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“Everyone makes mistakes, Dylan. Some of them are just bad bounces. I can’t fix those. But some of them are avoidable, like bad decision-making. If I find enough of those ones and get rid of them…” He trailed off. Then maybe I get to stay another season. Maybe I get to keep my line, my minutes. Maybe the coaches will be more understanding and willing to work with me if I acknowledge the fuck-ups.

Except that some of the coaches and I disagree on which mistakes are the avoidable kind and don’t like when I defend myself.

None of these are things he wanted to say to Dylan. Or anyone, ever.

Dylan stepped forward and put his hand on the back of Henri’s head to pull him close so their foreheads bumped. “You played great, Hen. That goal was awesome. Everyone noticed you.” He kissed Henri’s nose before he pulled away. “Can I stay tonight?”

“Always.” Henri swallowed a lump in his throat as he watched Dylan take off his jacket and toss it across an armchair. “How was dinner?”

“Just drinks, not dinner. I went, met Yelena, and left.” He shrugged and sat heavily on the edge of the bed. “Wasn’t in the mood to hang out with a guy who’d tried to bruise every square inch of my body a couple hours ago.”

“Hmm. That isn’t normal?”

“That Alexei plays that rough? No. Competitive, sure, but he was looking to hurt. Probably payback for not having a real dinner with him yesterday or whatever.” He patted the spot next to him. Henri sat, and they stared at each other until Dylan’s lips quirked into a grin. “Hey.”

“Hey. We missed you tonight.”

Dylan flinched like he’d been struck. “I⁠—”

Henri kissed away the apology. “It’s okay. We understood. Novak and Knox were very captainly in your absence. Made us go to bed before midnight, like Cinderella.”

“Yeah? Good. Don’t want any pumpkins on the team. We’ve got playoffs coming up.” Dylan sighed, the kind of deep sigh that speaks to a bone-deep exhaustion. He pinched the bridge of his nose and then rubbed his eyes. “Hey, I know I owe you a reward for scoring⁠—”

“No, you don’t.”

“—but I’m, like, the opposite of horny. Raincheck?”

Henri answered by getting up and pulling at the blankets, making room for them to crawl under. Dylan’s shoulders sagged in relief. As careful as he’d been taking off his jacket, it looked like he would tear his shirt and slacks wiggling those off and abandoning them on the floor. He buried his nose in Henri’s hair and breathed in, one, two, ten deep breaths like a drowning man breaking the surface.

“Good night, Dylan.” He dug his fingers into Dylan’s hair and rubbed his scalp just like he had for Henri that morning. This isn’t just sex, he thought, but couldn’t say it aloud, in case he only comforted himself.

“Night, Hen.” A kiss to his neck. They fell asleep with the lights on, and again Henri slept a dreamless night.

abqturkeysnhl (January 25, 2024): The Turkeys best the Storm 6-2! Goals from Baptiste, Everett, Lynwood, Holloway, Duffy, and Keith. This is the 23rd time in franchise history that the team has had a 6-goal game and the second time that all six were different scorers

turkeytalk (January 25, 2024): The Turkeys’ win vs Chicago puts them at second Wildcard spot and only five points outside of an actual Central Division playoff spot. I know the Turkeys haven’t done much the past few years, but I’m just so excited to see this Everett Renaissance with Novak and Baptiste, Briggs is having a fantastic season… Dare I dream?

↪ gobblegoals: we’re all dreamers here, but it just gives them more power to break our hearts. it’s just they looked SO GOOD versus the Storm, who are doing SO WELL this season.

gobblegoals (January 26, 2024): can we also talk about how Sokolov and Everett seemed to be trying to murder each other? what are the chances that our first round is versus Chicago? i feel like both teams walk away with some broken bones if that happens…

↪ turkeytalk: Too early to say. I think there are some demons to exorcize from that Sokolov move, but I would rather it happen in the regular season like last night than in playoffs. Sokolov tried to assert himself, Everett put him in his place. Done. Back to regular hockey.

↪ gobblegoals: fingers crossed… we know Sokolov gets ornery sometimes, i doubt this is done. we don’t see the Storm again until late march. with a playoff spot on the line, could be a big one…

abqturkeysnhl (January 26, 2024): The Turkeys play the Mountaineers on Saturday and the Mustangs on Monday - two very important divisional games to help move up in the standings before the All-Star Break. Gobble gobble!

CHAPTER 54

Vanessa (January 2024)

Sorry I didn’t check in earlier

The trade deadline is always one of my busy times

I’m going to be swamped for the next month until it’s over

How was Chicago?