Arlo tapped his foot, silently waiting for more.
Jett worked through the breathing exercises he’d learned about online to calm his racing heart. He wasn’t used to being read so easily, and it threw him off guard. He didn’t want to think about Mike because he felt like it was his problem to solve, no matter what Arlo’s involvement was, but—
“I’m…maybe freaking out,” Jett admitted. “This is one more thing that can distract me from playing the best for my team, and I don’t know how to handle it. All I want is for Mike to go away, and for Harrison to be closer than a goddamn plane ride so I can stop worrying about him.”
Arlo’s mouth tilted into a frown. “Worried about him? The guy has survived in the woods for five years without you, so I think he’s fine.”
Jett would have thought the same thing if he hadn’t found Harrison numbing himself in an ice water shower to the point of hypothermia.
“I’m getting a restraining order against him,” said Arlo, thankfully missing Jett’s dive into darker memories. “And you need to do the same. It’s the only thing that will make him stop.”
His feet were aching, and his anxiety was climbing. Jett needed to get on the ice before this turned into a full-blown panic attack. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
Arlo flicked his forehead, and Jett hissed and cursed. “Don’t think about it,doit.”
Jett rubbed his forehead and scowled. “If it will make you go away, then I will. Now go back to your team before the dating rumours about us start again. I don’t want to look at your face anymore.”
“Jackass.” Arlo pushed him, making Jett wobble in his skates. “We both know that’s a lie. I look too much like Harrison for you to hate looking at me.”
Jett’s cheeks warmed, and he flipped Arlo off. He found it ironic how he wanted to kill one Killinger and save the other.
“Go back to your training, fucking rookie,” said Jett, sticking his tongue out at Arlo.
Arlo returned the one-fingered salute, but at least he was laughing.
Harrison
Arlo did not give up easily. In the following weeks, Harrison received several more packages, some to his P.O. box and some to his house. The post office called him at one point because there was no room for them.
Arlo had sent him several maps and tourism books on what to do for fun in Toronto. A history of Toronto’s gay village. Several realtor listings for apartments and condos near where Jett lived. Magazines about interior decorating trends that were popular this year. And more Sunbursts merchandise than he knew what to do with.
He now had flags, mugs, a ball cap and a toque, but also random things like tea towels, pens and a decal sticker for his car. When he’d refused to answer Arlo’s calls for a week, his cousin had sent him a genealogy kit that supposedly could point out talents in your genetics like sports or science, and paperwork for surrogacy in Canada.
When the wedding stuff arrived, Harrison finally cracked and called his cousin.
“I’ve received your packages and see your point.”
Arlo cackled. He sounded like he was packing his things, tossing stuff into bags and zipping them closed.“So, when is your flight booked for?”
“Arlo.”
“Come on, Harrison. I know you guys have been talking again. He’s still sad, though.”
When Harrison didn’t say anything, Arlo continued.
“Did he tell you about Mike?”
“What about him?” Harrison asked, irritability spiking at the thought of that jerk.
“Mike got kicked out of Acadia. There was too much bad press about his attitude at the hockey games. The coaches and the school board of directors got involved and interviewed the team. They all had my back, not that I needed them to anymore, but they did anyway. They told themabout all his incidents of bullying, how homophobic he was, and how he wasn’t a team player. They all had dozens of text messages to prove it. Gates even had videos of him going after Jett in the locker room. He got kicked off the team, the school kicked him out, and they’re considering assault charges.”
“Holy shit,” said Harrison. “Jett hasn’t said anything to me about any of that.”
“He showed me the messages that Mike sent him after all this. He blames Jett because he’sjust that nice of a guy,”Arlo growled sarcastically.“Jett is such a sweetheart. He’s so upset over it all. He’s worried that he’s going to get dragged into it. He only wants Mike to leave him alone.”
Blinding rage flashed over Harrison’s vision for a second, and he had to sit down and focus on his breathing before he punched something.
“Is he leaving him alone now?”
