Page 19 of Cold Comeback
"Show off," Linc muttered as he grinned.
The afternoon dissolved into the chaos that happens when you give a bunch of hockey players pizza with minimal supervision. Someone found my speakers and put on a "perfect moving music" playlist that sounded like death metal arguing with elevator jazz.
Knox appointed himself my interior design consultant and kept rearranging my furniture while complaining about my "spatial awareness." Bricks got emotional about the "brotherhood of hockey housing" and tried to start a group hug.
"This is what family feels like," he announced, tears in his eyes.
Knox shrugged as he joined in the hug. "Fuck, kid, save it for the championship speech."
Pluto opened a box and discovered my kitchen supplies.
"Holy shit, Drake can actually cook." He held up my best chef's knife.
"Define cook," I said warily.
"Can you make something that isn't microwaved or delivered?"
"Yes?"
The room was suddenly silent.
Linc spoke in a reverent tone. "Dude, you just became everyone's favorite roommate."
"I haven't even moved in yet."
"Too late. You're stuck with us now."
Gideon had been there all afternoon, quietly helpful and doing his best to fade into the shadows. He'd carried boxes without being asked, fixed the wobbly desk with a few strategic adjustments, and generally made himself useful.
I'd noticed how he kept his distance from me specifically. When I handed him something, he was careful not to let our fingers brush. When we ended up in the same corner of the room, he found a reason to be somewhere else.
It would have been insulting if it weren't so apparent that he was working just as hard to avoid me as I was to get his attention.
As the sun started setting, the team began trickling out. Knox left with dire warnings about the water pressure. Bricks hugged everyone goodbye, including me. Pluto pressed a business card for his favorite pizza place into my hand "for emergencies."
"What constitutes an emergency?"
He lowered his head silently. "It's Tuesday."
One by one, they filtered out until only Linc, Pluto, Gideon, and I stood in my half-unpacked room, surrounded by empty pizza boxes and the debris of a successful moving day.
"We should head out too." Linc glanced at his phone. "Early practice tomorrow."
Pluto clapped a hand on Linc's shoulder. "Yeah, let Drake get settled."
They gathered their stuff and headed for the door, but Gideon lingered, fiddling with the window lock like it was a complex piece of machinery.
"You coming, Cap?" Linc called from the hallway.
"In a minute. Need to check the smoke detector."
Linc and Pluto exchanged a look. "Right. The smoke detector. Very important."
They left with entirely too much smirking.
Then, it was just Gideon and me. Six feet of space, and a hell of a lot of things neither of us was saying.
He was still messing with the window, avoiding eye contact. "Seems secure."
