Page 83 of Cold Comeback
"That's what I figured. That's what I told myself, anyway. Easier than finding out for sure."
I found my voice. "So you just left."
"I just left." He looked at me directly. "And spent the next three years watching the Reapers from a distance, wondering if I'd thrown away the best thing that ever happened to me."
"Watching us?" Gideon asked.
"League's not that big. Word gets around about who's playing where and who's doing what. When I heard about Drake joining Richmond, I figured it was only a matter of time before—" He looked at me. "Before this."
A sour taste rose in my throat. "Before what?"
"Before Gideon stopped fighting himself long enough to let someone in."
The observation was accurate—on target.
"I found peace coaching," Jordan continued. "Teaching kids that authenticity makes you stronger, not weaker. I'll alwayswonder what would have happened if I'd been brave enough to make a different decision."
He looked at Gideon. "I'm glad you found someone willing to fight for it."
He returned his gaze to me. "Take care of him. And let him take care of you."
We gathered our gear in uncomfortable silence. Jordan's revelation changed something between the three of us, and none of us knew how to navigate the new terrain.
"Don't be like me," he said as we prepared to leave. "Don't wait until it's safe to be happy."
After he left, Gideon and I sat in the visitors' locker room, processing what had just happened. The silence was nearly unbearable.
"I never knew," Gideon said finally. "About how he felt. I swear to God, Thatcher, I had no idea."
"I believe you."
"Do you? Because if you think—if you think this changes anything between us—"
"Does it?"
The question slipped out before I could stop it. Gideon flinched.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, if you'd known how he felt three years ago, would you have—" I couldn't finish my sentence.
"Would I have what?"
"Chosen him instead."
Gideon stared at me for a long moment, then laughed—a sharp, bitter sound.
"Fuck, Thatcher. Is that what you think? That you're some consolation prize?"
"I don't know what to think. I just watched you two skate together like you were made for it. Like you fit in ways that—" I stopped myself.
"That we don't?"
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to." He stood abruptly. "You want to know the truth? Fine. Jordan and I had chemistry on the ice. Great chemistry. We read each other's games perfectly."
He stopped pacing and faced me.
