Page 30 of The Waiting Game

Casey continued, “Now, there’s always a chance we’ll be grounded and end up staying in St. Louis one more night. I’ll leave that decision to the experts on the flight crew but either way, be prepared for some travel disruptions tonight.”

A groan went up from the guys but he held up a hand. “Any questions?”

One of the rookies piped up from the back with some inane thing that Jonah tuned out. Instead, he focused on the solid pressure of Felix’s hand on his thigh and breathed slowly and steadily.

“Seriously. You okay?” Felix probed as the bus began to move.

Jonah shrugged. He honestly wished that Coach Casey hadn’t announced it ahead of time. It gave him more time to stress about it, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

All he could do was focus on the game he needed to play tonight.

“I don’t love it. But I’ll survive.”

“Yeah, we will.” Felix squeezed his leg but didn’t let go.

They rode the rest of the way to the arena like that, Felix’s hand warm and heavy on Jonah’s thigh. And for once, the pleasure of that touch had nothing to do with how much Jonah wanted him.

All he felt was gratitude for Felix’s friendship.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The great thing about hockey was that it was filled with routines.

They were such an ingrained part of Jonah’s life that he could immerse himself in them and push everything else out.

As he finished his pregame snack of apples and peanut butter, brushed his teeth, and got ready for warmups, there was no space in his head to think of dark clouds and plummeting aircraft.

There was kicking around the soccer ball with the boys and watching Felix’s eyes go sharp and focused as he taped his sticks.

There was the soft plush bear Felix had given Jonah when he was seven, sick with bronchitis and stuck in bed. It was small enough to carry in Jonah’s gear bag and he squeezed it before every game, his good luck charm. Worn from years of love.

There was the smooth perfection of the ice under Jonah’s skates as he took his warmup laps and stretched.

There was Felix beside him on the bench.

There was the sound of the national anthems being sung and the steady thump of Jonah’s heart under his chest protector as he and Felix went over the boards for their first shift.

It was easier to breathe with Felix on the ice.

The callup who’d slotted in while Felix was in rehab was a good player, but it had taken twice the effort for Jonah to know where he was. Their chemistry had been fine, they’d played well together, but it wasn’t the effortless play he and Felix had.

Even when Felix had an off game, Jonah could read him like no one else.

It was why he was still so disappointed in himself for having let Felix down last fall. He should have realized how badly Felix was struggling.

Of anyone, Jonah should have known.

But then the puck dropped and there was only hockey.

Colton Yates immediately gained possession, shooting the puck to Dustin Fowler.

Dustin skated hard and shot a blind pass to Jonah, but a St. Louis player got a stick on it and the play quickly moved to the defensive zone.

From the beginning it was a fast game and St. Louis played well. The Cats’ possession never seemed to last long and despite a few good chances in the first several minutes, they weren’t able to get the puck in the back of the net.

On the bench, Jonah leaned forward, watching the play intently. With a wild bounce, the puck ricocheted off the boards and Matty snagged it, immediately shooting it to Dustin, who had been hanging out by the goal line.

With a quick snap of Dustin’s wrist, the puck was in the back of the net, putting them on the scoreboard with their first goal of the night.

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