Page 24 of Triplets for the Pucking Playboys
Sage gives him a withering look. “It’s a work party. No hookups allowed.”
Beau makes a show of looking disappointed. “Guess I’ll settle for manual labor.”
He leans against the table, eyes scanning the inventory. “You got the stim, or is this a lost cause?”
I gesture at the grape supplements. “Trade you three of these for one bottle of bourbon.”
“Deal.”
He pockets the packs, then grabs a bin and starts loading it with gauze.
His method is pure chaos—he shoves in as much as it’ll hold, snaps the lid, and moves to the next.
Finn appears in the doorway.
He’s in full Storm gear, but his hair’s still wet from the shower.
He watches for a second, then wordlessly starts breaking down boxes, stacking them in neat squares.
I watch the way his hands work: intentional, almost gentle, like he’s folding origami instead of cardboard.
Sage gives directions in clipped sentences. “Stack the tape rolls. Sort by width. No mixing.”
“The portable ultrasound goes in the top drawer, not the bottom.”
“Finn, can you tape a sign to the door that saysTEAM USE ONLY? Maybe they’ll listen if it’s in all caps.”
Finn shrugs. “You want English or Swedish? I can make it scarier in Swedish.”
“Dealer’s choice,” Sage deadpans.
Beau lines up the bins along the wall, stands back, and squints.
“This looks good. Like a real team operation. Next thing you know, we’ll be singing ‘Kumbaya’ in the sauna.”
“Keep dreaming,” I say, but even I can hear the smile behind it.
Sage stops, leans against the counter, and surveys the room.
For the first time all day, she looks satisfied. “Not bad,” she says. “You guys might be useful after all.”
Beau bows, extravagant. “Anything for you, Coach.”
Finn grunts, almost a laugh.
I move closer, tossing the last empty box onto Finn’s stack. “What now?”
Sage stretches, a vertebra at a time, then points at the mess of sports medicine packs.
“Someone needs to relabel these. Some idiot put the stickers on upside down.”
I sit on the floor, grab a Sharpie, and start peeling and resticking.
The others hang around, making jokes, pretending they’re just waiting for instructions but really just not wanting to leave the room.
Eventually, Beau gets bored and heads out.
Finn follows a minute later.
