Page 129 of Playing Her Game

Aleks smacks him. “What the fuck.”

“That isn't what it is.” Well, not all of it is.

“No,” he agrees. “It isn't.”

I wait.

He glances at Aleks, then back at the road. “When Rez showed up at the hospital, that was it for him.”

“You need anything, send me a message,” Aleks mocks what Daniil said that night.

“Don’t be a prick.”

“We've known him a long time. Fight on the ice, seen him after games, after losses, after wins. We know what he looks like when something matters to him.” Lenzin pauses. “And when he showed up in the parking lot demanding to go to the hospital for you, it was obvious he was done for.”

Aleks nods. “We just thought you had better sense.”

“Oh, shut up.” I look between them. “He was worried about me.”

“Of course he was,” Aleks says. “But it wasn't just that.”

“He barely knew me.”

“That's what made it obvious,” Lenzin says.

I hadn't realized they had seen so much in it.

“So, you knew before I did,” I say.

Aleks considers that. “We knew he was in trouble before he did.”

Lenzin laughs. “He was finished the second he decided you were worth showing up for.”

“That's a terrible thing to say about your friend.”

“We never said he was our friend.” Aleks huffs.

“He will be now,” I state.

He looks at Lenzin. “She can’t make us be friends with him, right?”

Lenzin sighs, “She can.”

I shake my head, but I can't quite stop smiling.

“I wanted you to know because I don't want this to be some passing thing. I'm not confused about what I feel. I love him, and I want to tell him. I just…” I pause, searching for the right words. “I wanted to tell you first. You’re both important to me.”

The teasing disappears completely this time.

Aleks turns enough to meet my eyes. “Then we're glad you told us.”

“You happy?” Lenzin asks.

My stomach flips. “Very.”

Then Aleks speaks again. “Does he know you're coming?”

“No.”