Page 59 of Breakneck Hockey

It’s popular knowledge that Boston and Vancouver are rival teams and that they rile a crowd like no other, but I didn’t know it went this deep. Still. That cup run was over a decade ago.

He flips to another slide in his little presentation. “Is this you and your boyfriend?”

I have to do a double-take. It’s me and Sutter, alright. He’s railing me out back of The Wicklow. Wow, his ass looks super good in that shot. I stare at it longer than I should, until I remember that I’m supposed to be outraged.

“Um, you were spying on me?”

“We like to keep an eye on our new guys.”

“This has got to be a violation of privacy.”

He shrugs. “There are cameras everywhere, Alderchuck. At the gas station, at the supermarket … hell, people have them in their pockets and you never know who might chance upon you.”

That car we saw that day. Motherfucker. Though, I guess we only have ourselves to blame, fucking in broad daylight like that. The memory makes me smile.

“Focus, Alderchuck. How serious is this relationship?”

“Non-existent. He never was, nor will he ever be my boyfriend.” Firey anger burns a wild streak through me. I remember now. Sutter’s a fucking dick. I don’t associate with him anymore. I can’t let his amazing sex skills entice me back into his arms.

“That’s a relief. If you were serious, well, doesn’t matter. You’re not. So, I can count on you to follow the rules?”

“Rules?” I twiddle my thumbs, itching to look at that image again. It was a nice shot of Sutter’s ass, an ass I enjoy eating.Fuck, you will not miss Sutter’s ass, Alderchuck.

“Absolutely no fraternizing with Boston. If the fans see something like this, it’ll create a firestorm even I won’t be able to put out.”

Something uncomfortable seeps its way through me. I know I said I was done with Sutter, I even meant it when I said it, but I was looking forward to our new ritual of beating each other nearly to death on the ice and then fucking each other’s brains out afterward.

And, okay, I fully expected him to chase me. Just because I haven’t heard from him since that night at the bar in Vancouver, doesn’t mean he won’t.

But I don’t even want him to. Idon’t.

Ugh, but I kinda do.

My mouth goes dry. “Um, yeah, of course.”

“Good.” He leans back. “You may go, Alderchuck.”

I stand on wobbly legs. “But, like, if say something were to happen—not that it would?—”

“It would be bad. No one wants a player who can’t be trusted to be a team player on and off the ice.”

“Right.” I salute him and hightail it out of there.

Not interacting with Sutter is easier than I thought it would be, namely because he hasn’t fucking texted me like heshould. How did I get here? Checking my phone every five minutes to see if he’s messaged me yet. He’s gone from douchey bad boy to forbidden douchey bad boy. His interest rating went up.

Why am I like this?

Know what? Seize the fucking day. I send him a text first for once. He did get me out of trouble that night at The Foxy. Heard through the RhettLo grapevine that he may have spent the night in jail. Would have loved to have seen that.

We’re packing up, getting ready to head for the ferry. Training camp was in Victoria BC this year.

I only have the choice of two hats to steal this season—mine and my brother’s. I hate that. I tried to take everyone’s hat with me. Jack almost sent my body flying over the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge. Having my hat is less about luck and more about family. And, yeah, at least I have Stacey, but my heart’s been heavy without the other guys around. They’ve become our family.

We never knew Dad, and Mom contracted early dementia as a side effect of some strokes she had. We lost her not long after we turned eighteen. We had Aunt Annie to help us out while Mom needed care—and thank fuck for her—but she wanted to see the world after all that. I think she’s somewhere in the South of France at the moment.

Stacey promised her we were fine, so she’d chase her travel dreams. That’s when we got a house to rent with the guys. I loved that setup. I liked having someone around all the time. Jack didn’t officially live with us, but he stayed over a lot, so there were usually five of us. There were always other bodies there after parties, boyfriends, fuck pals, you name it. I never had to be alone. I fucking hate being alone. We had different roommates before Dash and Dirk moved in, but that wasn’t for long.

I’m my brother’s unofficial ward. We’re twins, sure, but as far as emotional maturity goes, we’re an ocean apart. It’s always been this way, even before Mom died, but he shouldered that blow for me too. It’s not that he took Mom’s death any less hard, he just … I’m not sure, now that I think about it. But whatever he did, he was able to look after the wreck I was and see me through it.

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