Jamie suddenly looks deeply interested in a light fixture overhead.
Coward.
My face turns warm. Not a little warm. A lot warm.
Jillie looks around the group.
"What's the other twenty percent?"
No one answers.
"Is it snacks?"
Toby snaps his fingers. "Definitely snacks."
Liam nods. "And complaining about our power play."
"Mostly snacks," Toby says.
Colby opens his eyes slowly.
"I regret inviting all of you into this conversation."
Liam leans closer to me and lowers his voice just enough to make it worse.
"He doesn't."
Colby gives him a look that would probably terrify a defenseman.
Liam only smiles.
Secret softie, I think suddenly.
Not because he's subtle. He absolutely isn't. But because beneath the teasing, there is something protective in the way he watches Colby.
They are not making fun of him because they don't care.
They are making fun of him because they do.
That matters, more than I expect.
The tour begins after that.
Jillie gets to sit on the bench.
Jillie gets to touch a stick taller than she is.
Jillie gets to wear an oversized helmet that slides down over her eyebrows until only her mouth is visible.
Toby declares it perfect.
Jamie adjusts it so she can see.
Liam takes a photo and promises not to post it without permission, which immediately earns my respect.
Colby stays close through all of it.
Not hovering, not performing, just present.
