Page 28

When the elevator doors open onto my floor, we walk to my door and I pause. “Then why are you here?”

He looks at me again with his furrowed brow. “If it was me, I would not want to be alone after game like that.”

Affection for him swells my chest. But knowing the little bit I do know about his time in the league before the Mules makes me wonder how many shitty games he spent recovering from alone. And here he is, standing in front of my door after a massive shutout win for his team, worrying about how hard I’m taking it.

I stick my key in the door and twist it open. “It’s funny,” I say. “I thought I did want to be alone tonight.” I bend down and open Shutzie’s crate to let him out. He immediately runs to us and starts jumping excitedly at our feet while I grab his leash off the hook.

Nikolai crouches down and lets Shutzie playfully nip at his hands. He looks up at me. “He has gotten bigger.”

Feeling settled for the first time tonight since Brandon scored the opening goal, I smile down at them. “He’s gained a whole two pounds since you last saw him.”

Nikolai picks him up and holds him close to his face, studying him. Shutzie licks his nose. He rises, holding him level for me so I can secure Shutzie’s leash to his collar. Then, he places him back on the ground and grabs the leash so I can shut and lock the door.

I don’t know what it is, but there is something very domestic about this moment. Which is ridiculous. We barely even know each other. And yet, I like it. With each step we take down the hall, each floor we pass on our ride down in the elevator, and each breath outside in the Buffalo cold, the less like a failure I feel.

But what good is that going to do? Tomorrow, Nikolai leaves for Columbus. And who knows when we’ll cross paths again? It’s great that I feel like we’re becoming friends. But he’s a friend who lives in a different city. A friend who plays for a different team. A friend that I have no business making at all. In any other universe, we’d be rivals.

We’re about a block away from my building when his phone rings. He hands me Shutzie’s leash and pulls it from his pocket.

“My agent,” he says. “Do you mind if I take this?”

“Not at all.” I shake my head.

“I will be quick,” he says, then slides to answer the call.

Nikolai

I’ve been waiting to hear back from Sofia for weeks now and of course she picks this moment to call. Annoyed with her timing, I bring the phone to my ear. “Yes, Sofia.”

“So formal,” she says. “I was expecting a much more enthusiastic greeting from the man who’s all over social media and every sports news outlet right now for that shutout performance tonight.”

Blindly, I turn the volume of my phone down. If she wants to talk about the game, that’s fine, but I don’t need Ander to overhear her. He’s very slowly coming out of his slump. I don’t need her to push him back into it where he’ll spend who knows how long wallowing before emerging again.

“It has been long day,” I say, as Shutzie starts barking at a squirrel running up a tree. “I am tired. Ready for bed.”

“Really?” she says. “Because it sounds like you’re outside. Are you out celebrating?”

“I am on walk.”

“In Buffalo? Why?” She sounds disgusted.

“Collect my thoughts,” I say, my annoyance flaring. “What do you want? Have you heard from management?”

“I did,” she says.

“And?”

“They lowballed us.”

“What do you mean lowballed? I told you, I do not care what the number is. It is term I am looking for.”

“You might not care about the number, but seeing as I’m someone who gets a percentage⁠—”

“Small percentage,” I say.

“Yes, small percentage,” she says. “But still a percentage. I have a vested interest in getting you as much money as possible.”

“But that is not for you to decide.” My heart starts beating faster. “What is the number?”