Page 77 of Hell or High Water
“You handled that well,” Aidan said.
Nate wasn’t sure if he was buttering him up for whatever new interrogation he’d thought up during the last quarter of practice or if he really meant it.
“Mean it,” Aidan added, nudging him with his shoulder. “It’s not easy to defuse a situation like that and have everyone be able to go back to practice like it didn’t happen, but you managed it.”
“That was mostly Coach Dell,” Nate said, but he felt the warmth of the compliment still. Aidan was kind of a pain in the ass, but he was also one of the best leaders he’d ever had the luck to play with.
“Not just him,” Aidan said firmly.
“Well, thanks.” Nate was still bracing for the other shoe to drop.
“About what we were talking about earlier . . .” Aidan looked over at him. “Iamhappy for you, if you’re happy about this. And I have to think you are, because I think everyone noticed that you weren’t exactly thrilled about how things had worked out between you two, before.”
“Yeah,” Nate said. There was so much he could say about it, but he didn’t know what heshouldsay. But in the end, when he boiled it down to just,are you happy about this?The answer, no hesitation at all, wasyes.
“And,” Aidan added, “that makes things a lot easier.”
Nate froze. “What do you mean?”
Aidan just shrugged. “Well, itdidmake things like tonight’s get together awkward, but it won’t be anymore, now that you’ll be coming together.”
Nate was still frozen. He wasn’t sure he’d moved—or breathed—in the last thirty seconds. “What?”
He’d known, of course, that this would be necessary. This thing with Ramsey was going to have to be more than telling people about them and practicing hand holding on his couch while they watched a hockey game. But he hadn’t really thought about what it would mean to have to pretend to be crazy about Ramsey in front of everyone.
Pretend. Yeah. About that.
It was difficult enough to remind himself that this was all a charade. Nevermind after he had to do everything he craved, deep down in a place he refused to acknowledge.
“Shit, did Levi not talk to you? He was supposed to.” Aidan had the nerve to look mildly annoyed before his expression bled right back into that now typical lovestruck awe that Nate knew the whole team was still trying to adjust to.
“He might have,” Nate said. He’d been preoccupied. “I haven’t checked the group chat.”
“Well, we’re having a thing at my place tonight. Video game tournament of sorts. Pizza. Snacks. That kinda thing.”
“You really are a real boy now,” Nate said.
Aidan smacked him on the arm. “Be nice.”
“That was me being nice.” And also distracting from his current internal meltdown. “And Ramsey’s going to be there?”
“He said he would be. I guess I just assumed you two would be coming together. Did he not mention it to you?”
Nate bit off the comment that he and Ramsey weredating,not attached at the hip, not likesome people on this team.
They were supposed to be leaning into this, not fighting against it.
“We’ve . . .uh . . .been a little busy,” Nate said.
Aidan flushed and shot Nate a knowing look. “I know how that is.”
Natehadn’tmeant it like that, like they couldn’t get out of bed and wandered around their lives like lovestruck, sex-drunk idiots. But he supposed if Aidan wanted to assume that, then he wasn’t going to correct him.
“Right.”
“So, tonight. Seven. Don’t get distracted and be late,” Aidan teasingly tossed over his shoulder as he headed into the locker room.
Well,shit.
