Page 17 of Shift Change

Dog held up a hand. “That’s enough. I heard it yesterday.”

I tapped my foot against his. “You don’t like the way we scream?”

“I like it fine,” he said, “but we’re in public. Don’t want to scare any innocent kids or seniors.”

After another round of laughs, Dog and Harpy sat. I knocked on the back of Packy’s chair. “Chop chop, Packy. I’m waiting.”

He grabbed his water glass and gave me a long look. Even as he moved around the table, he kept staring at me. No smirk, no laugh—just held my gaze until he arrived at his new seat.

Does he know something I don’t?

* * *

AC’s was on Delaware Avenue in the historic district, and when we started home, I pointed out a few landmarks. After a while, Dog held up his hands like he was taking notes in the air.

“Shit, too much?” Since we were stopped for a light, I studied his face. There was no doubt we shared a similar sense of humor, but in a moment of surprise, I realized I didn’t only want to make him laugh. I wanted him to be happy.

He tipped his hand side to side. “Not usually, but I’m stuffed after that meal. Wouldn’t want to go to sleep on you.”

We talked hockey all the way back to Wanakah, and before heading home, I swung by the store to grab a case of an Oregon IPA I wanted Dog to try. As beer enthusiasts, we got carried away and stayed longer than planned, finally leaving with two cases—mine, and a Canadian brew from Moosehead that Dog swore was a game-changer.

“The guys seemed nice at lunch,” he said, once we were back in the car. “No sourpusses on the team?”

“Yeah, the one who wasn’t there. Pittsburgh didn’t renew Mikhail Abdulov’s contract last year, so the Warriors signed him over the summer. He never comes to team events, doesn’t speak to anyone at practices and games, and looks at all of us like we’re idiots.”

Dog made a face. “Ouch. Is he doing anything this season?”

“Had a couple of assists. That’s about it.”

“Damn.” Dog’s phone pinged, and after he dug it out and glanced at the screen, he spent a moment typing. “That was Nana,” he said, lowering the phone. “What about Gabe and Brody? They seem great.”

We reached the street where I lived, and I put on the turn signal. “Brody used to play for Boston, but they traded him to the Warriors a year ago. He and Gabe got close right away, but the idiots tried to hide it from us.”

“Did it work?” He set the phone in his lap and focused on me.

“Hell no. They only had eyes for each other, and most of us had it figured out by the time the regular season started. They didn’t come clean until January, and by then it was old news.”

He laughed. “That’s fucking rich. Everybody knows there are no secrets on a hockey team.”

“We love them, though. We’ve currently got a pool going about how long it will be until they get married. You could probably still get in on that.”

“I’ll think about it.”

I pulled into the driveway and touched the button to open the garage. While the door began its slow ascent, I glanced over at Dog, who was looking at me.

The sun caught his eyes, which flickered like stars in the sky. Indoors, they were dark brown, but now they were something else entirely. Hints of amber glinted at the edges, and brown layers were accented by flecks of gold. A shimmer crossed them, almost a ripple, pulling me in.

His scent wrapped around me—clean sweat and warm cologne, floral notes mixed with something darker. Was it cocoa, or was my brain screwing with me because I couldn’t stop staring into his goddamn eyes? They were…Fuck,they were beautiful.

He shifted, and the sound of his clothes brushing the leather seat was deafening in the quiet. My pulse thudded in my throat, and my fingers twitched with an impulse to reach out and—what? Grab him? Keep him still so we could stay there for a while?What the hell is happening to me?

My skin buzzed, and something inside me rattled hard enough to leave my hands shaky and my breath uneven. I didn’t want to run, but I didn’t want to stop looking either. I wanted more.

It was like watching someone else move when I leaned in, helpless against whatever was pulling me. His eyes widened, but he didn’t move away or say anything. At the last second, I caught myself and pulled back.

Goddamn. This isn’t real. It can’t be. I need to get more sleep.

I was happy to be making a new friend, glad not to be alone, but I was not…

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