Page 53 of Edging Coach
Just making sure you weren’t?—
Don’t say it. Don’t ever say it.
Certain words just weren’t okay to be tossed around as far as I was concerned. Not in jest, that was for sure.
I’m laughing my ass off.
Just as I’d suspected.
I really do have to take off. You going to be okay? I can cancel.
Nope. Go. I love you.
Right back atcha.
I put the phone down. Mickey had never come out and said he loved me. I just sort of had always understood. One thing I’dlearned from Mom’s death was that tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed. I wanted Mickey to know that I loved him. That I’d miss him like fuck if something happened to him. That my life would be less worth living without him in it. So I told him I loved him.
He, in his own way, loved me back.
My phone buzzed.
Life’s too fucking short. If you want him…go for it. Hockey isn’t forever. Love is.
My heart seized even as a needle scratched across a record in my head.
Love?
I’d never told Mickey that I loved Jack. Like, at all. To the best of my recollection, I’d spent the entire discussion saying all the reasons why wecouldn’tbe together. Certainly nothing about how we could, should, or would.
My phone buzzed.
Where I expected to see Mickey’s name, though, I didn’t. I held my breath.
Jack
I need to see you. North stairwell.
First off? No. Second? How the fuck do you know which is the north stairwell? I mean, it’s not like you can actually see the sunrise in this godforsaken town. Fucking snow.
The stairwells are labeled on the map of the hotel. Haven’t you looked at yours?
I laughed. Incredulously.
Uh. No. Not to pass judgement.
Fuck off. I’m bored.
Are you kidding? The hotel television has, like, 500 stations. Including pay-per-view porn.
How do you know that?
You don’t get to be judgy.
You’re right.
Also Hairs. I left. Went to the gym until I worked myself into exhaustion. Didn’t help.
You weren’t interested?
