Page 33 of Slew Foot (Scoring Chances #3)

“Guys,” Coach Rasmussen tiredly said after they were back in the locker room. He stared around the unusually quiet space. “That wasn’t the kind of game we needed right now.”

Rafe winced. He was right. Especially since the plague that had swept through the team had taken a number on the team’s win/loss record. They hadn’t been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but it wouldn’t take long if they didn’t start to turn it around.

Post-game media was awful too.

Reporters kept asking Rafe why he’d come out onto the ice, and he’d kept repeating the same bland answer Tyson had told him to say. Finally, Tyson put an end to those questions, and they moved on to asking Connor about the team’s losing streak.

He looked royally unhappy at the moment, and his Boston accent was particularly thick as he growled his answers at the reporters.

Rafe was grateful when he could finally run away to shower the sweat off and loosen his tight shoulders.

After Rafe had showered and dressed in his suit, he walked into the hallway and was surprised to see Zach waiting there for him.

“Uh, hey,” Rafe said, frowning. “What are you doing here?”

“We had plans to grab a bite to eat?” Zach said, looking confused. “You invited me?”

Rafe sighed. “Right. Uhh …”

“You forgot.”

Rafe grimaced. “Yeah. Sorry, man …”

“No, it’s fine. I get you’re probably worried about your …” He trailed off awkwardly. “Boyfriend? I thought you weren’t going to date a teammate again, but?—”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Rafe said automatically.

“Uhh, sure. You keep telling yourself that.” Zach scoffed, then patted Rafe’s arm. “Well, go check on your teammate or whatever then. I hope he’s okay. For what it’s worth, I don’t think Logan did it on purpose.”

“Yeah, right,” Rafe scoffed because that was some bullshit right there. “I saw him hook his ankle on Mickey’s.”

“No, man, I think they got tangled up. You’ll have to see the replay but when they showed it on the Jumbotron you can see he lost his balance, and his foot shot out to compensate.”

“Sure,” Rafe said doubtfully. “And we’re just ignoring the shove?”

“Again, I think he was trying to regain his balance.”

Rafe made a face.

But Zach kept pressing. “No, I mean it. I know you were pissed at him after the breakup and everything?—”

“He started dating someone without actually telling me our relationship was over,” Rafe said flatly. “Yeah, I was fucking pissed.”

“I think maybe you should talk to him. Give him a chance to apologize or whatever.”

“Since when are you Logan Walker’s biggest fan?” Rafe spat. A thought hit him, and he stared at his friend. “Wait, are you two …”

But Zach laughed. “Uhh, no , dude. If you’d gone out with me to dinner, I was going to tell you I proposed to Karina last week and she said yes. I’m not fucking dating your ex.”

“Oh.” Rafe blinked. “Shit. Sorry. I’m happy for you about the engagement.”

He leaned in to hug his friend, feeling a little guilty he’d leaped to conclusions.

“Thanks,” Zach said, smiling now. “We’re excited. You’ll get an invite, of course. It’ll be this summer. August, probably.”

“Wow, that’s pretty soon,” Rafe said, surprised.

“Yeah, well.” He shrugged. “I love her like crazy, so I don’t wanna wait. She’s great about working around my schedule, so we figured we’d better do it before the season starts. Plus, she’s pregnant.”

He said the last part more quietly, but Rafe beamed. “Oh, dude , I’m so happy for you guys. That’s awesome. Tell her I said congrats.”

“I will.”

They hugged again, although Rafe was already mentally running through ideas of what to knit for the little one. Hat and booties? Blanket? Ohh, maybe he could try doing a little stuffed animal. He’d seen some great patterns for little bears.

When Rafe pulled back, he frowned at Zach. “I am sorry I’m ditching you tonight, man.”

“It’s okay,” Zach said with a lopsided smile and shrug. “I get it. If it was Karina who was hurt, I’d do the same.”

Rafe nodded, the protest he wasn’t dating Mickey dying on his tongue. Honestly, at this point it felt like he’d be saying words for the sake of saying them.

They didn’t even feel true anymore.

Did it even matter , really?

Like, Rafe could keep telling himself and Mickey and everyone else that he and Mickey weren’t dating but did it change anything? Rafe still felt all of the same things. And maybe it would be even worse if he and Mickey were officially together but maybe it wouldn’t be.

Rafe didn’t know anymore. Honestly, he didn’t feel like he knew anything , anymore. Everything was a big ol’ confusing question mark in his head.

Rafe said goodbye to Zach, and he was still thinking about all that when he went to find Mickey.

Unfortunately, he crossed paths with Coach Rasmussen in the hallway.

He was staring down at his phone as he walked, typing something on it, and Rafe debated if he could get away with sneaking by his coach.

Probably not. And it definitely wouldn’t be worth it if he got caught.

“Uhh, did you want to talk to me about something?” Rafe blurted out.

Rasmussen looked up and blinked. “Uhh, yes. But maybe not tonight.”

“Why?” Rafe asked with a frown. Not that he wanted to get lectured, but he might as well get it over with. But what if …

He blurted out, “Is—is Mickey … is he not okay or something?”

Rasmussen’s face softened. “He’s okay. I was back there with him and Bradley a few minutes ago. I was going to ask if we could talk tomorrow after practice though, actually. I’m meeting up with a former teammate for dinner tonight and …”

“Oh,” Rafe said. It took him a moment to remember Bradley was Dr. Pope’s first name. “Yeah, okay.”

“You should go check on your … teammate though,” Rasmussen said.

Rafe opened his mouth to protest he and Mickey weren’t dating when he realized what his coach had actually said. “Uhh yeah, I will. Have a good night.”

“Good night, Moon.” He made a funny face. “That sounds odd, doesn’t it? I used to read the book to Leif when he was small.”

Rafe shrugged because he’d heard people say that for his whole life, practically. And yes, he’d read the book as a kid, but no, it wasn’t his favorite.

He had much more important things to worry about than some old children’s story anyway. He needed to check on Mickey.

He needed to see with his own eyes that he was okay.