Page 13 of Slew Foot
Mickey let out a little choking noise and Rafe glanced over to see him red-faced and sputtering into his arm, a water bottle in hand.
Poor guy, Rafe thought, reaching out to pat his back.Water must have gone down the wrong pipe.
“Not to mention teach this guy how to take it,” he joked, turning back to the reporters. “Apparently, he’s no good at swallowing.”
It wasn’t until he saw several reporters’ eyes widen that he realized how it had come across.Shit.
“I guess they don’t teach guys how to drink water in Germany,” he hastily added, then wondered if he’d made it worse by accidentally insulting an entire country.
Mickey shot him a vaguely dirty look and past him, Tyson winced.
Ahh fuck.Rafe wasn’t that bright to begin with. Why in thehellhad anyone let him speak to the media when he’d had no sleep?
“Uhh,” he said, scrambling to cover his mistake. “Look, that all came out wrong. What I was trying to say is that I plan to use my size and skill around the net. I’ve been an effective shutdown defenseman in the past and that’s the plan going forward.”
He rattled off a few more things he knew were safe and was relieved when they thanked him and turned to someone else.
Finally.
“Whereareyou staying?” Mickey asked Rafe, his breath steaming in the cold night air.
Rafe stuffed his hand in his pockets as they followed a trail of their teammates to the small convoy of vehicles lined up to take them to the pub. One of the equipment guys had been nice enough to offer to drop Rafe’s luggage off at the hotel on his way home, so Rafe didn’t have to lug it around all night, and he was grateful.
He’d honestly already forgotten about the bags and would have wound up at a hotel with none of his stuff.
“Uhh.” Rafe pulled his phone from his pocket because he was blanking on the name. “The team took care of it all. I have an email about it. I haven’t looked at it closely.”
He pulled his phone out, tapped a few things in, then handed it over to Mickey, like he’d done with the equipment guy. Seriously, names werenotsticking in his head right now.
Mickey studied the info, then passed his phone back. “I stayed there for a couple of weeks until I got settled too. Nice place.”
“Good to hear. Where are you now?”
“Oh, I’m in an apartment with Tanner. It’s not too far from the practice facility, so that’s convenient.”
“Nice.”
They climbed into the vehicle and Rafe was squished up against the window as more guys piled in, talking and laughing, their happy mood washing over him as they pulled away from the curb.
The darkness of the vehicle and the smooth ride made him sleepy though and his head lolled against the cool glass. He could barely keep his eyes open. A part of him had been tempted to head straight to the hotel and crash, but itwasNew Year’s Eve and the team had a whole bonding activity planned and … yeah.
This was his team now. He needed to settle in and make this his new home. The quicker he did that the better.
Rafe blinked when someone tugged on his arm. He turned to see Mickey smiling at him in the dim light. “C’mon,” he coaxed. “We’re here.”
Rafe glanced around, surprised they were at the pub already. He must have had a quick catnap. He squeezed his way out of the SUV and followed the crowd into the brick building.
Inside, Jesse threw his arms in the air and yelled, “The party has arrived!”
Next to Rafe, Connor let out what sounded like a long-suffering sigh, and despite Rafe’s exhaustion and the worries he now had about teammates dating, he smiled.
From what Rafe could tell of what he’d seen online and in person, Connor and Jesse couldn’t be any less alike if they tried. But as Jesse took Connor’s hand, tugging him farther into the pub and giving him a quick kiss, they sure seemed happy.
Rafe ruthlessly tamped down the stupid little voice in his head saying so had he and Logan. Until theyweren’t.
The pub smelled faintly of beer and delicious fried food and was decorated with streamers and balloons in black, white, and gold.
Someone shoved something into Rafe’s hand, and he glanced down to see one of those silly cone-shaped party hats. He stuck it on his head, knowing he probably looked ridiculous, but was too tired to care.
