Page 91 of Textbook Defense

A win at home with no game tomorrow meant the team would go out for drinks. Jordy often bowed out under the guise of seeing his kid, but Kaira would be in bed anyway. The only one who might be awake at home was Rowan, and Jordy was avoiding Rowan.

Or not avoiding, exactly. He was doing the right thing and giving Rowan the space he’d asked for. He told himself a little emotional distance would help him too. It only made sense; eventually he would have to leave Rowan behind.

But he didn’t want space. He wanted the inverse. He wanted to pull Rowan close to him and never let go. Rowan had fit so perfectly into their lives that Jordy had convinced himself he’d never want to leave.

But he’d been thinking about himself and Kaira and what they wanted, not what Rowan wanted.

“Drinks,” Sully said seriously when he caught Jordy deliberating which shirt to put on. When they went out, they wore their pregame suits, but if he was just going to go to the players’ lot and then home, he usually wore athletic clothes. “Don’t argue with me.”

“Didn’t know Brady died and made you captain,” Jordy grumbled.

He put the shirt on. One beer wouldn’t kill him, and Sully could keep him entertained with sleep-training horror stories. Laughing at Sully always put him in a good mood.

A few drinks later, Jordy was slumped into his seat, staring moodily at his beer.

Sully had wandered off to the bathroom, and in his absence, Jordy’s broken heart took the reins. Alcohol was probably a bad call when he was still regretting all the life choices that had led him to this moment. Because he couldn’t pinpoint which of his many decisions had been the disastrous one—making friends with Rowan, inviting him into their home, treating him like apartner or roommate instead of a nanny, sleeping with him, not hiring a new nanny?

In hindsight, the whole thing felt like a slow and inevitable decline.

He finished the last of his beer and wondered if shots would be as stupid an idea as he suspected.

“Jesus,” Sully said as he sat back in his spot. “The very sight of you is depressing.”

“Your face is depressing.”

“Guys who played like you did tonight and scored a goal don’t get to mope in the corner.” Sully jostled their shoulders together. “Especially if you might not get to do many more of these.”

Jordy instantly felt like an asshole. This situation sucked for Sully too. “You’re right. I’m boring. Tell me something fun.”

Sully laughed and started in on a story about Adrianna and the new baby. Adrianna and Sully were good parents, but every parent had hiccups, and Sully was able to package one of those mini disaster moments into a fun three-minute bit.

Jordy was giggling when his phone chimed Rowan’s tone—which Jordy had set weeks ago to ignore Do Not Disturb since he was a single father and Rowan might need him in an emergency.

It wasn’t an emergency.

Rowan had sent an adorable picture of Jordy’s daughter snuggled into her pillow, clutching her armadillo and… was she wearing one of her jerseys?

Refused to take off her jersey. Said it was good luck and you’d lose without it. Can’t get her changed now without disturbing her.

Jordy’s heart melted.

And broke all over again because Rowan had just taken the creeper picture Jordy had asked him for last week.

“What is your face doing?” Sully demanded.

Jordy showed him the picture and caption.

Predictably, Sully cooed. “Still doesn’t explain the face, though.”

Jordy sipped his water. More alcohol at this point was a terrible idea. What could he say? That he’d fallen in love with someone who didn’t want him back? Even if Jordy was willing to say that to Sully in theory, he wasn’t willing to say it in a bar full of their teammates.

Instead, Jordy said, “There’s only two things in life I ever wanted: the NHL and parenting.”

Sully hummed. “Your jobs are hockey and dad, it’s true.”

Jordy pointed at him. “And I’m good at them. Maybe not the best ever, but I’m good at hockey and dad.”

“Yes, you are.”

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