Page 78 of Stick By Me

The rest of team were there in a heartbeat, all slapping andcongratulating us. I peeked up at the camera over the glass. “That one’s for you, Leo.”

The locker roomwas somber as we all removed our gear. Fucking Cornell won tonight and all I wanted to do was to get back to the hotel room, so I could talk to Leo. God damn, I missed him something fierce. I had no idea being in love would mean you’d miss someone’s presence this badly.

As I pulled my jersey over my head and set it on the bench, Jonah padded over to me, all his gear stripped and his straight, black hair still a sweaty mop from the game. “So, think you’ll hear from your dad tonight? We lost…”

I scoffed and hung my head. “Knock it off, Boehm. I wouldn’t want to talk to him right now even if he did call.” I unfastened my pads. I was being mean, but it was the truth.

“Okay, well, let me know if he calls you.” He planted his hand on my shoulder. “Let me know if you want me there when he calls. Okay?”

I shifted my gaze to meet his. He was really concerned about this. “Yeah, sure.” I patted his hand. “Thanks, buddy.”

After eatinga heavy dinner at a local Italian restaurant, I followed Jonah down the dingy hotel hallway to our room. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I slipped it out. Maybe Leo figured it would be a good time to call.

Jonah turned to me at our door. “Your dad?”

I peered at my phone. “No, the Coyotes’ coach.” With a hard swallow and my pulse quickening, I answered it. “Hello?”

Arching a brow at me, Jonah stood there, watching.

I waved at him to go inside.

“Hi Archer. This is Richard Dupont.”

“Yeah, I know. I have you in my contacts.” I twisted around and leaned my back against the wall, then gazed down the hallway.

Ace and Myles quietly opened the door to their room and ducked inside.

“You made one hell of a save tonight. That’s the sort of thing I’ve been looking for out of you,” he said. “I know you all lost and I’m sure everyone there is licking their wounds, but you all played a good game. Cornell is hard to beat this year and last night, you all killed it.”

He was talking like he was already my coach. “Yeah, Coach said the same thing.” I sighed. It hadn’t helped though. We’dwantedthis game. But why was he calling again? “Have you made a decision on letting me try out at the Coyotes’ development camp?”

“Not quite yet. I need to see if you can keep your play up. It’s looking pretty promising though. You keep making saves and dominating the puck like you did this weekend, and it’s a sure thing.”

“Okay, well, thank you for being so interested in me.” I crossed my ankles. I had no idea what else to say to this guy.

“Will you be going home for the holidays?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m leaving on Friday. My finals are over on Thursday, so it gives me a day to decompress.” And see my boyfriend, who’s waiting to go bareback with me and make it special. Gotta love Leo for that.

“Well, say hello to your father for me and give him my best. I hope he’s seeing how well you’re playing.”

Fuck no, he’s not talking to me right now. “Yeah, I’ll give him your best.” I bumped off the wall and stepped toward my door. The conversation was over, right? “Talk to you soon.”

“Yes, talk to you soon. Have a good night.” He hung up the phone.

I stepped inside the hotel room, then shut the door behindme. Jonah was going to want to talk about this, but all I wanted was to hear Leo’s voice.

“Dude, you’re in.” Jonah hopped off the bed and strode to me. “You got the spot in development camp, right?”

With my head hanging, I kept my gaze on my phone. “Not yet, but it’s looking good.”

The screen lit up with a FaceTime call from Leo.

A smile stretched over my lips, and I held a finger up to Jonah. “Let me take this. It’s Leo.” I answered the phone, Leo’s stunning face filling the screen. “Hey, Leo.”

With an eyeroll, Jonah tutted and threw himself on his bed, belly down.

“Archer, babe. How are you doing?” His brows knitted.

---