“Any recommendations?”
Matt scoots his chair closer, ostensibly so they can both look at the menu, but all Nick can focus on is the way their thighs press together beneath the small table. Heat flickers down his spine, and he leans in as much as he dares in public. “Literally everything on the menu is amazing. You can’t really go wrong.”
“Wow, high praise,” Matt remarks, sneaking his foot between Nick’s, their ankles crossing as he ever so slightly hooks them together with a wink. “Anyway, how have you been? Six games since I last saw you, and all of them winners. Could give a guy an ego, y’know.”
Nick rolls his eyes, cheeks growing pink. “We’re having a good run.”
“I’ll say. Almost made Joel cry the other day, beating Pittsburgh. Casey’s hoping I’ll do something to sabotage you fortomorrow.” Matt’s wolfish grin suggests exactly what kind of thing that would be, and Nick’s face heats further.
“I thought all of you were Dragons fans now?” he says instead, pouting.
“Oh, babe, we are, but there’s still some hometown pride left in ’em and you’ve gotta respect that.”
“That’s fair, I guess.” Nick was always more of a New York fan despite growing up in New Jersey, and he still feels a little guilty every time he beats them. Mostly because Amy makes sure of it.
He looks up when a waitress approaches, beaming at the familiar face. “Hey, Cindy!”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Tiernan,” she says brightly, surprised gaze landing on Matt. “Now, this isn’t one of your teammates, unless there’s been a trade I don’t know about.”
“Ha! No, this is my buddy Matt.” Nick can be normal about this, see?
“Nick’s been talking up the food here,” Matt says, “so I figured he’d better put his money where his mouth is.”
Cindy laughs, tucking a bleach-blonde curl behind her ear. She’s been waitressing here for as long as Nick’s known the place—she’s about his mom’s age, maybe a little older, and all her kids have grown up and moved away, wanting to raise their own families in quieter cities.
“He’s a boy with a lot of pretty words about a lot of things,” is all she says, and Nick presses a hand to his heart, mock-wounded.
“C’mon, Cindy, you know I’d never lie about that. Can I get my usual?”
“You sure can, sweetie. You want the pumpkin spice too?”
“You know I do.”
Beside him, Matt laughs. “Ofcourseyou’re a PSL guy.”
“Sometimes things are popular because they’regood, y’know,” Nick responds primly. Cindy giggles, and he shakes his head at her. “Honestly, I get no respect around here.”
“You want respect, go back to your ice rink,” she jokes. Taking Matt’s order with a fond smile, she pats Nick on the shoulder as she walks away, promising to be back with their drinks shortly.
When she’s out of earshot, Matt pins him with a look. “Been here before, huh?”
“Oh, y’know, once or twice a week since I moved here,” he says with a shrug. “It’s a great place. And the fans haven’t found it yet.”
“I’m not surprised.Iwouldn’t have found it if you hadn’t given me directions.”
That does help, that it’s tucked away off the main strip between two much flashier buildings.
“It’s cute that you get on so well with the waitress, though. Not a lot of people on your kinda paycheck have the time for that these days.” Matt’s brown eyes soften, and Nick stares at him for possibly a beat too long. Hereallywishes he could hold his hand, but as safe as this place usually is for him, he thinks that’s pushing it.
Besides, holding hands isn’tcasual.
“My mom waitressed at, like, three different places to afford my hockey gear when I was a kid,” he admits, running a hand through his hair just so he doesn’t try and grab for Matt’s. “I used to sit and do my homework in a back booth after practice while I waited for her to finish, and—God, some people are assholes to service staff, y’know?”
“Oh, I was a barista all through college, I’m well aware.” Matt smiles. “That’s really great of your mom to do that for you, though. She must love you a lot.”
Nick swallows thickly, the back of his neck prickling. “I—She does. She was great,” he says slowly. “Did everything she could to give me and my sister the opportunities we wanted. But, I mean, by the time I was sixteen I was living away full-time for hockey, and Amy—my sister—was having a tough time at school… Mom only really had the energy to focus on one of us. And I was doing fine.” Until he wasn’t, but by that point the distance had done its damage, and the idea of reaching out just felt impossible.
As an adult, Nick loves his mom to the ends of the earth, but they don’t really understand each other these days. He doesn’t call as much as he should; she’s always busy when he’s playing on the east coast; it’s just one thing after another. She still loves him, he doesn’t doubt that, but she doesn’t know him anymore, and he hasn’t really tried to let her.
