Page 27 of Slew Foot
But yeah, he could see why Tanner was a little disappointed the friend he’d thought he could go out to party with had proven to be more of a homebody than anyone had expected.
“I know I’m not very exciting either,” Mickey said with a rueful smile as he skated slow, easy circles, warming up a little.
Tanner chuckled, batting at a puck with his stick. “Yeah, well, I hardly thought a guy called Mouse was going to be a wild man.”
Fair enough. Mickey didn’t exactly have a reputation for anything but quiet hardworking diligence.
With a nudge of his elbow, Tanner grinned at him. “But hey, at least with you as a roommate, I’m not like swimming in my own filth now.”
Mickey shuddered.
Tanner’s homekeeping habits had been incredibly questionable before he moved in. Now he knew how to load a dishwasher and—theoretically—do laundry. Though he still let it pile up before he did it and never put it away after it came out of the dryer.
“C’mon,” Tanner said, gently thwacking his stick against Mickey’s. “You want to do a little warmup while we wait for the rest of the guys to show up?”
Mickey looked around. It was true, only about half of the team was out. Connor and Jesse and Crawford along with a few of the rookies were milling around, talking more than practicing.
None of the coaches were anywhere in sight.
Nor was Rafe.
“Sure.” Mickey forced his attention back to Tanner. “Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tanner and Mickey were playing keep-away when Rafe stepped out onto the ice.
He watched Mickey get his shoulder under Tanner’s, dislodging his stick and knocking the puck away from the blade.
Tanner let out a frustrated yelp and Mickey laughed, the sound echoing around the empty rink.
Rafe had never heard him laugh like that. It was loud and happy, and it made Rafe smile. A lot about Mickey made him smile.
All of the guys seemed great so far, but something about Mickey made him feel … chill. Made him feel like he was taken care of. Like he reallynoticedRafe and could tell what he wanted without Rafe having to stumble through trying to explain it.
Tanner was great too though, and Rafe was excited about checking out their place later.
“Good hustle, guys!” Coach Hoyt called out, stepping onto the ice not too far from where Rafe was. “I like seeing the initiative.Practice will begin in five but we’re still waiting for a few stragglers.”
Rafe nodded and flashed a tentative smile at his new coach. He was dressed in a warmup suit, skates, and gloves, and carried a stick. A barrel-chested man with a beard gone white and kind eyes.
Hoyt must have taken Rafe’s smile as an invitation because he glided over. “How are you doing, Moon?”
“Pretty good,” Rafe said honestly. “Just trying to get settled in.”
“Is everyone being welcoming?”
“Yeah, they’re great! Mickey has been driving me around and he and Tanner invited me to do lunch and some gaming later.”
“Glad to hear it. You come to me if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay. I will.”
“Good.” Hoyt tapped the toe of his skate with his stick blade, then glided away. The remaining stragglers had arrived, so Hoyt blew his whistle.
“Okay,” he called out when everyone was assembled around him in a semi-circle, listening intently. “We’re going to warm up with some passing and shooting drills.”
They divided into two groups and each group lined up on opposite sides of the ice along the boards near the red line. Arkady Romaschenko was in one goal and Jesse Webber the other. Coach Hoyt stood off to one side while the associate coach—Rasmussen—set out cones in the center of the ice.
