Page 40 of Slew Foot (Scoring Chances #3)

“So, like, you guys aren’t planning to move out of the apartment, are you?” Tanner asked when they were in the elevator on the way to the lobby.

“No,” Mickey said, confused. “Why would we?”

Tanner shrugged. “I dunno. Just wondering.”

Mickey glanced over at Rafe. “I think we might share a bedroom most nights but …”

Rafe nodded eagerly.

“Cool. Maybe we could do something fun with Rafe’s old room,” Tanner suggested.

“Like what?” Rafe asked.

“I dunno. A cool gaming setup?”

“Do you have the money for that?” Mickey asked drily because yeah, he and Rafe were paying for rent and utilities, but the apartment was very out of Tanner’s budget, and he seemed to buy items on a whim.

There were always things scattered around the apartment that he bought and then never used, and Mickey often had to flatten the boxes and take them to the trash room for recycling.

“Oh, true.” Tanner looked crestfallen for a moment before he brightened. “I got a wad of cash from the bet though!”

Mickey wondered if Tanner had ever heard of a savings account or money management of any sort.

A few moments later, they arrived on the ground floor and Rafe stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby. Mickey was on his heels and when he stopped in his tracks halfway to the door, Mickey almost ran into him.

He glanced around Rafe to see Logan Walker standing by a cluster of chairs.

Mickey let go of his suitcase and stepped up beside and a little ahead of Rafe. “Why are you here, Walker?” Mickey asked coldly.

“ Dude ,” Logan said, looking right past him. “Holy shit. What happened to your neck, Rafe?”

Rafe laughed. “What do you think?” He looked at Mickey with a little smile.

Mickey reached out and took his hand.

“Oh.” Logan winced, stepping back a little. “Guess I should have figured you were together, what with the way your boy went after me last night.”

Mickey bristled at being called Rafe’s boy , but Rafe spoke before he could.

“Why are you even here , Logan?”

“I came to see if he was okay,” Logan said, gesturing at Mickey. “Look, I’m sorry for the slew foot. It wasn’t intentional. Honest, man. I got tripped up and …”

“I don’t need your apology,” Mickey said, his voice still icy. “But Rafe could use an apology for the way you treated him when you moved on without telling him.”

“Dude!” Logan protested. “I don’t know what part of, ‘I can’t do this anymore’ isn’t fucking clear, but?—”

“How about all of it?” Mickey snapped, stepping forward again, getting up in Logan’s face, a roaring sound filling his head. He couldn’t believe the nerve of this guy. “You could have fucking talked to him about it instead of giving him the cold shoulder.”

“Oh, you wanna talk about a cold shoulder?” Logan sputtered, stepping closer and glaring at Mickey. “How about the fact he wouldn’t have said goodbye to me at all when he left Minnesota? We were supposed to be friends above all else.”

“You hurt him,” Mickey snarled. “What did you expect? That he was going to?—”

But before Mickey could finish, someone grasped his arm and pulled him away, while someone else stepped between them, talking to Logan in a low voice that Mickey couldn’t hear over.

“Let me go.” Mickey tried to shrug the grip off, but his arm was bent awkwardly behind his back in a firm hold he couldn’t shake without hurting himself in the process.

He glanced around and belatedly realized it was Gavin Racine who stood in front of Logan and his twin brother, Thad, who’d grabbed him.

“C’mon,” Thad said, finally letting go of Mickey’s arm to grasp his shoulder and steer him across the lobby. “Let’s take this argument away from the public, Krause.”

Mickey’s skin heated, embarrassed he’d lost his temper. He hadn’t even thought about where they were or who could see them.

They followed Logan, held in a similar grip by Gavin, and ended up in a meeting room. Along with Rafe.

Rafe glanced over, his gaze worried, and Mickey took a deep breath to calm himself, then stepped closer to offer Rafe some reassurance.

A little of the roaring in Mickey’s head had cleared, enough he could hear their general manager firmly tell Logan, “I do not appreciate you showing up like this and making a scene like this, Walker. It was inappropriate and juvenile.”

“I wasn’t trying to make a scene,” Logan protested, still radiating frustration and tension. “Krause here is the one who got all combative. I wanted to apologize!”

“Do you apologize to every guy who you injure in a game?” Gavin asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well, no, but it isn’t that many anyway and besides ?—”

“Besides, you wanted to speak to your ex-boyfriend,” Gavin added, his tone very dry.

“I …” Logan’s shoulders slumped, and all of the fight seemed to go out of him. “Yeah, okay. I did feel bad about Mickey’s concussion though, I swear. Since I didn’t have his number, I tried texting Rafe to apologize. He never answered.”

“We were a little busy ,” Rafe said as Mickey argued, “I don’t have a concussion!”

Gavin gave him a stern look. “Your test results were inconclusive .”

Logan looked between them, clearly slightly confused. “Well, I felt bad about the accidental slew foot either way.”

“Accidental?” Mickey protested, bristling at the idea.

Thad stepped forward again, speaking in a low, calm tone. “Hey, let’s take this down a notch, guys. We’re not on the ice right now.”

Mickey gritted his teeth.

An exhausted look crossed Gavin’s face and he let out a big sigh.

“My brother is right. You all need to take some deep breaths. The bus to the airport will be leaving in five minutes. Rafe, Mickey, I expect you both on it. Thad and I will give you all a few minutes to talk but under no circumstances do I want any punches thrown. Do you hear me? There will be major disciplinary action if you do. Understood?”

“Understood,” Mickey said, and Rafe said the same.

Gavin looked at Logan. “You’re not my player, but believe me, I won’t hesitate to let Asa know about your behavior if it goes beyond this. You were the instigator showing up like this and it won’t look good for you if this escalates.”

“Got it,” Logan said, jaw clenched.

“Now, work this out in a civilized manner ,” he said, sweeping his gaze across them warningly before he stepped back and walked toward the exit.

Thad followed.

“Hey, thanks for the assist,” Gavin told his twin quietly as they stepped out into the lobby.

“Yeah well, you learn a thing or two about de-escalation in prison,” Thad said drily.

Gavin laughed but the door swung shut before Mickey could hear anything else.

He turned back to see Logan and Rafe looking at him. He felt like they were expecting him to lead this conversation but truthfully, he had no idea what to say.

“Look,” Logan eventually said with a sigh. “I meant what I said earlier. I’m sorry shit went down like that in the game last night and the slew foot wasn’t intentional. I’ll admit I was jealous, but I’d feel awful if you got seriously hurt.”

Rafe opened his mouth, like he was going to say something, but Logan held up a hand.

“Let me finish, please. Rafe, I’m fuckin’ sorry.

I guess I screwed up when we got in the argument last fall.

It just … it was super clear you were way more serious about like, settling down soon and all that.

You were talking about moving in together and taking turns going to see each other’s families in the summer and I wasn’t ready .

The argument kinda made it totally clear to me we weren’t on the same page about our relationship, you know? ”

“Oh,” Rafe whispered. He looked kinda stunned. “I—I didn’t get that at all. I thought we were figuring stuff out. You know, we had to like talk more. And once we’d cooled down we’d figure out a compromise.”

“Shit.” Logan looked genuinely upset. “I had no idea you thought that .”

Mickey got a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, wondering if Rafe was in fact still in love with Logan. What if … what if they worked this out? And then he realized he was acting like Tanner, leaping to conclusions without thinking logically.

The past twelve hours had been a whirlwind but that was no excuse. Rafe had said he loved him. He needed to trust it.

“I thought our fight was a good sign or something,” Rafe said to Logan with a sad little laugh. “Like we were being really mature by giving ourselves time to calm down before we talked more. But it went on for so long and you were giving me the cold shoulder at the rink?—”

“I was trying to give you space!” Logan protested.

But Rafe kept talking. “… and we were traveling with the team and life was crazy . And I knew it was bad but I—I had no idea you were done with me.”

“Ahh fuck,” Logan said, looking chagrined. “And then you showed up and found me with Kelsey.”

“Uhh, yeah,” Rafe said. “So that fucking sucked.”

“I didn’t mean to, like, hurt you or anything,” Logan said with a sigh. “I guess I should have talked to you more.”

“Yeah, you should’ve,” Rafe agreed.

“But you’re happy now?” Logan asked.

Rafe glanced over, smiling softly at Mickey before he took his hand. Mickey could suddenly breathe again. He’d been right. Rafe still loved him. How had he ever doubted it? Even for a second?

“Yeah, I really am happy,” Rafe said. “I love this team and Mickey and I … we’re happy together. We’re in love.”

Logan gave him a lopsided smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “That’s good. Sorry I got jealous and stuff. It was stupid and I shouldn’t have let it interfere with the game.”

Rafe looked confused. “But you’re dating Kelsey. Why would you be jealous of Mickey and me anyway?”

Logan shrugged. “Ahh no, that was kind of a short-term thing with her. I’m not—I’m not looking for anything serious right now.

I know it’s stupid I acted like that last night.

Maybe it was just weird seeing you with someone else for the first time.

And seeing you play for a different team.

And … and realizing I’d lost you as a friend. ”

“Oh,” Rafe whispered.

For a moment, they all stood there, awkwardly staring at one another as if they were unsure about what to do next.

Finally, Mickey held out a hand to Logan.

“No hard feelings,” he said, meaning it.

He and Logan had let their emotions cloud their better judgement, but it was over and done with and there was no reason to hold a grudge.

“If you say the slew foot was accidental, I believe you. And I’m fine.

Besides, it’s good you and Rafe had a chance to talk and clear the air. It all worked out in the end, right?”

“Yeah, for sure,” Logan said, looking relieved as he shook Mickey’s hand.

To give him credit, he didn’t try to grip too hard or out-muscle Mickey or anything.

After Logan dropped Mickey’s hand, he turned to look at Rafe. “And I’m sorry about the way things went down between us. I care about you a lot and I didn’t mean—I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Thanks,” Rafe said softly. “It helps to hear that.”

They stared at each other awkwardly for a few minutes before Rafe held out his arms. “C’mon, bring it in, dude.”

Logan laughed and hugged him, relief written all over his face. Logan left after they said their goodbyes, and Mickey turned to look at Rafe.

“Look, I’m sorry if I—if I got too jealous and acted like?—”

But Rafe stepped forward, bending his head to kiss him deeply. “You know,” he said, his cheeks turning a little ruddy after, “I’m not mad about it. It’s actually kinda … hot when you get all protective of me.”

Mickey reached up, curling his fingers around the back of Rafe’s neck and kissing him just as thoroughly. “You probably shouldn’t tell me that,” he whispered when he pulled away. “Or I might get myself in a lot of trouble.”

Rafe laughed, pressing their foreheads together for a moment.

“Should we go out there?” Rafe asked, looking a little apprehensive as he straightened.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Mickey admitted. He was not looking forward to the teasing he’d get from their teammates or the lecture he’d probably get from the coaching staff and head office. But there wasn’t much he could do about that now.

When Rafe and Mickey left the room, they found Gavin and Thad standing guard outside.

Gavin’s gaze flicked across them before he nodded and clapped them both on the shoulders. “Glad you got things worked out. Now, let’s get out of here.”

Cheers rose from the guys waiting in the lobby and Mickey groaned internally as he saw Jesse and Tanner saunter toward them, wheeling over the luggage Mickey had abandoned in the middle of the lobby when he got in an argument with his boyfriend’s ex. Ugh .

He hardly recognized himself anymore.

“So,” Jesse said with a grin as he handed over Mickey’s laptop bag. “It’s really nice not being the one causing all sorts of drama in the hockey world. Thanks for that, Mouse.”

Mickey groaned and took the bag and suitcase from Jesse. But as he followed the rest of their teammates toward the bus, he caught a glimpse of Rafe out of the corner of his eye and thought the tradeoff was definitely worth it.

Unsurprisingly, their teammates gave them shit the whole way to the airport.