Page 16 of Time to Shine

“Yeah, but why? You heard the part about the gym, right? It even has a treadmill you can destroy.”

Landon was quiet for a long moment, and Casey braced himself for rejection. Then Landon said, “I like Thai food.”

Casey beamed. “You can move in anytime. Today, if you want. You got much stuff? I can help.”

“No, I barely had time to pack anything. I don’t have my car either.”

Casey waved a hand. “We’ll be carpool buddies, and I’ve got a second car you can borrow if you need one.”

“That’s...” Landon appeared to be conflicted, which seemed ridiculous to Casey. Finally he said, “You really wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not!”

Landon’s mask tipped down as he fixed his gaze on the ice. “I should warn you, I’m not a ton of fun.”

“Dude, you’re not there to entertain me.”

“I can pay rent.”

“Absolutely the fuck not.” Casey almost wanted to tell him that he would benefit from this arrangement too. That having another person in the house every night would chill him out like a thousand percent. Instead he said, “The house is way too big for one person. You’d be doing me a favor.”

Landon’s eyes were skeptical when he glanced back up. “Doing you a favor how?”

Casey shrugged one shoulder. “By making me feel like less of a dick for buying such a big house. Now there’s a reason for it.”

“To house a temporary backup goalie you don’t even know?”

Casey tapped Landon’s left leg pad with his stick blade. “Yet. But I’m gonna get to know him, and it’s gonna be awesome.”

“Home sweet home,” Casey announced as they pulled into his driveway.

Landon realized his mouth was hanging open, so he shut it. Casey had not been kidding about the size of his house. He hadn’t even left the passenger seat of Casey’s neon-blue Jeep and he was already in awe. The house was not only enormous, it looked very new and modern, all gray slate siding, dark wood, and glass.

Casey hopped out of the Jeep and ran around to the back, presumably to get Landon’s bags for him. Landon snapped out of it and exited the vehicle.

“I’ll get it,” he said.

“No worries. It’s not that much. You should see how many suitcases my parents travel with. You’d think my dad would be good at traveling light, but that man loves his outfit options.”

Landon wouldn’t mind having a few more outfit options. He needed to get to a mall ASAP. He grabbed his small carry-on suitcase because Casey was already carrying the larger, heavier duffel bag toward the front door. The duffel had been packed so haphazardly before Landon had left Saskatoon that he barely knew what was in it. He’d made sure to toss his “thinking” mask in there, his winter boots, his parka, a few odds and ends from around his apartment like hand cream and, embarrassingly, an Antton Niskanen hockey card that he’d thought he might ask him to sign. Back when he’d thought this would be a short trip.

The first thing Landon noticed when he stepped through Casey’s front door was how open the house seemed to be. The entrance, living room, dining room, and kitchen all formed one giant space, and the second floor wrapped around it, mezzanine-style. You could see almost every room in the house from the front entrance. Landon briefly worried about the lack of privacy, then pushed the thought away. This offer was incredibly generous. As much as he cherished his alone time, he didn’t want to spend two months in a hotel room.

Casey’s house was a definite upgrade from the hotel room or from Landon’s apartment in Saskatoon. Everything looked bright and new and expensive. The walls were all painted white, and the floors were a light-colored wood, all reflecting the abundant sunlight that streamed through the house’s many large windows.

“Holy shit,” Landon said.

“You like it? I just bought it in the summer, so it’s new to me too. I still can’t figure out half the fancy appliances. The kitchen is a mystery. Come on, I’ll give you the tour.”

Casey dropped the duffel bag by the door and started walking. Landon followed. “Consider this your house, okay? Go wherever you want, use whatever you want. You don’t have to ask. So this is the living room. The TV is kind of complicated, but the picture and sound are amazing. I’ve got full cable, all the movie channels and sports channels.” He started counting off on his fingers. “Netflix, Disney, Prime, all that shit. There’s a PlayStation and a Switch too. You like video games?”

“Sure,” Landon said, even though they’d never been his thing.

“Cool. Maybe we can play later.”

The large sectional sofa was littered with objects: a hoodie, a massage gun, a PlayStation controller, a pair of sunglasses and, most confusingly, three oranges. There was a dirty glass on the coffee table, and a pair of sneakers on the floor underneath.

Landon followed Casey to the kitchen, which was like the ones he’d always dreamed about, with a Viking gas range, a huge butcher block-topped island, and a farmhouse sink.

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