“They’re a little young for you, don’t you think, Wolfy?” Ryan asked him, scowling.
“And too blond,” said Wolf, chuckling. “I prefer brunettes.”
It was always like this in New York. The Barbarians had loyal fans, and after the one season Wolf had played for their team, they had become obsessed with him. It was like they were trying to show Wolf how much he would be valued as a player if he returned.
The fact that Wolf had no power over trade negotiations was lost on them. Again, they were a strange bunch.
“No effort needed tonight,” said Wolf, ignoring the collective gasps from Jett and Bracken. “We can relax tonight and have fun, ja?”
“Not after you said that!” Bracken hissed, launching to his feet and sprinting across the ice to pick up a puck.
Wolf clicked his tongue and turned his eyes on Jett. “Am I fucking wrong?”
Jett looked away from him and kept his gaze glued to the ice. Sure, the Barbarians didn’t have anyone like Jin or Bash on their team, but it didn’t mean they were a bunch of pushovers either.
“Jetty! Red line!”
Jett looked up, grinning the second his eyes landed on Leland Sandford, a buddy of his from juniors. He did a few push-ups to show off before heading for the redline, laughing when Leland rolled his eyes at the display.
“Really, dude?” Leland held his glove up, smiling when Jett bumped their fists together.
“I’m just trying to keep my record of pissing your girlfriend off nice and strong,” said Jett. “Unless she finally got over herself and realized you’re not attracted to men?”
Leland was the first-line left winger of the New York Barbarians, and someone Jett had enjoyed playing alongside immensely. He was a bit of a hopeless romantic with women, but his love life was always a great source of entertainment to the team.
“Nope.” Leland leaned against his stick, his dark-brown hair flopping into his eye messily. “I dumped her after the last time we played. She started getting pissy at me for talking to one of the bisexual guys on the Saviors team last week, and I decided I was over her homophobic bullshit. No one is worth that, no matter how hot they are.”
“Agreed.” Jett punched his arm, slightly pushing them away from each other. “Even more so since you’re…I don’t know…straight?”
“I know!” Leland tapped his stick against the ice angrily. “I don’t get it. Sometimes I think it would be easier to like dick, but alas.”
“I wouldn’t shout that at your next girl,” said Jett. “I don’t think it would help you win your case.”
Leland shrugged.
“Speaking of dick—”
Jett had only two seconds to brace himself before Derek Greene, another guy he knew from juniors, jumped the red line to throw an arm roughly across Jett’s shoulders. The jarring movement nearly sent them both to the ice, but Jett kept them up while supporting the weight of a 6’5 idiot.
“I saw that kiss, dude.” Derek shot a look at Wolf and Bracken to make sure they weren’t about to come over and kick his ass for crossing onto the wrong side. “Hell, it got me hot and bothered, and I was juggling a pair of tits in my hands while I was watching it.”
“Because that’s a flattering image,” Jett drawled.
Derek shrugged. “Bro, passion is passion. The girl I was with liked it too. I was lucky enough to escape the night without chaffing, but I was definitely limping the next day.”
Leland made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat, and Jett agreed. It didn’t matter how much he expected Derek to come up with something filthy to say, his words still took him by surprise at times.
“Now that I’m nauseous,” Leland had to lean up to smack Derek on the back of his curly-haired head, “tell us what it’s like.”
“What iswhatlike?”
“What is it like for two Draft Picks to fuck it out,” Derek finished, cutting Leland off before he could find a less crass way to say it. “We’ve been theorizing—”
“You’ve been theorizing about my sex life?”
“Irrelevant,” Leland said quickly. “Come on, what’s it like to be with a hockey superstar? I tried dating a bigshot from the PWHL, but she wouldn’t let me take control, so we weren’t compatible. What’s it like to be with someone from our world?”
“Dude,” said Derek. “You need to grow a beard or something if women are trying to bend you over. Might help with your vibe.”
