Page 135 of Time to Shine

To his surprise, three dots appeared less than a minute later. He sat up properly in his chair in anticipation, but the dots disappeared. Then they reappeared briefly before disappearing again.

“You’re killing me, Stacks,” Casey said.

Finally, after several agonizing minutes, a message came: It hurts even more than I thought it would.

Casey’s heart stuttered. He knew how hard it would have been for Landon to type that. Landon kept his feelings fiercely guarded at the best of times, so this honest admission had to mean he was at his breaking point.

Casey replied quickly: It’s not just me then?

Landon: Of course not.

Casey smiled at that, even though he hated thinking about Landon hurting. He considered telling Landon that he was coming to Saskatoon, and had started typing it out when another text came from Landon: I have to go. Game soon.

Casey deleted what he’d written and replaced it with: Kick ass.

Landon replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

Casey had so many things he wanted to say, so many questions he wanted to ask.

Tomorrow, he reminded himself. He could unload a month’s worth of conversations on Landon tomorrow, and hopefully an equivalent amount of hugs and kisses too. If Landon was into it.

Casey really hoped Landon would be into it.

Fuck, was this a terrible idea?

He’d find out tomorrow.

There was a particular type of exhaustion that came from spending over fifteen hours on a bus that Landon was far too familiar with.

They were finally home, later than they were supposed to be, thanks to snow in Wyoming. They’d left in the dark, and now it was dark again in Saskatoon. Thankfully they had tomorrow off. Landon had big plans to sleep for the entire day.

He stepped off the bus with his backpack slung over his shoulder, then went to wait for his suitcase to be unloaded from the luggage compartment. It had to be at least twenty-five below zero outside, but even frigid fresh air was a welcome change from recycled bus air.

He swore he heard one of his teammates murmur the name “Casey Hicks” as he waited, but he ignored it. He was probably hearing things. God, he was so tired.

Then he heard it again. And then, clear as day, Morgan Dillon said, “Why is Casey Hicks here?”

Landon turned around, and there he was, standing between the bus and the arena and wearing a jacket that wasn’t nearly warm enough. He waved at Landon, or maybe he didn’t. Maybe he hadn’t moved at all, or maybe he wasn’t even here. Maybe this was another fantasy about Casey walking back into his life. Landon dropped his backpack and walked over to him, just in case he was real.

“Hi,” Casey said in that voice Landon had been missing so much.

“How are you here?” Landon blurted. It probably sounded rude, but his brain wasn’t in top form.

Casey’s eyes were more nervous than Landon had ever seen them. “Like I said, I miss you.”

The weirdest, most unhinged laugh ever burst out of Landon. Then he wrapped his arms around Casey, pulling him tight against him. Casey exhaled against his neck, then said, “So this wasn’t a terrible idea?”

“No. I don’t know. Even if it is—god, I’m so happy to see you.”

Landon’s brain came back online enough to remind him that all of his teammates were probably watching, and that this hug had crossed over from “what a pleasant surprise” to “my husband is back from the war” several seconds ago. He loosened his hold, then stepped back. Casey was smiling at him, and Landon smiled right back.

“When did you get here?” Landon asked.

“Last night. Changed my flight in Toronto. I’m staying at the Hilton.”

“Not anymore you’re not.”

The last of the tension left Casey’s smile. “Are you gonna show me your place, Stacks?”

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