“As far as you know.” Keller delivers it so deadpan you could almost believe him if you didn’t know better.
“I can settle this for you two real quick, you know,” Fox says, always trying to mediate.
“And I’ll back him up,” Hayes offers. “I was right there and saw the whole thing.”
“Which means you saw Keller block my shot.”
Fox and Hayes trade glances, and though I wasn’t on the ice for whatever the fuck it is they’re arguing about, it’s clear Lawson is wrong.
“Uh, look, Lawsy,” Hayes says softly, using the same tone I’ve heard him use on Flora when he’s breaking some bad news to her.
“No, no, no.” Lawson sticks his fingers into his ears, just like the child Hayes is treating him as. “I’m not listening.”
“Anyone know how the fuck Rory puts up with him?” Keller grumbles.
“I heard that!”
“I thought you weren’t listening?” the captain says in the middle of his bicep curls.
“Well, I’m listening now! But I’m still not talking to you.”
Hutch rolls his eyes. “For fuck’s sake, I didn’t kick you out of my house. I had an unexpected guest I had to deal with.”
“How’s that going, by the way?” Fox asks. “Is your sister”—he holds his hands up when Hutch glares at him—“stepsister settling in okay?”
My ears perk up at the mention of Nessa, but I try hard as hell to look as uninterested as possible, still pumping my legs on the bike. I’ve wanted to ask after her every single day since the party, but that would be incredibly suspicious. I shouldn’t care about his sister, yet I do.
“Van is… Well, she’s Van. She got a job, so I guess that’s something. At least she’s not sulking around the house as much.”
“She just got divorced like, what, six months ago? Think she’s allowed to sulk a bit, eh?”
Hutch is taken aback by my words, and I don’t blame him. I shouldn’t have said anything. It shouldn’t matter to me what Nessa does or doesn’t do. I guess I still can’t help myself when it comes to sticking up for her.
He surprises me by nodding. “That’s fair. Shit.” He drops his weights on the rack, his hands going to his hips. “I need to stop being such a dick. Auden keeps telling me so, but it’s just… Fuck, I don’t know. Vanessa and I have never really seen eye to eye, you know? I know a lot of that might have been because she was just a teenager when our parents got together, so she was bratty as hell, but still. We’re just two different people. Having her around… It’s hard. And I’m nesting. Fuck, I’m nesting. I want everything to be perfect for this kid. Ithasto be perfect. I can’t be expected to be away for half the season and not have my shit together. I’m not leaving that burden to Auden. She already has enough on her plate. So much. Carrying a damn baby. She’s afucking warrior. You have no idea. She’s up peeing at all hours of the night, uncomfortable as hell because she can’t breathe or because the baby is moving too much, and then she just smiles through the day like it’s nothing. She’s still putting makeup on every day. Makeup! Like I give a shit if she wears it or not. She’s so damn beautiful anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m just…” He finally gulps in a big breath. “I’m scared. Shitless. I am fucking scared shitless. What the hell am I doing?”
He looks around the room, eyes wide with fear, and I wonder if it’s the first time he’s expressed all this out loud because it sure as hell looks like it is. The rest of us exchange glances. That speech took a turn none of us were prepared for, not even Hutch.
“Are, uh, are you okay, Hutchinson?” Lawson asks softly, and it’s probably the calmest I’ve seen him in a long damn time. It shows how serious this is.
“I…I don’t know.”
Hutch’s voice is scratchy and full of panic, and it’s all it takes for us to pounce on him. We gather around for an awkward group hug, minus Keller, who stands on the sidelines, arms crossed, lips pulled into his perpetual frown.
“Fuck,” he mutters once we let him go, scrubbing his hands over his face. He sniffles, blinking away the tears we’re all pretending aren’t there. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unload on you guys. I’m supposed to be the captain, the leader of this team, and here I am unable to keep my shit together.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Fox says, giving him another pat. “We’re here for you. Whatever you need. You know that.”
“Yeah, what kind of club would we be if we weren’t? Serpents Singles forever,” Lawson tells him with a grin.
“We aren’t a club,” Keller complains. “And if we were, we wouldn’t be a singles club. All you assholes are in relationships.It’s just me and Locke now. We’re the only two who took this shit seriously, apparently.” He juts his chin out toward me.
“The fact that we’re a club is still clearly up for debate, but what’s not is the fact that we’re still boys.”
Everyone groans at that.
“What?” Lawson says. “What’d I say?”
“We aren’tboys. That just sounds so…juvenile.” Hayes shakes his head. “Let’s just say we’re friends, yeah? And when friends are having a hard time, we do something about it. So, I propose we take our asses down to Top Shelf and have a drink to celebrate the start of the season and the beautiful baby your fiancée is about to birth, and we just let everything else fall to the wayside for now. What do you say, Hutchy?”
