Page 37 of Time to Shine

“As if you don’t know.”

Landon huffed. “Yeah. There’s a clip on YouTube. I’ve watched it a million times.”

Casey already had his phone out and was typing “Landon Stackhouse Save” into the YouTube search bar. The clip was only twenty seconds long, and it was amazing. “Shit, dude. How’d you get back up again after that? You look like you split yourself in two.”

“I almost did.”

“You should watch this clip right now,” Casey said, as he hit play again. “So you know how stupid it sounds when you talk like you shouldn’t be here.”

Behind the door, Casey heard Landon sigh heavily. Without really thinking about it, Casey brushed his fingertips along the tiny gap at the bottom of the door. He imagined Landon doing the same thing.

“I need to confess something,” Casey said.

“What?”

“I’ve eaten several grapes.”

The door began to wobble a bit, and then there was a giddy, strangled sound and Casey realized Landon was laughing.

“They’re really good!” Casey was laughing too. “You sure you don’t want any? I could try to mash some under the door.”

And then, without warning, the doorknob turned. Casey had just enough time to scramble to his feet before the door opened.

Landon looked exhausted, sad brown eyes sunk deep into his skull. He towered over Casey, but Casey could probably knock him down with one finger right now. All of that would have been concerning, except Casey couldn’t focus on anything but the slight upward tilt of Landon’s lips.

Landon held out his hand, and Casey stared at it until Landon said, “Grapes.”

Casey grinned and handed him the bag.

“Thanks,” Landon said.

“They’re your grapes.”

“Not for the grapes. Thanks.”

Casey, for whatever reason, saluted him. “Anytime, Stacks.”

Landon looked at the floor, and then glanced shyly at Casey. His bangs flopped into his eyes. Casey’s heart began to race.

“Goodnight, Casey.”

Casey blinked. “Right. Yeah. Get some sleep.”

Landon nodded, then gently closed the door.

Chapter Fourteen

The next morning, Landon went to work.

Somewhere between being handed a bag of grapes and turning off his bedside lamp, Landon had decided he was going to fight to stay in Calgary. He was a good goalie. With more experience, he could be a great goalie. He wanted to stay.

So now he was in the team gym, doing his third set of iron crosses on the floor. He’d walked in with his head held high, locking eyes with any teammate he passed, greeting them with silent but confident nods. He would get better. He would make himself worth keeping.

Would he have felt like this today if Casey hadn’t sat outside his door last night? There was no way to know for sure, but Landon didn’t think so. He’d been wallowing in his room before Casey had knocked, crying a little, ready to give up.

Landon had received plenty of pep talks over the years: from coaches, from teammates, and from his parents. He’d never had a conversation as weird or as effective as the one he’d had with Casey through that door. He suspected it was something he would remember for a long time.

Maybe more than the conversation, he would remember what he’d seen when he’d finally opened the door. Casey had looked so happy to see him, all dimples and eager eyes. His long hair had been kind of a mess, like he’d been running his hands through it.

---