Page 57 of Face Off

“Well, I didn’t realize that this was supposed to be a date thing, so do you mind being mine?”

“Your date?” I clarified. I’d asked Chloe if it would be awkward if I showed up alone, but she assured me most people came in groups, so I would have the whole Pride to hang out with.

He grinned, and I melted inside. “Yeah.”

“Sure.” By sheer magic my voice didn’t crack. Spending the night with him sounded a whole lot better than drifting around like a third wheel.

“Are you hungry? I haven’t eaten, and I’m starving.” He took my hand and led the way through the crowd before I could respond. I stayed close to him, accidentally pressing against him a few times, but it was necessary in order to not get separated through the packed area.

Once we got to the food area, the crowd thinned out since there were designated lanes to get people to spread out. We each took a box, and he managed to find a mostly empty table for us.

I sat with a sigh. “I had no idea it would be this big.”

“Every year is a little different. I think this one has more people than last year though. Chloe said something about making it more accessible, so they lowered the ticket prices and allowed more people in.”

I opened my container and breathed in the burger and fries. It was divine. Mikey already has his burger to his mouth, so I didn’t give it a second thought before diving into mine.

What a blessing. Sadie was getting pizza at Sydney’s house, so we only had to make it one more day until I got paid. How we managed for the past week was a miracle. I honestly didn’t know how I stretched out our food, but we did it. I did it. I wouldn’t have to ask for help or admit I couldn’t do this on my own.

“Did you meet Joey?” he asked a few bites later.

“Yeah, he seems great.”

He nodded. “I saw him at Mitch’s boxing gym, but he didn’t say anything. I wish he would have introduced us sooner.”

“He wasn’t ready.” I shrugged.

“I know. I just wish he would’ve known sooner that we’d all support him. I hate thinking that he had to hide such a big part of himself for so long.”

“I guess we all hide pieces of ourselves.”

His eyes flashed with something. “They told you?”

His reaction confused me, and I lowered my burger.

“They said they would keep it between us.” He ran his hand through his hair, messing up the careful styling. “I don’t even know what’s going to happen at this point. It’s all a waiting game.”

I held up my hand to stop him. “Mikey, I don’t know what you’re talking about. No one told me anything. I just meant that in general. I mean, we all have things we don’t tell people, right?”

He dropped his elbows on the table and hunched over. “Right.”

I watched as he composed himself and straightened. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak out. Something happened during the game, and I don’t want it getting out.”

“Okay.” I didn’t know what else to say. So far, he’d opened up to me on his own. I figured if he wanted to talk about it, he would.”

He finally spoke. “I don’t think I’m going to be playing hockey next season.”

“Did you have another meeting?” I guessed. “What did they say?”

He glanced around again. “No, nothing’s really changed on that front, but during the game, I twisted my ankle.”

I reached out and took his hand, not thinking about it until our skin was touching. It felt as natural and instinctive as when I touched Mitch, but different. Charged.

“Madi and Amelia checked me out, and I didn’t fracture it or anything, but my injury from last season didn’t heal properly. Madi wants me to have surgery as soon as possible, but I told her I want to finish out this season.”

“Mikey.” I didn’t know what to say to make this better. I knew how much his career meant to him. It was his identity. His whole world.

“I think last night was my body telling me to slow down.” He sighed. “I’m not ready to think about retirement. I know it might be stupid, but the only way I can get through this is if I only think about one day or one game at a time. If I go beyond that, I get overwhelmed.”