Talon knocks a fist against the wooden counter, eyes alight with excitement and realization. “Maybe playing hockey is like the twenty-first-century version of being a gladiator—horribly toxic culture, my back is fucked, Jay can barely stand, and we all saw Bohdan break his head open!”
Sloan tenses under my palm, but before I can say anything, Jay clutches the side of his head again. “No—seriously. Someone help me. Because that sort of made sense, too.”
Tia lays her hand on his arm, all feigned sympathy and understanding. “We really should get you inside.”
Sloan angles her head, blue eyes soft when they land on mine. She’s got this quiet smile, cheeks soft and pillowy, one freckle visible beyond the frame of her sunglasses.
I think the whole thing might be in Technicolor for her, too.
Her eyes find my mouth, and I still know everything there is to know about her, so I know she wants to kiss me.
I meet her half way.
Just a brush of my mouth against hers. Gentle. Nothing like last night—two people scraping for stolen, fleeting moments.
This kiss feels a bit like forever.
But it’s not forever, and for once, it’s not Talon interrupting us. It’s my phone ringing in my pocket.
Sloan pulls back, her smile shifting to this funny, little line of mischief, and she reaches into my pocket, fingers scraping against my upper thigh through the thinner material, and she pulls out my phone, triumphant, looking like she’s about to hang up on whoever it is when her eyes land on the screen.
She hands it to me wordlessly, blinking a bit too much and chewing on the inside of her cheek.
Shay.
“I’ll be right there. I’ve gotta take this.” I jerk my chin towards Talon, Jay, and Tia, where they wait with a guide just beyond the ticket counter.
I run my thumb over Sloan’s cheek, and she smiles before walking over to join them, a bit braver than I think she actually feels when this giant reminder of my failed career and the thing that drove us apart waits on the other side of the phone.
Shay wastes no time when I pick up.
“Have you been ignoring my calls?”
I close my eyes, pressing my fingers to my temple out of habit. “No. I told you, I didn’t buy the Wi-Fi package on the ship. Service has been in and out.”
“I understand you aren’t playing anymore, but for the love of God, Bohdan, if you tell me you squandered away millions and can’t afford a Wi-Fi package on a cruise ship—”
“Maybe I just didn’t want to talk to you,” I cut in.
“Maybe I don’t want to talk to you either, but we don’t always get what we want—evidently. Zane is on my ass, Bohdan. I need to know if you’re interested or not so I can start negotiating. Are you done soul-searching with Valdez and Choi?” Her tone takes a noticeable dip when she says Talon’s name. She never got over the fact that he absconded to Sweden.
“Two more days. And it’s not just Talon and Jay here. Tia’s here too ... with Sloan.” I’m not entirely sure why I tell her, but I hear the small intake of breath and her voice changes to understanding.
“Ah. I’d imagine you haven’t given it much thought, then?”
I haven’t, not really. The entire idea of it had seemed preposterous when AJ floated it to me. It was only a few weeks ago—but it feels like forever.
Shay waits.
I watch Sloan—standing far away but so much closer than she’s been since I got hurt. Palm flat against her chest, nodding along with something Tia says before her lips part in laughter, the whole thing reverberating the column of her throat and causing her shoulders to shake.
Mine again for two whole days.
The thought of saying yes—taking what arguably would be a good opportunity, and a chance to do something unique and different and maybe help someone the way I wish someone had helped me—makes me wish I was walking into the Colosseum to face all the bears and lions and predators of the Roman Empire.
It’s what I’d deserve if I said yes.
My inability to talk and be vulnerable cost me more than any hit to the ice ever did.
