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“I’m a benevolent team captain,” Carter says. “If they get jealous, they can all be winners. Or, I guess I could even think of some sort of innocent blowjob contest to determine the final contestant.”
Maddox pulls Carter away as he whispers something in his ear. The two men make a line toward a group of women who just walked through the front door.
I sink back into the seat, smiling and riding high on the moment.
It brings me back to two years ago during the holidays, making me wish the hockey team spent all year in Frosty Harbor. There’s something about the guys being here that makes the town feel that much more alive. It’s like they become an extension of my family.
“How are you feeling, Champ?” Zander asks me.
“Fine,” I say. “Actually, I’m feeling like I need to pee so badly I might pop. If you’ll excuse me–” Nolan gets up to let me out of the booth and I wobble on my ankle as I plant my foot to stand. I nearly fall, but he steadies me with a hand on my arm.
“You okay?” he asks.
“It’s nothing,” I say. I smile, and head to the bathroom, carefully choosing my footing because I can feel the instability in my ankle. The injury that took me out of figure skating never really went away. I can skate sparingly, but I always pay for it afterward, and it takes me days to fully recover. I can feel now that I pushed it too hard today. My ankle feels like jelly.
Even as I’m trying to be careful on it, my ankle gives out when I plant my foot to pull open the bathroom door.
It rolls to the side and an instant jab of pain shoots up my leg. I bite back the pain and try to use the bathroom like nothing is wrong, but the throb in my ankle just keeps getting worse.
By the time I get back to the table, I’m barely holding a calm face. “I’m actually going to head home,” I say. “I’m feeling pretty tired.”
Zander and Paisley give a valiant effort at convincing me to stay and have fun, but Nolan is watching me silently, his blue eyes seeming to absorb every nuance of my body language and words.
“Good night, guys,” I say, walking toward the exit. I can feel the blood draining from my face and the first waves of nausea setting in. I don’t live far from the bar, but I’m considering calling for a ride as I step outside.
The door closes behind me and immediately swings open again. Nolan is standing there, forehead furrowed. “What are you doing?”
I quickly smooth my features into pretend calm. “Heading home, like I said?”
“You’re not walking normally.”
“How do I normally walk?” I ask. I’m talking through my teeth because I can’t keep pretending my ankle isn’t screaming in pain now. Irritation is rising up because I wish Nolan would just let me get home so I could pound some pain medicine, curl up in a ball, and maybe cry a little where nobody can see me.
“Cut the shit,” he says, moving to my side and putting his arm around me. He scoops me up with one arm behind my back and one under my knees. The relief of pressure on my ankle is immediate and so welcome that all I can do is close my eyes.
I feel a tear slip out between my eyelids.
“What happened?” he asks softly. Concern is dripping from his voice, and I have to admit it warms my heart.
He’s already walking as he carries me. From the way he’s headed, it doesn’t seem like he’s taking me to my rental. Jesse’s cabin is too far to walk to, especially if he’s planning to carry me the whole way.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Doctor Knight. It’s late, but maybe she’ll still be there. She checked out Andi when she had that car accident on her way into town two years ago. And when Andi screwed up her ankle.”
“I don’t need a doctor,” I say.
Nolan keeps walking as if I didn’t say anything.
“You know,” he says. “I’m pretty sure Jesse and Andi started secretly dating after she screwed up her ankle. Should I be worried this is some kind of seduction tactic? A move you’ve seen work before, so you’re giving it a shot?”
“Are you trying to be funny?” I ask. “Because I’m really not in the mood to laugh right now.”
“The best time to laugh is probably when you’re not in the mood.”
“Agree to disagree,” I say, even though his light tone and the conversation are actually doing a good job of distracting me from the pain. I also think the pain may be easing up a little. That’s a relief because it probably means I’ll just be sore for a few days.
“So, are you going to tell me what happened?” he asks.
