Page 65 of Defensive Zone

He looks at his watch before looking back at Zach with a pointed expression. “You’re twenty-five minutes late.”

“Blaine.” Alex laughs. “Don’t act like you’re a saint whenweonly got here five minutes ago.”

His fiancé’s mouth drops open in a mock gasp. “Baby, will you please stop being so perfect and let me tease my friend?”

I snicker as I pour some water into my and Zach’s glasses. “You can blame me for being late. I seem to have some trouble keeping my hands to myself around Zach.”

A wicked grin appears on Blaine’s face, but the waiter comes to take our orders before he can say anything. Once we’ve ordered, we settle into an easy conversation about the Thunder’sseason. They clinched their spot in the playoffs two nights ago, becoming the first team to secure a place in the postseason. Then Alex tells us about their wedding planning. They’ve decided on a date in July, and they’ve found a place in California right on the beach.

“Maybe we can plan to head there from Hawaii? Spend some time in California before we need to be in Denver?” I suggest to Zach.

He turns his head to me. The low, ambient lighting of the restaurant does nothing to diminish the love shining in Zach’s blue eyes. He’s tied his hair up completely tonight, showing off his handsome-as-fuck face. I want to trace his cheekbones and the sharp lines of his lips with my fingers.

How can the simple sight of someone make your heart leap in your chest?

“Yeah, that sounds great.” He smiles softly.

“So, how’s Brody finding it in Toronto, Zach? You looking forward to facing him next week?” Blaine asks, breaking the moment.

My teeth grind on instinct at the sound of his brother’s name. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the guy, but growing up, he was a real asshole to Zach. I hated how upset he got, not knowing why his brother had become his biggest rival. However, in recent years, he seems to have accepted that he and Brody aren’t going to be as close as siblings should typically be.

But also, I’m an only child, so I don’t understand why Brody is the way he is.

Zach shrugs. “Okay, I think? I’ve not really heard from him.”

And that’s another thing that pisses me off. Brody only messaged Zach twice since his injury in January. It’s been nearly three months. Doesn’t he give a shit?

“How about you, Carter?” Alex smiles at me. “Will you be seeing any of your teammates in the off-season?”

I blink at him, a little confused. I mean, his question is totally normal. Anyone would think that I’d make plans to see a few of the guys, even if it’s to grab dinner or a round of golf. But I’m not like everyone else, and realization hits me full force, knocking my breath from my lungs.

Here I am getting pissed off about Brody, but none of my teammates have checked in on how Zach was doing. Not once have they dropped a text or a DM checking in on me. We spend so much time together during the season, so they know how important Zach is to me. Hell, I’ve come to realize that we’ve almost been in a relationship without knowing we were in a relationship. Surely that should mean something?

But then again, I’ve never looked at the people in Denver and thought of them as family. Not like the Thunder guys, who have welcomed me into the fold as an extension to Zach.

But fuck, other than Zach, I have no one.

He’s got them—Elliot, Blaine, Jackson, Peyton, Ethan, and all the others. He’s got people who care for him, almost as much as I do. They were there for him when he was injured. They were there formewhen he was injured, but my own teammates were nowhere to be seen.

But then again, maybe my teammates are simply not like these guys. The Thunder guys have a unique bond, and a lot of teams don’t have that.

“Carter, you okay?” Zach asks quietly, his hand squeezing my thigh.

Letting out a steady breath, I place my hand on top of his and nod. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

If I hadn’t already made my mind up about leaving Denver, this would have settled it for me. My home is here in Chicago. It’s with Zach and this extended Thunder family.

I’ve just got to make it through to January.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Carter

“Are you sure about this?” Zach asks, turning to me once he’s put his car into park. We’ve just arrived at the private terminal where the Thunder travel from, ready to board the plane heading to Denver. “Not that I don’t want you to come, because I do, but are you sure you want to do this?”

The whole thing with my teammates has been playing on my mind since we went for dinner with Blaine and Alex the other night, and when I noticed Zach had an away game in Denver tomorrow, I asked if I could come along. I knew I needed to speak to them, and it wasn’t the kind of conversation I wanted to have over the phone, but I also didn’t want to leave Zach. Luckily, he managed to pull some strings with the team, and once I got the OK to travel with him, I sent a text to some of the guys asking if we could meet tonight for a catch-up.

I’m aware it’s most likely a whole big misunderstanding on my part, but if I’m going to be returning to Denver for training camp in the summer—which seems more and more likelyconsidering I haven’t heard anything—I need to know where I stand. Once I have something in my head, it’s like I can’t rest until it’s resolved. I can be a little impatient like that.

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