Page 64 of Scoring Position

With the time difference, it was just before midnight when they landed. A bunch of the guys were going out, but most of them didn’t have family in town. It felt rude to join them when his parents were probably at home watchingDinner for Oneand eating carp.

Nico and Ryan walked to the car as the rest of the team scattered. He’d heard Ryan talking with Chenner and thought they might have made plans to hit a hotel bar together.

Ryan set his suitcase in the trunk and glanced at Nico, who tried to make his expression as neutral as possible. He wasn’t going to be the guy who couldn’t let his significant other have any fun without him.

“Hey, Doc, you coming?”

“Nah,” Ryan yelled back. “Next time. Happy New Year, yeah? Have one for me.”

They got into the car and Nico said, “You could’ve gone with them.” The clock on the dashboard read 11:59.

Ryan shrugged. “I thought about it, but I’d rather just go home.”

The clock ticked over. “Happy New Year, then.” Nico leaned over to claim a kiss.

It was definitely the highlight of Nico’s night.

THE KIRSCHBAUMSleft on the third. Ira hugged Ryan goodbye and thanked him for being such a good friend to her son. Rudy shook his hand in a crushing grip and eyed him with undisguised suspicion. Nico took them to the airport and practically jumped Ryan when he got home.

Ryan wasn’t complaining. Ten days—well, technically nine—was way too long. So more earthshattering orgasms were had, Ryan got all the cuddling he had missed out on, and they remained caught in this delicate, secret web of a relationship that was absolutely going to blow up in Ryan’s face.

Unfortunately, despite occasional streaks where they resembled a professional hockey team, the Fuel were still kind of a train wreck in one important department—coaching.

After a grueling practice that not even Phil could salvage—Vorhees seemed determined to makesomeonecry—Ryan sat in his stall and stared into space. The room was quiet. Almost everyone had cleared out quickly, and no one else was in the mood to talk.

Ryan didn’t blame them. He and Nico weren’t the only ones coming up on contract years, and therefore not the only ones facing career repercussions of having landed on a flaming garbage barge of a team that lost multiple games because of incomprehensible coaching decisions. Why would Vorhees start their backup goaltender against a good team when Greenie was healthy? Why would he double-shift a thirty-seven-year-old who was nursing a pulled muscle in the dying minutes of a tie game against someone in their division? It made Ryan want to scream.

At this rate, he’d be back in the minors come October, because eventually hewouldscream and Vorhees would bench him for the rest of the season.

Maybe he should just call it. He could go back to college and get his master’s, even a PhD. At least his parents would be proud if he trained as a sports psychologist.

You don’t try if you think you’re going to fail.

Tara’s words echoed uncomfortably in his mind, and his stomach twinged. Okay. He didn’t like sitting with that, which meant it was time to do something. Something was up with the coach—Ryan would have bet money Vorhees was setting the team up to fail—and it was time for someone to know about it.

Finally he picked up the phone sitting next to him in the stall and texted Rees.Can we talk?

Whatever came out of it, it couldn’t be any worse than this.

Yorkie tapped his forehead, and Ryan turned to look at him. “Come on. Gabby’s been asking after you. Come over for lunch.”

Ryan wasn’t sure he was in the mood for lunch with a second grader, but he followed Yorkie home and tried not to feel like a stray puppy.

He shouldn’t have short-changed the kid. Gabby was great for the soul. After various hockey- and unicorn-themed games and a lunch of hotdogs and mac and cheese, the tension eased out of his shoulders.

“Thanks,” he said quietly to Yorkie on the way out the door.

Yorkie clapped his shoulder and gave him a look. “Just remember—while you’re busy looking out for everyone else, you’re allowed to look out for you too.”

Ryan nodded. Months ago he would’ve said he didn’t need anyone to remind him to look out for number one. After Josh, he’d been guarded with his heart and careful not to get too attached.

And then he’d met Nico and thrown himself into helping him, and Nico had batted those big blue eyes and shredded every self-preservation instinct Ryan had.

Whoops.

So maybe he needed to make some time to deal with his own mental health. Nico was still seeing Barb. It wouldn’t be a terrible idea for Ryan to do the same.

His refreshed mood carried him home, through the Uber drive in a car with a Fuel bumper sticker, and into the house. Ryan went to the kitchen to make himself a snack. Lunch had been delicious, but Jenna hadn’t expected two NHL appetites.

---