Page 88 of Icing the Play

With his eyes twinkling, Dad said, “Love you too, son.”

The Coyotes won the game,three to two, a few hours later, and Dad said his goodbyes to Cooper and me. Now we waited for the guys to get here. The game had been an earlier one, so it wasn’t too late yet and hell, it wasn’t like I had a morning skate to be at.

A few car lights flashed through the front window. “Shit, they’re here.” Were they all coming at once?

Cooper jumped from the couch and jogged to the door. “There’s like four cars out there.” He threw the front door open. “They’re here babe.”

One by one, each of my friends entered, greeting Cooper with fist bumps and slaps on the back.

No way I was sitting on this damn couch any longer. I swung my legs over the edge and balanced on one leg to stand.

Tyler came at me, his dirty brown hair framing his familiar brown eyes. He held a bottle of champagne in his hand. “Dude, what the hell are you doing?” He grabbed my crutches from the end of the sectional and handed them to me. “Are you sure you’re supposed to be standing?”

“I’ve been sitting on my ass for hours.” I eyed the bottle. “Are we celebrating?” I chortled. “Because the Blackhawks lost, eh.” As I tucked the crutches into my armpits, I stepped toward him.

“Yeah, we’re celebrating. The party was supposed to be for you, but then you went and fucked yourself up.” Tyler side-hugged me. “I missed you, man.”

“Missed you too.” My body buzzed with warmth as my gaze landed on Mason, Ace, and Zoma in the kitchen, setting down vodka and fruit juice bottles. “What are you guys making?”

“Never you mind.” Mason threw me a wicked grin andturned it on Ace. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have grapefruit juice in it.”

“The guy said it did. Just a splash.” Ace set a large glass on the kitchen island.

“Fine, I’ll let you handle it. If it’s not right, I’m blaming you.” Mason strode to me, gave me a swift hug, and looked me up and down. “How the hell did you let a fucking scooter get you?” He planted his hands on his hips. “You’re a forward. You should have better reflexes than that.”

With a sharp chuckle, I said, “It’s not like I tried to get hit.” The teasing was only getting started. I was sure of it.

Jett strolled to me with a bubbling, golden drink in his hand. Was he drinking the champagne? I scanned the kitchen.

Pouring champagne into glasses, Tyler laughed and chatted with Zoma and Cooper around the kitchen island.

Would anyone get me a drink?Archer caught my eye, standing with Leo and holding onto another bottle of champagne. “Hey, I’m a little thirsty over here.”

With a wide grin, Archer stepped to me and wound his arms around my shoulders, then released me. “It’s good to see you, Myles. I’m so sorry about what happened. And the scout?” He scoffed. “It’s bad timing.”

“If the guy knows what’s good for him, he’ll meet with Myles when he’s back on the ice.” Mason picked up a juice bottle and attempted to pour it into the glass Ace was working on.

Ace slapped his hand away. “Stop it, Hopkins. You’re going to ruin it.” His gaze found Jett. “Jarvis, get over here and remove your man from my immediate vicinity.”

Mason cackled. “Oh, them’s some big words?—”

“Mason, come over here and sit down.” With a huff, Jett grabbed Mason’s arm and led him to the couch.

Cooper approached my side with a drink in his hand. “Babe, I don’t want you standing up for so long. Have a seat, I’ll bring you a fresh icepack.”

I dropped my jaw open. “All I want is a fucking drink.” Howdid everyone have one but me? Puffing out a breath, I dropped into the sectional, set my crutches beside me, and spread my bad leg in front of me.

“There, that’s it.” With a satisfied grin, Ace sipped from the glass and twisted to grab shot glasses from a cupboard. As he poured the mixture into the shot glasses, Leo, Archer and Rowan grabbed them and handed them out.

Archer held a glass to me. “Here you go, Myles. We made you a Fuck U of A shot. We believe doing this shot together tonight, like old times, will give you the luck you need to get back on the ice and be scouted by the Kraken.” His lips curled into a broad smile. “It’s magic.”

“It’s our new superstition.” Mason stood behind me and held his shot glass up.

My eyes pricked. These guys… “Yeah?” I held up my shot. “Fuck U of A.”

We all tapped our glasses together, and I downed my drink, the sweet liquid tickling my insides. It tasted exactly the same as in the gay bar. “How the hell did you do this?” I swung my gaze to Ace and Zoma, sitting on an end of the sectional.

With a mischievous grin, Zoma said, “We had the idea at the game, and Leo and I stopped in at the bar before we came home. We begged the bartender for the recipe.” His eyes twinkled. “We told him he’d be helping ASU go back to the Frozen Four this year if he gave it to us.”

---