on driving he might not notice. “Music?” Nick asked. “We might actually be able to hear it now. Or a podcast.”
“Load something up,” Brady said dismissively. Nick’s cousins wouldneverlet him have free rein over the radio, and he was pleased and honored with Brady’s trust.
And did his best to resist the temptation to blast “All Star” as loudly as possible.
The ride was pleasant except for the sky being pitch black and the weather still being crappy (fog instead of rain, which was oddly an improvement). Traffic was sparse, the music was a pleasant backdrop to conversation, and the company was good.
“Sure you got that work thing?” Brady said as they passed a sign for the Turnpike. “I could show you a good time in Pittsburgh…”
