Page 55 of Crease Collision

“You would enjoy it more than you think.”

He huffs out a quiet laugh. “I’ll take your word for it.”

The silence becomes more relaxed as we eat. After we finish, Kai offers me a small smile. “Can we have the talk we should’ve had last week?”

A little alcohol might soften the blow I’m afraid is coming, but I only ordered water. I take a deep breath and hold out a hand, telling him to go on.

“I was shocked to see you in the Fury’s goal,” he says. “But you already know that. I’ve been wondering why you didn’t tell me, and… well, why I didn’t tell you about me.”

“Right.” My voice is shaky. “I was going to, but⁠—”

“I was too. Then I got confused and scared, and when Jace’s dad died, I⁠—”

“He died? I am sorry to hear it.” My stomach sours because I have wondered if Kai actually left town at all.

“They hadn’t been close for a while,” he says, “but they loved each other.”

I take a sip of water. “I had hoped to talk to you while I was at training camp.”

“Which is when I was at ours,” he says. “Something else you already know. I didn’t want to text about it. I thought about calling, but I was afraid you wouldn’t want to talk.” He swallows, then goes on. “We hadn’t spoken for a while by then, and I was afraid you wouldn’t want to hear from me.”

“A stupid fear, if I may be frank. I will always want to hear from you. When you left and didn’t tell me why, it hurt me. Your texts were… guarded. I thought you were giving me off the brush.”

The first part of a laugh bursts out of him, but he catches it like the goalie he is.

“You can laugh,” I say. “I got that wrong?”

“I won’t make fun of you for trying to use an idiom.”

“Why not? You should hear all the shit my new teammates give me about my English. They are kidding around, and I laugh too, but it is good to be back with my proper tutor. What should I have said?”

He laughs again, this time for real. “Two options. Either ‘brushing me off’ or ‘giving me the brush-off.’ I think most Americans would say it the first way.”

“Thank you.” I imitate my teammates. “I thought you were brushing me off, big daddy.”

This time, his laugh is very loud. “You need to watch what you pick up from your teammates. ‘Big daddy’ is so last decade. But if you’re going to say it, I’m not your big daddy. That would be you. To me.” His cheeks turn red, and it takes me a minute to understand why.

I raise an eyebrow. “Do you want me to be your big daddy?”

The color spreads from his face to his throat. “Your English is sounding a little more natural. It’s good to have a lot of coaches.”

“That’s it. They can be my coaches. You are my tutor.”

“Fair. Want to take a walk now?”

“Let’s go.”

Outside, he asks, “By the river?”

“Yes.”

He leads us through the wind until we come to a walkway. “This is called the esplanade,” he says, then points at the pier in front of us. “That’s Pier 57. We should come back sometime.”

I only smile.

Walking by the water reminds me of being in Stockholm.

“I love the autumn,” I say. “The air is crisp, and I like wearing jackets and sweaters.”