Page 49 of The Call-Up
“And you also have Gavin Marshal on your team. I’d have better luck with a freight train than trying to move a puck behind your net when he’s around.”
“Was there a point to this phone call?” I ask. Ryan and I don’t get much alone time together and for fuck’s sake, I had to sneak out of Fort Foley to even get an hour’s worth.
“Damn, little brother,” Ander says. “Can’t I catch up with my former teammate?”
“Then what did you call me for?” I look at Ryan. He quickly looks over his shoulder at me and I roll my eyes. “If you want to talk to Ryan, just call him. It’s not like you don’t have his phone number.”
“Ryan,” Ander says. “Why’s my brother so wound up?”
Ryan looks me up and down and smirks. “No idea.”He looks back towards the road.
“Calm him down, would you?”
“I’m working on it.” Ryan laughs.
“This kind of energy can’t be good for his game.”
“I’m doing just fine,” I grumble. “Now what do you want?”
“Right,” Ander says. “So the league is making a pretty big deal about us defending the Stanley Cup, and we’re getting a lot of press around here.”
“Okay,” I say slowly. “And this involves me, how?”
“Don’t play dumb; I know you’ve seen some of it,” Ander says. “Everyone is really hoping for our teams to play each other.”
“We haven’t even made it out of the first round yet,” I say. “The finals are a bit of a reach, and I’m not thinking about that yet.”Which is a lie. All of it. I know what fans want. I know what my team wants. I know what I want. I want that damn cup, even if I have to claw through my brother to get it.
“It’s not that big of a reach,” Ryan says.
“That’s the spirit, Ryan!” Ander says. “I’m so glad you two are hanging out. Brandon, listen to Ryan. He knows what it takes to win.”
He actually doesn’t, I want to argue, seeing as how the Mules haven’t won the Stanley Cup, let alone even made it to the playoffs until this season. But whatever, I’m most certainly not going to say that out loud.
“And we will win,” Ryan says, a bit of challenge in his voice.
“The hell you will!” Ander laughs. “Anyway. Keep up the hot streak, boys. Gavin and I don’t want to have to wait until next season to welcome my little brother into the league.”
“I don’t think body checking me into oblivion counts as a welcome package,” I say.
Ryan reaches over and gives the back of my neck a gentle squeeze. His fingers massage into my hair at the nape of my neck. “It’s a rite of passage.”
“You’ll survive,” Ander says.
“Great.” I melt into Ryan’s touch. “I feel so reassured.”
Our phone call ends right as Ryan pulls into his parking spot for his building.
“I can hear your gears running,” Ryan says as he shuts off his car.
“They’re not running.” They are. Suddenly I’m feeling all the pressure. Even more than I was already feeling.
“Come on.” Ryan reaches and ruffles my hair. I close my eyes as his fingers run across my scalp. “Let’s get upstairs and I’ll make you forget about the playoffs for an hour.”
Ryan
Sated and coming down rapidly, I roll over to reach my arm across Brandon’s body and hook my leg around his. With my head resting on his chest, I can feel its rise and fall, and hear his heart beating strong under my ear.
“Fuck, that felt good,” he says, his voice heavy and rumbling through his chest.
