Page 48 of Perfect Playbook

Thankfully, Ashton shifts the narrative to Antonio. “How’s the kid dealing? Jolie said he’s a little Einstein. Antonio, right?”

“We call him Nino. Damn, news travels fast. Shay only got the results of his tests this weekend.”

“Yeah, the principal told Sam, and Sam told Joey.”

Of course, my sister-in-law is a teacher…

“Don’t principals have some sort of teacher-student privilege or something? Ever heard of confidentiality?”

Ashton slows us down by doing some lunge and drags. “Why should good news be confidential? She’s proud to have a kid like Antonio at her school. We’re all stoked to have a genius come out of this town. It’s mostly been jocks doing well.”

I forgot just how fast gossip and news spreads in Starlight Canyon. People are supportive at best and meddlesome at worst.

We’re lunging in sync now. “We’re taking him to the private school in Longbrook.”

“The Academy?”

“Yeah, Longbrook Academy has a much lower teacher-to-student ratio so they can give him more attention. Apparently, he’s going to be in high school when he’s nine or ten if things keep moving like they are.”

Ashton teases, “Shit, man. He’ll be smarter than you when he’s a teenager.”

“Smarter than you, too, asshole.” I smirk. “I…” I think of Antonio’s tiny glasses and his adorable baby-toothed grin and how he remembered my name, and it makes my heart glow. “It’s going well so far. They’re moving in today. I see a bit of myself in Antonio.”

“What? You’re both male?”

“Suck it, Dane.” I dig my blades in intentionally, with some of the passion I’m feeling now, remembering how important that special boy is in all of this. “He’s got a gift. I might be getting old now, but once upon a time I was the shit. Antonio is destined for greatness. I can tell you that.”

“You stillarethe shit, bro. This team is the goddamn shit.” He says it with his chest, like a chant. My friend’simpending retirement will be heavy on his mind this season, and being reminded of that now shores up this decision.

I can’t let him down. I have to stay on this team.

Ashton taps the side of my arm. “You’ll be a great dad to him.” He carves into the ice and with a burst of speed pulls away from me.

We are here to skate after all. But his words only slow me down.

Dad.

Shay and I talked about being Nino’s friend, but… I watch my teammate, now thirty feet in the distance, his back still to me when he steps off the ice.

Will I be a good dad? Am I supposed to be a dad?

I always wanted to be one.

I hope I got his room right. After work, I’ll finish off Shay’s.

The timer hits zero, and I get off the ice, joining Ashton on the bench to take off our skates. It’s briefing time, but I have a five-minute meeting with the coach. Since Ashton is defense and I’m offense, we normally separate now anyway, but I’ve got nerves about this trade and need a little more reassurance.

“I’m meeting with Coach now.” Thankfully, my words don’t sound as heavy as they feel on my shoulders.

“Are you in trouble again?” Ashton tugs off his huge skate. “Hopefully Coach will cool down about things. I’m guessing Vegas is a thing of the past now you’re hitched? Joey showed me a newborn’s sleep schedule, and we’ll be in bed at six p.m. come next summer, so I don’t think I’ll be up very late any more when I retire.”

“Yeah. Early nights will be good for me, too.” I shove my foot into one of my shoes. “I just want to ask Coach if I can go to the Longbrook appointment for Nino tomorrow.Otherwise we need to wait another two weeks for the admissions officer to come back from vacation. The appointment would be during optional skate in the morning, so hopefully he’ll let me stay later to finish training.”

“Good fucking luck. I’m surprised you’re asking. I already told Joey she needs to hold little Fletch until the season is over.”

I laugh lightly. “Yeah. We’ll see.” I tie on my sneakers and start the march over to the coach’s office. This is supposed to mostly be for show. Me asking for a morning off optional skate, which is really only optional if you have physical therapy, is a smokescreen.

I expect Coach to say no, which should be fine because then at least he knows about Shay and Nino. But my gut wants a yes. I want to be there for the appointment. I want to support them. I want to ask questions and scrutinize this place where Nino will be spending all his time.

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