Page 41 of Role Model

Troy smiled—really smiled—in every photo Harris took at the hospital that day. Harris found himself hesitating to return the phones to the parents, hoping they appreciated the rare gift of Troy Barrett’s full, effortless smile.

It was a hectic couple of hours, Harris darting from room to room to help with photographs, and capturing some candid shots and videos for the team’s social media as well. He wanted to make sure he got at least one photo of each of the players.

But he kept gravitating to the rooms where Troy and Wyatt were. Sometimes he would watch silently from the door for a minute, sneakily observing Troy with the kids. He was doing great, despite being unpracticed in this sort of thing.

Harris remembered the Ottawa Centaurs visiting the hospital when he was twelve. It had been thrilling to meet real NHL players. It had been thrilling to do anything other than sleep, or read, or stare at the ceiling. At least one of his family members had been beside his bed at all times, usually more. Friends had visited too, but meeting his heroes—in particular the team captain, who he’d had a bit of a crush on—had given him a high that he’d ridden for days after. He knew now that NHL players were just people, but back then they’d seemed like gods. He couldn’t believe they were actually in his hospital room, talking to him.

Now, in the patients’ lounge, Harris watched Troy and Ilya battle each other and two kids at Mario Kart. Ilya was trash-talking—without profanity—and making everyone laugh. Troy had just barely stopped himself from swearing several times.

“I have a present for you, Barrett,” Ilya said.

“F—” Troy cut himself off. “I don’t want it, Rozanov.”

“It’s red.”

“Shoot it at a computer player!”

“Nah. It’s for you.” Everyone laughed as a red Koopa shell slammed into Troy’s car. Mario went ass over teakettle and Troy, again, struggled not to swear.

“You’re the worst,” Troy grumbled.

“Didn’t I hit you like that last year?” Ilya teased. “In Toronto. You did the same thing Mario just did.” He rolled one hand in a tumbling motion, then quickly returned it to the controller.

“No,” Troy said.

Within seconds one of the kids found the hit on YouTube and gleefully showed everyone her iPad so they could see it.

“Thank you, Grayson,” Ilya said. “See, Barrett? Just like Mario.”

Ilya won the race, and he stood with his arms above his head in victory. “Undefeated!”

Gloating about beating a bunch of hospitalized kids at video games should be rude, but somehow Ilya made it charming.

Troy stood and handed his controller to Wyatt. He shuffled awkwardly to the side, and glanced around the room as if unsure what to do now. When his gaze landed on Harris, he smiled in that same genuine way that Harris had been enjoying all day.

This time, Troy’s smile was just for him, and Harris couldn’t help the way his stomach flipped in response. Developing a crush on Troy Barrett was a terrible idea, but Harris was way past the point of being able to stop it.

Late in the afternoon, the players boarded the team bus that would take them back to the arena. They’d left directly from their morning practice.

Harris caught Troy before he boarded the bus. “I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess.”

“Before the game. Definitely.”

Harris wanted to ask him what he was doing tonight, but that wouldn’t do anything to help quell this ridiculous crush. So instead, he offered some reassurance. “You did great, by the way. With the kids.”

Troy’s lips curved into a soft smile at that. “Yeah?”

“Trust me. I’m an expert.”

Something warm glowed in Troy’s sapphire eyes. “You drove yourself here?”

“I got a ride in the van with Theo and Rebecca.” Troy’s blank expression told Harris that he didn’t know who he was talking about. “Chuck, I mean. That’s Theo, like I said earlier. And Rebecca is basically his handler. She’s a marketing intern.”

“Ah.” Troy glanced around. “Does Chuck—I mean Theo—have to get changed somewhere or...how does that work exactly?”

Harris laughed. “Very carefully. We can’t let anyone see him half dressed, y’know? Ruins the magic. He’ll wear the costume in the van until we’re out of the parking lot at least.”

“Sounds complicated.”

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