“No, no. Am looking for Micah.”
Ben looked surprised, then maybe a little guilty. “Oh. He hasn’t been around since he left practice. He was having a rough day, so I sent his ass home early.”
I grimaced. It was never nice when your coach tossed you off the ice and told you to get your shit together. It didn’t happen to me often, but the humiliation followed me every time it did.
“You think he would go home?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Ben’s frown deepened. “He didn’t say. Are you worried?”
I hated that I was, but I didn’t want to tell him that. I didn’t need people looking at Micah any closer than they already were. He’d never forgive me if I disrupted what little peace he’d managed to scrape together.
“Actually, I just saw him,” came a voice to the left. I turned and saw a man I didn’t know yet, but I recognized him from somewhere. He was very tall, light brown hair swept to the side, and he walked the way men who grew up with money always walked. A slight swagger, like they expected the seas to part for them. But his face looked kind, and that put me more at ease.
“Journey,” Ben said, “you know Vanya, right?”
Journey stuck his hand out to me, and I shook it. “We’ve never met, but I know who you are. Impressive stats, my man.”
His handshake was firm but polite. “Thank you. I don’t know you.”
He burst into laughter like I was telling some big joke. “Right. Ah…you’ll probably be seeing a lot more of me soon.”
There was something in his tone that told me I needed to be very aware of this man. I just didn’t know why yet, and really, I didn’t want to get into it now. I had things to do—a big misunderstanding to fix.
“Is nice to meet you. You say you just saw Micah?”
Journey gave me a slow up-and-down look. “Yeah. You’re not gonna pick a fight with him, are you? Because he seemed like he was already dealing with something.”
“No. Never fight off ice unless someone needing punching. But I try to avoid. Talk it out over beer or vodka. Maybe some really good apple juice.”
Journey’s face brightened with his grin. He slid up next to Ben and squeezed his shoulders. “You didn’t tell me he was funny.”
My eyes widened. “What? I’m so funny guy!”
Journey snorted. “I see why everyone loves you, Maximov. And the last I saw Micah was in the training room. He didn’t seem like he was in the best mood though, so?—”
“Is okay. I can fix.” I turned to run off, but Journey caught me by my elbow.
“Be careful there. Micah’s…”
“No.” I didn’t mean to sound furious, but in that moment, I was. And I could tell from the surprised look on Ben’s face that neither of them was expecting that from me.
“Sorry?” Journey asked, drawing his hand away.
“If you going to tell me that Micah will hurt me, that he make bad choices, that he’s going around sleeping with everyone, don’t bother. All of you don’t know him. He is sensitive. And delicate. And it’s not about sex. Everyonealwaysmaking it aboutsex.” I stopped before I could say something I’d regret.
And this time, when I turned and stormed off, neither of them tried to stop me.
It took me a few minutes to find the training room, and when I did, it was empty, and the lights were off. I stuck my head into the locker room, but the only ones left in there were the ghosts.
The ice was empty too, and I couldn’t think of anywhere else Micah might have gone, so I made my way back out to the parking lot doors and froze the moment I opened them.
He was there, standing at the curb with his cane in one hand and his phone in the other. He was swaying gently from side to side, head moving in a gentle rocking motion. I’d seen him do that before.
He was always calmer when he could move his body like that.
I sucked in a breath to call out for him when a very large SUV pulled up to the curb and rolled to a stop a couple of hundred feet away from him.
“Fucking Uber,” Micah snarled to himself. “Their bullshit app is always fucking glitching.”
