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“Both,” Grace and Haley say at the same time.

The miles roll by quickly with laughter layered over stories, each one more unhinged than the last. I find myself melting into the energy. These women have pulled me in without hesitation.

And I’m not sure I want to leave.

“Okay, Mandy,” Grace says, glancing at me in the rearview with a smirk. “Your turn.”

“For what?”

“Tell us what it’s really like dating Nate ‘Stone Wall’ Jones.”

“Oh yeah,” Haley grins wickedly. “We’ve seen the jawline. We’ve heard the chirps. But give us the behind-the-scenes.”

I blink. “Uh… intense yet surprisingly gentle.” I say, and immediately regret it when Haley lets out a gasp so dramatic she might need a fainting couch.

“Gentle?” she repeats, fanning herself with a gum wrapper. “Like… how gentle are we talking here? Baby lamb? Fluffy pancake? Connor holding a puppy?”

Grace’s laugh fills the car. “Okay, but now I need the scale. Because if we’re rating NHL players by emotional softness, Parker’s a nine out of ten, but only because Bessie exists. Is Nate up there?”

I sip my Diet Coke to buy time, stalling while my cheeks threaten to match the taillights ahead of us.

“He’s…” I start, then shrug. “He’s just different with me. Like, off the ice, he listens. He remembers things I said in passing three days ago. And he makes space for me, you know? Even when he doesn’t get it.”

There’s a pause. A soft one.

Then Haley murmurs, “Okay, that’s hot.”

Grace hums. “Really hot. Thoughtful Nate might be my new fantasy.”

“Please don’t fantasize about my boyfriend,” I deadpan, and they both burst out laughing.

“You sure?” Grace teases. “Just a little? I bet he’s the type to unhook your bra after asking how your day went.”

“He is,” I blurt, then slap a hand over my mouth as they shriek in tandem.

“MANDY,” Haley howls. “I KNEW IT. He’s one of those secretly soft alphas. Does he tie your shoes too? Tuck you in?”

“No,” I say, nose crinkling. “But he did make me oatmeal once and cut the bananas into perfect little coins.”

Grace mock-gasps. “Girl. That’s domestic foreplay. He’s already got you in the fake suburbs, wearing matching robes and arguing over throw pillow colors.”

“Oh my God, shut up,” I laugh, but I’m grinning so hard it hurts. Because… they’re not that far off.

Nate is intense. Focused. Sometimes too guarded for his own good. But with me? He’s that guy. The one who notices when my shoulders are tense or when I need silence instead of jokes. He’s never asked me to be anything other than myself.

And that’s what makes all this...the craziness, the late nights, the off-limits panic...worth it.

Haley reaches back and squeezes my knee. “We’re just giving you crap because we like you, you know.”

“I know,” I say softly.

Grace glances in the rearview again. “We also like to prepare our own. So if Allison ever gives you hell, just know we’ve got a group chat and a plan.”

“What plan?”

Haley grins. “Let’s just say if she pulls anything, we’ve got your back.”

Grace nods. “No glitter cannons. Just backup. Loud, loyal, and always on call.”