Page 91 of The Waiting Game

Jonah had vague memories of his parents’ faces before their deaths. Flashes of time he’d spent with them. But he’d been so young when he lost them.

Yet somehow, the memories of a few months later when he’d first met Felix felt so much more vivid. He remembered the tall boy with the kind gray eyes and the hair shining red-gold. He’d seemed larger than life and Jonah had probably made a nuisance of himself following Felix everywhere.

But Felix had welcomed him onto the team, invited him to birthday parties, and never once got impatient or annoyed with Jonah tagging along everywhere.

“He’s been there for me for nearly my whole life,” Jonah whispered, suddenly emotional. “And this is good for him and for my grandmother. How can I say no?”

Dustin winced. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. Felix would never hurt you intentionally, I know that. He’s a great guy. But acting like you’re in love with someone can really blur those lines, I think. I just hate the idea of you getting your hopes up and having them crushed if it—if it doesn’t go the way you may end up wanting it to.”

“I’m going into this with open eyes,” Jonah assured his captain. “I don’t think he’s going to suddenly fall in love with me or something. I know shit like that doesn’t happen. The engagement story will end when it needs to. He’ll date someone else. Fall in love. And so will I.”

Hopefully, he added in his head.

Dustin gave him a slow, reluctant nod. “Well, I’ll be here for you if you need anything, okay? Just to talk or …”

“Thanks, man,” Jonah said, clapping him on the arm. “I appreciate it.”

“Sure,” Dustin said, brow still furrowed. “Any time.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The flight to Montreal was mercifully uneventful, except for the awkwardness of the guys congratulating them.

This morning, Felix and Jonah had spoken to Coach Casey privately and then to the guys on the team and support staff who didn’t already know. Felix and Jonah’s agents had been informed and the press release would go out while the team was in the air. Felix hadn’t wanted his teammates to find out from the news.

But he hadn’t counted on how many of the boys seemed genuinely happy and excited for him. There was already talk about bachelor parties and who was going to be the best men.

Eric Jensen had laughed and said, “Aren’t you already each other’s best men?”

And Felix had thought about the fact that when he’d pictured getting married, he’d always pictured Jonah would be by his side. Just … not quite the way these guys were imagining.

He glanced at Jonah, who gave him a helpless, slightly guilty look that echoed how Felix felt.

Felix hadn’t quite prepared himself for how pretending to be engaged to Jonah would feel.

Thankfully, it was one of those flights that felt like they’d barely reached cruising altitude before they were descending again.

Felix was grateful, not only because Jonah looked fairly relaxed as he played cards with Dominic, Matty, Dustin, and Jordan to distract himself from the stress of flying, but because too much time thinking about what it would be like to actually marry Jonah wasn’t going to do Felix any favors.

Thankfully, the landing was uneventful and a bus quickly whisked them from the airport to the hotel. Jonah spent most of the drive looking out the window and Felix frowned at him.

He’d been a little quiet since yesterday.

They’d have to talk tonight. Felix needed to be sure he was okay.

“Okay, boys.” Casey stood, bracing himself on the seats as the bus cruised toward the hotel. “You know the drill. We’re going to have a quiet night in. If you’re hungry, order from room service. But skip the booze. Get lots of rest, hydrate, and be ready for a light practice tomorrow morning. Play some cards or video games, watch movies, call your, uh, spouses and partners. Whatever you need to do to unwind.”

He looked around the bus.

“I’m not enforcing a curfew tonight,” he continued. “But that’s only because I trust you to do the right thing. If any of you show me that you can’t be trusted, it’ll be mandatory curfew until the end of the postseason for everyone. Show me you’re responsible enough to handle this and don’t let your teammates down.”

The lecture really wasn’t aimed at the core of the team. Guys like Matty, Dominic, Felix, and Jonah were too hungry to win the Cup to do something to fuck that up. And there was no way in hell their captain would risk it.

Even when Nico had been playing, he’d never been dumb enough to sneak out and party the night before their first playoff game.

No, the lecture was mostly aimed at the younger guys, the rookies or Black Aces who might not have the experience with just how demanding the playoffs could be. Whose youthful stupidity convinced them they could power through.

Not to mention the heady adrenaline of making it into the playoffs. With every game the team won, that feeling would increase. Felix remembered it so clearly and even now he wasn’t immune to it. It was a high unlike anything else, and he’d had long conversations with Ismael about how he’d manage it this season.

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