Page 104 of Crossed Sticks

“Yes, except for occasional times when both teams would pass in the night. The guys only saw each other for a day or two every few weeks.”

“Fucking shit. How did they make it?”

“It wasn’t easy. They all had hard times. For a couple of days once, I thought Eckie and Jack were on the verge of breaking up. Gags and Sven were just getting together, and it nearly tore them apart, too.”

“Goddammit.” Luca pulled his hand away and sat up. He rubbed his mouth while he stared at the canal, and when he looked at me again, worry lingered in his eyes. “Do you think that will happen to us?”

“No. That isn’t why I said it.” I sat up and reached for his hand again. “We’re not them, and as tough as it will be, it won’t be like what they went through. We’ve learned a lot, and we’ll figure it out.”

“That’s true. Our games are all on weekends, which will help.”

“Allof them?” I’d seen his game schedule, but it only had dates, not days of the week. “I noticed they seemed further apart than ours,” I said, “but every single game of yours is on a weekend?”

“Yup. Depending on where they are and which weekend days are involved, we might have to leave on Thursday evening or get back very late on Sunday. Remember I told you how lacrosse doesn’t pay much, and a lot of the guys have day jobs to make ends meet?”

“That’s got to be hell, but with that schedule, half your weekends must be home games.”

“Right, and a lot of your weekends have home games, too. Plus, you’re home about half the time during the week.”

“On average, yes.”

“So, we’ll be together quite a bit compared to those poor guys from the Cudas and Congressmen. They had it rough.”

“They did, but they all love each other, so they made it.”

Luca raised my hand to his mouth for a kiss, then looked into my eyes. “I love you, Harp. We can make this work.”

“No question. We’ll be able to see a lot of each other’s games, and I’m excited about that.”

“I already love seeing Buffalo’s newest hockey star at work,” he said. “And the best part is knowing he’s going home with me.”

He moved closer and kissed me. No one else was around, but since we were in public, we kept it short. That was fine, because a quick kiss from Luca was worth two of the hottest ones I’d ever had from anyone else.

When he drew away, I traced a finger along his cheek. “I’ll get to see you playing with some of those balls you keep talking about.”

He tilted his head, and when we both laughed, he cuffed me on the arm. “Fuck off, you bastard.”

“You fuck off.”

“Think telling me to fuck off is very smart, considering everything you like me to do?”

The playful gleam in his eye made me laugh again, but thoughts of what we could get up to at home made me try for an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. Instead of fucking off, how about fucking me?”

He leaned in for another kiss, then stood and offered me a hand. “We’d better get going then, because I can’t do it out here.”

epilogue

Luca

Harpand I were up early, ready to seize the day. It was June, but the crisp morning air, barely in the fifties, promised that the ocean would be freezing. We ran across the beach into the water, our shouts and shrieks far from what you’d expect from professional athletes. The cold water was an awful shock, so we met in a tight hug to share our warmth. Naturally, we had to heat up our chilly lips, too.

“What a fucking way to start our first morning in Maine,” I yelled over the roar of the waves. A mighty shiver on the last word made Harper laugh, and although I was afraid my heart might seize up from the water’s icy grip, I laughed too.

“It woke me up, that’s for damn sure.” He reminded me of a lab we had when I was growing up—all wide eyes, open-mouthed grin, and panting for breath. The goose pimples on his chest gave away how cold he was.

“What kind of tough guys are we, anyway?” I tried to force myself to stop shivering. “Let’s swim.”

“You’re on.”

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