Page 15 of Time to Shine

“So much better,” she said, still laughing.

“Good thing I have huge hands,” Casey joked. His dick was not big by anyone’s measure, and he knew it.

“Mm.”

“The car will be here in five minutes,” Casey said. “I can walk you to the lobby, at least, if you give me a sec to—”

“No,” she said, stepping close to him. “I’m fine on my own.” She kissed him. “Thanks for a fun night. And good luck with your hockey game tomorrow.”

“Aw, thanks.” They’d established early on that she had no idea who he was and had never watched a hockey game in her life. Casey didn’t mind that. The hero worship he got back in Calgary, and sometimes on the road, was nice too, but it was good to know people found him attractive for reasons other than his fame and money.

Tess left after one more kiss at the door. Casey turned on the overhead lights, then went to the bathroom to get cleaned up. He left the door open, and the fan off, and cleaned himself with a facecloth rather than taking a shower. He’d do that in the morning.

He left the bathroom light on, as well as his bedside lamp, when he was finally ready to sleep. He reminded himself that he was surrounded by his teammates, and that the only thing he had to be afraid of was how much Clint was going to complain in the morning about having to listen to Casey having sex.

When he felt brave enough, he turned off the lamp. The room was still lit by the bathroom, but shadows loomed everywhere.

“You’re fine, Casey,” he muttered to himself. “Grow the fuck up.”

Casey didn’t have many secrets, but he fiercely protected this one. He loved his teammates, but they would absolutely roast him if they knew he couldn’t stand to be alone in the dark. To be alone at night at all, really. It was the sort of weakness that could be exploited for laughs. Casey had been around hockey long enough to know that sometimes a group of men who spent too much time together got bored. Sometimes they got mean. Sometimes they made bad decisions and hurt people.

Casey could withstand being teased, and maybe even being embarrassed, but he knew if his teammates ever did anything to really hurt him, the worst part wouldn’t be the humiliation, or the disappointment. It would be the loneliness.

Chapter Six

“Morin is out,” Coach Patrick announced before their first practice back in Calgary, five days later. “He’ll be gone until January at least.”

There were groans throughout the locker room, some frustrated, some sympathetic. Casey immediately looked across the room at Landon.

As usual, Landon’s face gave nothing away. His mouth remained a tight, flat line, and his eyes were dark and attentive, though Casey guessed he must have a million things going through his head. Casey felt bad for Morin, but this was a big fucking deal for Landon. Two months was a long time. Two months could launch a career. It was different for goalies. Casey knew that. Landon may only get to start a couple of games in those two months; Antton was known for not needing many nights off. But still. This was huge.

As soon as Coach left the room, Casey crossed over to Landon and sat in Ross MacIsaac’s abandoned stall next to him. “Sounds like you’re sticking around,” he said, then nudged Landon’s arm.

“Yeah,” Landon said quietly, staring straight ahead. “Sounds like it.”

“That’s cool. I mean, sucks about Morin, but good for you. I will warn you, it gets cold as fuck in Calgary in the winter.”

Landon’s gaze slid over to Casey. “Saskatoon isn’t exactly tropical.”

Casey laughed. “Right. Duh. So I don’t have to tell you to get a good parka.”

Landon didn’t answer. He looked a million miles away.

During practice, Casey was distracted by thoughts of Landon being sad and alone in his hotel room for two months. Maybe he’d find a short-term rental somewhere, but he’d still be alone, and Casey sensed that Landon could use a friend. Somewhere between power play drills and a neutral zone transition drill, Casey was struck by a great idea. At least he was pretty sure it was a great idea. Sometimes he thought ideas were great and they turned out to be terrible, like the time he stirred peanut butter into his coffee.

He waited until practice was over, and then killed some more time messing around with a puck while Landon stayed in front of one of the nets, talking to the goalie coach, Andy. Finally Andy patted Landon on the shoulder and left the ice. Casey swooped in.

“I have an idea.”

Landon’s dark eyes fixed on him from behind the mask. “What?”

“Live with me.”

“What?” Landon said again.

“You need somewhere to live, right? I have a whole huge house and you can have your pick of the guest rooms. I have a full gym and a sweet TV setup. It’s a bit of a drive to the arena, but we can commute together and I can show you the city. There’s a Thai restaurant near my house that is fucking delicious, and if you don’t like Thai there’s—”

Landon held up his blocker pad. “You don’t need to do this. I’m sure I could find a short-term rental somewhere.”

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