Page 112 of The Husband Game

That wasn’t this season.

He stripped off his gear, gritted his teeth through an ice bath, then went through the rest of his recovery with a smile on his face.

Dreaded ice bath or not, it was worth the misery, or he’d be sore as hell tomorrow.

A massage helped too and he wolfed down lunch like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, rather than the five hours since he’d enjoyed the breakfast Charlie’d made him.

Then it was media time.

Following his shower, Dustin strolled into the locker room to find a shrine in his stall.

He let out a startled laugh.

Charlie’s face was everywhere.

There were framed photos of Charlie and pictures of the two of them set up on the shelf and taped to the walls of his stall.

There was the now very well-known shot of them in front of the Bellagio fountain and another taken during the first barbecue they’d hosted, snuggling on the lounger.

Dustin smiled at the picture of him and Charlie on Matty’s yacht. Someone had captured the moment Charlie had playfully stuck his tongue out at Dustin in response to his teasing.

They looked … God, they looked so happy together.

In addition to the pictures, there were construction paper hearts, a Welcome to Vegas sign, and a two-groom cake topper.

There were even little battery powered votive candles and Dustin chuckled at the whole setup. Someone had gotten creative.

He paused when he spotted a jersey hanging in his stall.

It wasn’t a practice jersey like they’d worn today but one of the game jerseys. It had his C on the front above the Fisher Cats logo and his number—27—on the sleeves. But when he turned it around, he saw something he didn’t usually see, the word Charlie’s stretched across the back in place of Fowler.

Dustin laughed, surprised and amused the guys had gotten Pete Santos, their equipment manager, to make it.

“Nice, guys,” he said with a laugh. “What’d you bribe Pete with this time?”

Prank jerseys were not an uncommon occurrence around here, though Dustin had never been the recipient before.

Matty draped an arm over his shoulder. “You like it? We were originally going to do Fowler-Monaghan but that wouldn’t fit.”

“What’s not to like?” Dustin said, grinning. “I’m proud to be his.”

“Hey, you do know if you two get divorced, we’re keeping Charlie, right?” Nico teased from a few stalls over.

“Oh totally.” Matty’s smile stretched from ear to ear. “He’s ours now.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

It came as no surprise the guys loved Charlie—how could anyone not love him?—but Dustin was oddly touched. It meant the world to him that the team had embraced Charlie so thoroughly.

But Dustin hoped it never came down to a divorce. Because he fully intended to keep Charlie, if Charlie would let him.

“You gonna keep the whole shrine up for the media?” Colton asked with a laugh. “Should make a nice little backdrop.”

“Tempting,” Dustin grinned. “But I try to keep my personal life out of the locker room and this might be a few steps too far.”

He was still grinning as he dismantled the shrine though, stuffing most of it in his gear bag. He also put the jersey in there to take home and show Charlie. He’d get a kick out of it.

Dustin realized he was still in his towel, so he hastily tossed that in the nearby laundry bin, then slipped on underwear, shorts, and a long-sleeve Fisher Cats tee.

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