Page 35 of Offensive Edge
Rowan sighed. He put his plate on the coffee table and sagged against the couch. “I don’t know.”
“He was not thrilled with you being there. Are you trying to show him he should be?”
“I don’t know what I’m trying to do. All I know is that I feel this magnetic pull toward him.”
“Which is how you ended up in San Jose.”
“Which is how I ended up in San Jose.” Rowan wasn’t confused about that anymore. He picked San Jose because they were a good team and he thought he could help them win, but by now he figured out that it was also because of Theo. Rowan had spent years thinking about Theo. The pathways Theo had worn into Rowan’s heart felt as fresh as though they had been in love yesterday. It killed him that Theo hated him.
“Does he know you chose California for him?”
“No, he doesn’t know,” Rowan said. “Maybe he does. I don’t know. Theo isn’t stupid.”
“I personally think both of you are stupid, so…”
Rowan grabbed a pillow from the other side of the couch and launched it at Felix.
“You are stupid. Last time I checked, you still hadn’t told Theo how you feel.”
“Well, up until recently, I was still under the impression that he hated my guts.”
“And now?”
“He emptied and cleaned out my puke garbage can more than once, without being asked.”
“There’s still something there, man,” Felix said. Rowan could feel it, too. Even when Theo didn’t seem like he wanted to be anywhere near Rowan, Rowan still wanted to be near him. And now it seemed like Theo didn’t mind sharing space with him that much.
“Well, it seems like you have a window here.”
“Okay. When I get home, I’ll talk to him.”
“How’s his head doing?”
“He’s okay. Making progress. Feeling a little better. His mom is staying with him while the team is gone, so I’ve been texting with her.” Rowan let out a sigh, then reached a toe out to poke Felix in the thigh. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Any girl drama?”
Felix shook his head. “I’m sure there are great women out here, but I can’t imagine trying to find a girlfriend right now. Like, ‘hey, I’m a borderline depressed hockey player pre-mourning the end of his career, who made a bad choice about what team to sign with, and lives in an apartment I don’t want to bring anyone back to.’ I’m sure that will work for me.”
“Your apartment’s not that bad.”
“I can’t wait to move out. There isn’t enough of the season left to make moving now worth it, or maybe I would.”
“You’ll find a place. You’ll find a nice, sweet girl who doesn’t care about how bad your hockey team is.”
“Cheers to us, I guess,” Felix said, raising his almost empty beer to Rowan to clink.
Rowan got filled in on the decline of Brennan, and how tense the locker room was with Jim Sawyer leading it. But there were guys in Jersey that Felix was making friends with, and a few young players who held a lot of promise for the future of the Reds.
Now that Rowan’s brain was firmly swallowed up with Theo, it felt weird to want to climb into Felix’s bed with him, and Felix seemed uncomfortable enough with him there to begin with, so he stayed a little longer before telling Felix he was heading out. Felix insisted on driving him back to his hotel.
If he thought the Serpents could ever afford him and Felix and Theo all at the same time, he would be campaigning to have his best friend move across the country. Choosing to leave Texas was the right choice, but they should have chosen teams that were close to each other.
* * *
The Serpents had practice in Manhattan the next day, before playing the New York Falcons the day after. Rowan dragged himself around the ice, thinking about how Theo was doing. He had a text from Theo’s mom on his phone with an update about how Theo was feeling. Better. Not perfect. She also included a photo of him napping on the couch, which he knew Theo wouldn’t appreciate, but it was good to see his face.
