Page 43 of Tough Score

We've fallen into an easy rhythm, working together to prepare meals. I may be injured, but I'm not completely useless. I chop vegetables while she mans the stove, our bodies moving in sync in the small space.

During the day, she leaves to help Oakley with inventory or beer bottle recycling at the bar. The hours drag without her, but I try to keep busy with PT exercises and catching up on game footage. My number one priority is getting back out on the ice.

At night, she brings home dinner, and we settle in to watch an episode of a documentary series we started together. It's become my favorite part of the day - just the two of us, sharing a meal and conversation.

I hear a knock at the door. "Come in!" I call out, knowing it's probably Seven.

The door opens, and Seven pokes his head in. "Ready?"

I nod, reaching for my crutches. "Yeah, just give me a sec."

As I make my way to the door, Seven eyes me carefully. "You sure you're up for this? We don't want to push you too hard."

I appreciate his concern, but I'm determined. "I'm good. Keely's got me on a solid rehab plan. I need to keep moving forward."

Seven nods, a knowing gleam in his eye. "Speaking of Keely... how's that going?"

He steps back and holds my front door open so I can walk out of my apartment on crutches. I shouldn't need these soon. Two weeks is the recommendation, and I'm halfway there, but Keely thinks I'm healing well enough that I can use a cane around the house if I want.

I pause, unsure how to answer. "It's going. She's great at her job."

"Uh-huh," Seven says, not buying it for a second. "And that's all?"

Since when did Seven give a shit about this stuff? He would never have asked about Keely while hinting that he thinks something might be going on.

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. "That's all it can be right now. I need to focus on getting back on the ice."

Technically her words, not mine. But she's right—we both need to focus on our careers for the time being. There's a lot on the line for both of us.

Seven claps me on the shoulder as we head out. "Fair enough. It just looked like something was happening between you two in the bar the night of the accident, and then before I know it, she's your PT and living across the hall."

His words stick with me as we make our way to the gym down the elevator to the underground parking lot of the apartment building. He saw something between us that night too.

But as we enter the gym and I see Brent and Briggs already there, I push thoughts of Keely aside. It's time to focus on getting stronger, on proving to myself and everyone else that I can come back from this.

"Well, look who decided to grace us with his presence!" Brent calls out, a grin on his face.

I roll my eyes, but I can't help smiling. "Missed me that much, huh?"

Briggs laughs and heads in my direction. "The locker room isn't the same without your ugly mug, man."

As the guys settle into their usual workout, the familiar banter starts up. It feels good to be back with the guys, to feel like part of the team again.

I take a seat in the chair that Seven pulled out for me. In one more week, Keely said that I can start adding weights into my routine but until then, I'm just happy to be back with the guys.

"So," Brent says between sets, "how's life with your personal nurse?"

I shoot him a glare. "She's not my nurse, she's my PT. And it's fine."

"Just fine?" Briggs chimes in, glancing over his shoulder while running on the treadmill with Lake to his left. "Come on, man. You're not fooling any of us. We've seen the way you look at her."

"It's not like that. We're just friends," I tell them, though the word 'friends' is almost physically painful to say when referring to Keely.

Seven snorts. "You dropped out of a game of pool to walk her to her car… a winning game."

"You had it under control without me," I say, shrugging it off. "By the way, did we win?"

"No, Romeo, we didn't finish the game. We came running out to find you mangled, laying on the asphalt after we heard tires screech and people outside screaming. We got sidetracked making sure that you were still alive," Lake says, hitting the 'cool down' mode on the treadmill. He must have just finished his cardio for the day.

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