Jett rolled his eyes before he closed them. “Have you ever talked to anyone about that? You sound like you’re on the neurospicy scale somewhere.”
Ryan paused.
“Thewhatscale?”
Ryan’s confusion made him smile, and it helped soothe the panic that was simmering below the surface. He agreed that he needed to talk to his agent, but what was the harm in doing that tomorrow?
Or…never.
Ryan wandered into the bathroom to start his morning routine, so Jett took advantage of the distraction and got dressed. He pulled on his sweats, a t-shirt he had stolen from Harrison’s room, and his Sunburst hoodie.
He looked like a rumpled mess, but he didn’t care. He was only going to the rink, and his rental had tinted windows. He knew his hair looked like a bird’s nest, but that’s why helmets were great.
Jett escaped the room and was jogging down the hall when the door next to him opened, and Niko Cote staggered into his path. The kid looked less put together than him, which wasn’t surprising. He couldn’t imagine he was having an easy time of things while bunking with Jason.
“Hey!” Jett swung an arm over his shoulders, steadying the rookie before he fell over. “Where are you heading this early in the morning?”
Niko was a quiet guy, but even with the scowl, Jett was sure he wasn’t a curmudgeon like Ryan was.
“Anywhere that doesn’t havedinosaurs,” said Niko. “Powers has them everywhere, and some of them roar and growl. And when their batteries die, they start crying for help by screeching loudly without pressing the button. I thought I was about to get mounted by a tetradactyl because it was so loud, and Powers wouldn’t wake up to help hischild, so I left before the rest of my sanity did.”
It was the longest sentence Jett had heard him speak, and it happened to be hilarious.
Jett laughed and ruffled his messy black hair. “Goalies are crazy. I’ve never met a normal one.”
“Rose seems semi-normal,” said Niko hesitantly, glancing at Jett to confirm.
Jett shook his head. “Nope. That one crochets human organs and tries to build a person out of them.”
He wished he was joking, and judging by the look on Niko’s face, he regretted everything about their conversation.
“Going to the rink?” Jett asked, trying to move on from the topic of their bizarre goalies. “I can drive you. I bet the staff are already there preparing for the team breakfast.”
Niko nodded, looking at his feet while Jett led him away. He must have used up his word count for the day because he didn’t talk on the drive to the rink, nor did he talk in the dressing room while they were lacing their skates.
Coach Adams was there before the sun came up as always, and he stopped in to check on them and say good morning.
Niko and Coach had a similar quiet mindset. Adams was different from most coaches since he’d never played hockey, but he was a genius insports math, whatever the hell that meant. Media and certain people in the league liked to mock him for being a nerdy, scrawny-looking dude, but no one could deny that he got results. The Sunbursts had been tracking upward in the league since he’d joined, and he was a likeable guy.
“Are you going to play better today?” Adams asked him curtly.
“I’ll try my best, Coach.” Jett gave him a salute, which seemed to pacify the serious man.
Adams stared at him for an awkward minute and then left.
Niko finally spoke again, startling Jett, who had forgotten he was there.
“He’s…”
“On the autism spectrum,” said Jett, clarifying it so the rookie didn’t have to tiptoe around the subject. “He told us when he was hired and apologized for his conversational skills, but we don’t care. He’s a great coach—like really great. And he can be a hard ass too because the quiet staring sometimes does more than yelling and cursing. He’s just not great at motivational speeches, or firing us up before games, but we have Cap for that.”
Niko frowned, finishing with his left skate to work on his right. “This team is…eccentric. I’m not used to it, so sorry if I’m acting awkward.”
Niko wasn’t wrong, the Sunburstwereout to lunch in terms of professionalism. They had been at the bottom for so long that laughing was the only way to get through the disappointment of losing games. But then Jett was drafted, and they picked up Powers as a rookie goalie and bounced back. It was hard to lose the goofy attitude after their veteran players had been through the trenches for so long, so they didn’t bother changing.
Jett liked the vibe of this team. He had wanted to be a Sunburst for other reasons, but the relief he felt when he first met his teammates, and they turned out to be amazing, was immediate.
Jett went quiet for so long that Niko began kicking his leg and fidgeting his hands. He looked stressed for someone drafted to the best team in Canada.
