Page 43 of Back in the Game (Pride in the Game #1)
“I made sure that I moved far enough back in the woods so I wouldn’t have to deal with people.”
“This fucking guy.” Ryan ruffled the top of Harrison’s head, nearly tugging his hair out of the bun he was wearing it in. “I would ask you where you found him, Jetty, but I guess we already know the answer.”
Harrison’s expression hinted he wasn’t entirely annoyed by Ryan’s touchiness, which was a definite improvement from that morning.
“You guys get washed up,” Jason said. “Me and the big guy will visit the physio folks. You can meet us there afterwards.”
Jett pretended to frown. “You don’t need a shower, Harrison?”
“Oh my fuck.” Ryan grabbed the back of Jett’s jersey and pulled him away. “Keep it in your pants, Loverboy. We’re drinking with the guys, so there’s no time to deal with your lustful ways.”
Harrison’s laughter followed him out of sight, and Jett couldn’t help but feel grateful he was there with him.
“Toast to the most badass guys on the Sunburst team,” said Arlo, holding up his glass of whiskey for them all to clink. “Just a couple of bros who are confident enough in their sexuality to make a stand against the homophobes.”
Jason clinked Arlo’s glass too hard, almost spilling his drink. “Fuck that idiot. I’d kiss a thousand guys in front of Rick to see his head explode again.”
Wolf said something in German, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Fucking goalies,” said Arlo, grinning as he finished his whiskey before banging his glass on the table. “You’re all crazy.”
“He sounds exactly like Killinger,” Ryan said, still holding his drink halfway to his mouth as he stared at Arlo. “This is weird. Do you think this is weird? Because I think this is weird.”
His question was directed at the captain of the Basilique team, who was slowly nursing his glass of whiskey while looking exhausted. The captain was a stunning man in his thirties, handsome and mysterious with black hair and dark eyes.
Jett kept getting distracted by the sliver of grey in his right eye that stood out against the brown. He was indigenous, not fully from what Jett had heard from interviews, but he had a darker skin tone and handsome features that suggested it was true.
Like on the ice, Leroux had a calm composure as he sat amongst the rowdy crowd of Sunburst players, not phased even when Wolf continued to smack his beer bottle on the table, talking in English and German until it was impossible to understand him.
The rest of the Basilique team had commandeered the pool tables, leaving Arlo and their captain to hang out alone with their new friends.
Team interaction wasn’t out of the norm, but Montreal and Toronto had never been close.
The guys on both teams seemed to be getting along well so far, and many of Arlo’s teammates kept stopping by to check in on him.
Just like the last time Jett had been around Arlo’s team, he felt like they were a great group of guys. They were obviously protective of their rookie, and whenever they pestered Arlo to get a rise out of him, it was clear they enjoyed their verbal lashings.
“It’s weird,” said Leroux in his French-accented English. “Have you two been DNA tested? Are you sure you’re cousins, not brothers?” His eyes narrowed as he stared at Harrison, like he was trying to see inside his head. “Even the scowl is the same? How does that work?”
“Genetics,” said Harrison. He was the only one not drinking, but he looked like he was enjoying himself. “And it didn’t help that I raised him during his most informative years.”
“Scowl or not, you’re both hot,” said Wolf with a disinterested shrug. “It’s fucking annoying.”
Arlo’s Killinger blue eyes were glued on Wolf, watching as he took another swig from his beer bottle. “Wolf is gay? Didn’t he have a girlfriend last season?”
“He’s German,” said Jason and Ryan together, like that explained everything.
“Never been with a guy. Don’t plan on it,” said Wolf, his gaze lingering on Arlo’s face. “But I mean…”
“Finish that sentence and die,” said Harrison gruffly. “Leave my cousin alone and find some poor girl to warm your bed, Wolf.”
“Agreed,” said Leroux. “Townsend has a hard enough time keeping his pants on. No need to tempt him.”
Harrison had just taken a sip of water when he inhaled at the wrong time, choking as he burst into a fit of coughing.
Jett clapped him on the back to help him up, then glanced at Arlo, silently asking for an explanation. Arlo grabbed his phone, wiggled it teasingly, and started typing furiously. Jett pulled out his own phone and opened the new message.
Arlo: Harrison thinks I’ve had like…1 boyfriend, and I’m basically a virgin.
Oh boy. Jett wasn’t going to get in between that. Arlo loved texting him after a hook-up to tell him about it in great detail, which happened often. They even had a dick-size tally started for the season that Arlo updated weekly, and Jett had added to it that morning just to fuck with him.
“Are you guys excited to play Ottawa next?” Arlo said, smoothly moving past the topic of sex before Harrison ended up dying. “Weren’t they the team that broke record goal points during your last game?”
Jason slammed his drink on the table. “That pink-haired bastard! He fucked up my crease!”
“Ten goals,” said Ryan, grinning behind his hand. “And yeah, Park is a beast. He pulled off a pure hat-trick, slammed Wolfy into the boards and then he beat the shit out of him when they got into a fight.”
“He got one good punch in,” said Wolf. “I didn’t kill him because I respected it.”
“He’s prettier than a girl.” Jason was fired up now, and three drinks into the night. They were never going to hear the end of it. “He looks like a K-Pop idol, not a damn hockey player.”
“Jason is in love,” Jett said, sniggering when Ryan and Jason glared at him.
“He was like, barely five feet tall and kept shit-talking me,” Jason said, sounding annoyed. “Said he liked how flexible goalies are… and that he liked his men angry.”
“He was working extra hard to get pucks past you while saying all this?” Arlo shrugged. “Sounds like he wanted to fuck you.”
“No way—really? How do you know?”
Harrison’s head fell into his hands, his shoulders heaving as he let out a deep sigh.
“Okay, fuck that guy.” Ryan grabbed his beer and stood, pulling Jason behind him. “Ottawa doesn’t stand a chance. We’re going to destroy them.”
No one said a word as the two men left to join their teammates in a game of pool.
“Jesus Christ,” said Wolf. “They need to come out of the closet before they wake up with their dicks in each others ass.”
Leroux tapped his fingers against the wooden tabletop. “I don’t think that’s physically possible.”
“No?” Wolf blinked. “Bah. How would I know? Never had to think of the logistics.”
Arlo grinned. “I can show you, if you want?”
Leroux reached without looking and grabbed Arlo’s ear, pinching it hard. Arlo yelped and yanked his ear away, rubbing it while glaring at his captain.
“Dude, what the fuck?”
Leroux ignored him. “Sorry, Killinger. I try to shut him up, but he just keeps talking. ”
Harrison still hadn’t moved his head from his hands, so he missed the look Wolf shot Arlo when he finished his beer and stood, heading for the bathroom.
Jett’s face was on fire. Wolf wouldn’t be the first straight guy Arlo pulled. He had weird pheromones or something.
Harrison finally looked up and levelled his gaze on Leroux. “The fact that you’re still trying is probably why you were named captain. That’s quality resilience.”
Leroux’s lips twitched into the faintest smile, and Jett sensed it wasn’t something that came easily to him.
“It was good catching up with you, cuz,” Arlo said, standing abruptly. “I’ll text you. Crush Ottawa and use protection tonight. I’m too young to be an uncle.” He quickly walked to the bathroom where Wolf had disappeared to—not that Harrison knew that.
“Did he just have a fucking stroke?” Jett asked Harrison. “That whole sentence was messed up.”
Leroux started rubbing the spot between his eyes slowly, like he was fighting back a migraine.
“That’ll never get better,” said Harrison, gesturing at the captain. “The pain becomes permanent after the third time.”
Leroux pushed his knuckles deeper into the spot. “Putain de merde.”
Harrison was nice enough to reach across the table and give the poor guy a reassuring pat on his arm.
Jett went back to his phone to text Arlo again.
Jett: If you update the tally tomorrow, I will keep texting you about my sex life until you puke.