Save of the Game

by Avon Gale

  The door that happened to be wide open. God. Was Ethan the only person who cared about safety? He closed the door and locked it out of habit.

  “I heard you had some kind of important hockey thing coming up,” Madison said. “I thought I’d come see. Is that okay?”

  “Yeah. Sure,” Riley said, but he didn’t sound like he meant it. “You’ve never been to a game before, though. What’s the matter?”

  Ethan had rarely heard Riley talk like that to someone he liked. It was the same voice he was using when Ethan found him sitting in a booth with Bennett Halley.

  Madison fidgeted with her beer bottle. “What do you mean, what’s the matter? Why does something have to be the matter? Can’t I come visit my own brother?”

  Riley reached into his pocket for his cell phone and scrolled through it one-handed. “I have three voice mails from Mom.”

  Madison worried at her bottom lip. “Maybe she wants to wish you good luck.”

  Riley stared at his sister. “She didn’t call me on my birthday, Mads.”

  Something about the nickname made Madison’s posture ease. “Lucky you,” she muttered as Riley waved the phone at her and threatened to call their mother back. “Okay. Fine. Fine. I’m maybe supposed to go to this stupid engagement party this weekend.”

  Riley slipped the phone back in his pocket and took a drink of his beer. “Whose?”

  “Umm.” Madison wouldn’t look at him. “Mine?”

  “You’re getting married?” And then, in a brotherly, protective tone that Ethan found disturbingly hot, considering Riley was using it with his also hot sister, Riley said, “You’re too young to get married.”

  “I’m twenty-three,” Madison said. “That’s old enough.”

  “Then why aren’t you at your party?”

  Madison tightened her mouth, and she looked unhappy. “Can we not talk about it?”

  “Who wants pizza?” Ethan interrupted as Riley glowered at his sister and she intently studied the label on her bottle. No way was Bud Light that interesting. “Except I forgot your sister can’t eat carbs or dairy.”

  “I can eat them. I just don’t. Mom thinks I need to slim down through the middle,” Madison said. Her face went all Hunter-stubborn. “Fuck it. On second thought, I’d love some pizza.”

  They ate their pizza in the living room—on plates on their laps, because that’s how Ethan and Riley ate every meal. Ethan had switched off the video game, but the silence made him wish he left it on. He kept looking at Riley, who resolutely and grimly ate his pizza without a shred of enjoyment. And he only let himself have it one day a week because of the finals. What a waste.

  Madison’s cell phone rang, but she ignored it. A few seconds later, Riley’s rang too.

  “Mom,” Riley said, glancing at it. If Ethan tried to ignore his mother’s call, he’d be in so much trouble.

  “Maybe you should tell her where you are,” Ethan said, thinking of a hundred Crime & Investigation network scenarios. “She’s probably really worried.”

  “She’s worried because she planned a party for one hundred and fifty guests to announce an engagement that isn’t even official yet,” Madison groused, and took a vicious bite of her second slice of pizza.

  “Was it going to be? Before the party?” Riley asked. He sounded concerned, but that brief flash of brotherly protectiveness was missing. Still, it was a good sign that it had been there at all. At least Ethan thought it was a good sign.

  “I guess. He gave me a ring, but I hadn’t—I wasn’t ready to announce it.” Madison looked down at her pizza and then back at Riley. “I can stay in a hotel, you know. If you and your boyfriend want your space.”

  Riley almost choked on his beer. “Wait. What?”

  “You called him your boyfriend when you came in,” Madison said. Riley blushed. Clearly he thought she’d forgotten that or that she hadn’t noticed. “But he said he was your teammate. Which is it?”

  “Both,” Riley said before Ethan could say anything. “He’s my teammate and he’s my boyfriend.”

  Madison just nodded. “Convenient.”

  “You don’t seem surprised.” Riley peered at her. “Shouldn’t you be?”

  “What? That you’re dating a teammate? Or that you’ve got a boyfriend?” She snorted. “Riley, you had pictures of guys on your wall at home when we were kids.”

  “They were hockey players.”

  Madison waved a hand toward Ethan. “And?”

  “Oh.” Riley looked at his plate and then gave his sister the first real smile since he came home and found her in the living room. “Right. I guess that’s true.”

  After dinner Riley made Ethan wash his sheets and clean up his room so Madison had a place to stay. Then he made her call their mom, so she at least knew where Madison was. Ethan wanted to answer the phone himself so he could tell Riley’s mom that Madison was fine and then yell at her for not calling her son more often—or at all, unless she was worried about her daughter. That had to feel awful. Ethan sat by Riley and idly rubbed a hand over his back. He didn’t give a fuck if Madison Hunter had a problem with it.

  “She’ll tell me to come home,” Madison sighed. Her gaze lingered for a moment on Ethan stroking Riley’s back, but she didn’t look disgusted. Maybe just a little wistful. Ethan went back to feeling sorry for her too. Now he really wanted to yell at their mom.

  Riley shrugged and leaned against Ethan’s hand. “You’re an adult, Mads. If you don’t want to go home, don’t.”

  “What if she shows up here?”

  For the first time, some of Riley’s calm composure begin to crack around the edges. They were playing in the finals, and Ethan knew Riley definitely didn’t want to worry about his ultrarich family showing up and bickering while he was trying to win a championship.

  “Then me and Riley will go to a hotel, and you and your Ma can duke it out in the living room,” Ethan offered quickly, and squeezed Riley’s shoulder. “’Cause we gotta play some hockey.”

  Madison stood up with her plate. “I’ll tell her I’m visiting friends in Palm Springs. She just needs to cancel the party because I’m not coming home, I’m not getting married, and I’m not going to do either of those things just to make her happy.”

  Ethan was proud of her for that. He was lucky to grow up in the family he did, despite not having a fraction of the money and material comforts the Hunters had.

  Ethan cleaned his bathroom, grabbed some pajamas, his shoes, his cell phone charger, and his toothbrush, and took it all into Riley’s room. He found Riley standing on the balcony, staring at the ocean. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” Riley didn’t look at him.

  “I like your sister.” Ethan couldn’t help the slight grin. “She’s hot.”

  Riley glared over his shoulder, but it lacked any real heat. “Shhh. Stop.” His expression eased into the slightest of smiles. “Yours is hotter.”

  “Dude,” Ethan said, laughing a little. “Not cool. Are you okay, though?”

  Riley nodded. “Yeah.”

  “It’s not gonna—” Ethan worried if Madison’s visit would fuck up Riley’s pregame ritual, and he worried that asking about it would do the same thing. He was learning how to live with a superstitious goalie.

  “No. It’s fine,” Riley said, as if he could read Ethan’s mind. “It’s weird that she’s here. Not bad. Just weird.”

  Privately Ethan thought it was good for them. He just hoped the timing wouldn’t create a distraction. Winning the series was important to Riley, and while family was important to Ethan, Riley’s family didn’t deserve priority in Riley’s life. Ethan understood that, even if it made him sad. He took a step closer and bumped Riley’s shoulder with his own. “Hey. You didn’t have to say that. Y’know. About me. About us.”

  “I know.” Riley turned toward Ethan, his eyes warming. “I wanted to. It’s funny she said that, though. About the pictures on my wall. That’s really not why I had them there.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Ma
rtin Brodeur fanboy,” Ethan teased. He laughed. “I’m still not forgiving you for telling Jared Shore I wanted him to blow me.”

  “You do, though.”

  “Nope,” Ethan said, and tugged him in to kiss him. “I’m a one-man kind of guy, Riley. Sorry if you had ideas about threesomes.” He paused. “Except that one with Jennifer Lawrence. We’re still good to go on that one.”

  “That’s a relief,” Riley said, and then the two of them watched the waves washing up on the shore, higher and higher as the tide moved in.

  Chapter Twenty

  IT TOOK a grueling seven games and two overtime periods for the Tulsa Phoenixes to upset the heavily favored Blackjacks and win the Western Conference. But with the matchup for the finals set, a schedule was finally released, and Ethan’s family was on their way from New York to Jacksonville.

  Practices were intense, so Ethan didn’t have a lot of time to spend with his family. He couldn’t even pick them up from the airport and take them to their hotel. Luckily Riley had arranged for them to have a car—a convertible, which was awesome—for the duration of their stay. Rather than feeling sulky or bent out of shape about it, Ethan was just happy that he didn’t have to worry and that his family would be able to get around and do stuff while he was at practice.

  Of course he was stupid for thinking they wouldn’t show up during practice. Technically the Storm had open practices, but hardly anyone ever wanted to sit through them. They weren’t that exciting and mostly consisted of Coach Spencer shouting and reminding them how, in the natural order of things, a sea storm would take out a stupid bird any day of the week. Based on their mascots alone, the Storm should win the game if the players would get it together already. Not exactly thrilling stuff to watch, but midway through shooting drills, Ethan heard an excited chatter of voices and looked up to see his mom and sisters standing by the boards and waving. They were holding signs—as if they couldn’t just lean over and talk to him.

  “My family,” Ethan said, when Coach Spencer skated over and demanded to know who the fan club was and why the fuck they were a fan club for Kennedy, of all people.

  Coach’s face relaxed into something less scowly. “Well, tell them to be quiet. Or to make signs to remind you to stop smoking.”

  “Ethan,” his mother hissed. “Your sisters—”

  “My turn,” Ethan said hurriedly. “Love you. Glad you’re here. Later.” He skated off quickly, ignoring the laughter of his teammates—who had of course heard the exchange.

  Ethan’s only consolation was that his family had also brought signs for Riley. And Riley was so embarrassed when he saw them that Ethan, who gleefully pointed them out as he skated up the ice to take his turn shooting, managed to score a goal on Riley for the first time all season. Riley was not pleased. Ethan had a memory of being tied up with skate laces and wondered if they could do that again sometime soon. Maybe Ethan would ask his mom if he could borrow one of those signs. Ha.

  Madison was also at practice. Ethan and Riley tried to explain hockey using the video game on the PlayStation 4, but Madison said that actual, real-life hockey players were more fun to watch. Besides, she’d said, Riley had cute teammates.

  After practice Ethan’s family visited the pro store, and they all met Madison in the parking lot. Maura hugged Ethan and Riley enthusiastically. Then she turned to Madison and said, “Riley. Oh my goodness. Who is this lovely young lady? Is this your sister? She looks just like you.”

  Riley was clearly happy to see the Kennedys, even if they were the reason Ethan had scored on him. He returned Maura’s hug and said, “Yes. This is my sister, Madison. Mads, this is Maura Kennedy. Ethan’s mom.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Madison said, extending a hand.

  Maura used it to pull Madison in and hug her. “Oh. None of that. We’re practically family.” She introduced Madison to Ethan’s sisters Britt and Kelsey. The bemused look on Madison’s face was the same one Ethan had seen on Riley’s at the airport baggage carousel over Christmas. It made him happy to see his family doing their usual and pseudo-adopting people just because Ethan liked them.

  Then they ran into Zoe and Ryan, and Ethan introduced them to his mom.

  Ryan gallantly kissed Maura’s hand and asked Britt if he could get a few tattoos while she was there. Ethan knew Ryan was dumb in love with Zoe, but he still glared at him. Just like Ethan figured, his mom was enthralled by Zoe’s accent and immediately charmed when she learned Zoe was in charge of the hockey camp where Ethan had volunteered.

  “Oh my God. Riley wasn’t kidding,” Zoe said, nudging Ethan slyly in the side. “Your sister really is hot. Wow.”

  Ethan glared at her too. “Off-limits means teammates and their girlfriends, Mays.”

  That night Ethan, Riley, Madison, the Kennedys, and practically everyone on their team went to dinner at Cruisers. Ethan noticed Bennett Halley sitting next to and talking to Madison. Riley should be keeping a better eye on that. It was a loud, boisterous evening, and while no one drank a thing—okay, maybe Ethan secretly had some whiskey with his sister—it was still a lot of fun. With the first game of the finals starting in two days, it was probably the last time they’d be able to relax for a while.

  Madison had decided to move out of Riley and Ethan’s, and while Zoe sweetly offered to let her stay at her and Ryan’s, Madison had opted to stay in the same hotel as Ethan’s family. Ethan liked to think that his mom talked her into it, because it was clear his mom was determined to win Madison over.

  She was quiet, like Riley, and a bit standoffish at first. But by the end of the evening, she looked less overwhelmed by the Kennedys and more at ease. She and Britt and Zoe were even exchanging numbers and Facebook profiles, or whatever the hell girls did, which made Ethan happy even if he didn’t quite trust Zoe’s intentions. But if Zoe wanted to hook up with Madison, Ethan would support that.

  Ethan’s mom caught him smoking in the parking lot at Cruisers as they all went their separate ways for the evening, and Ethan endured the well-meaning-mom lecture with as much grace as possible—which happened to be a lot, since he was still so happy to see his family—and promised not to set a bad example by letting his sisters see him smoking.

  “I like Riley’s sister,” Maura said when she was finished lecturing her son about smoking. “What a sweet girl. Did you know she went to Brown?”

  He didn’t know that, but he wasn’t surprised that his mom did. She was good with people, and they immediately felt comfortable around her. Ethan wondered if he had inherited any of that from her. It made him feel warm and fuzzy to think about, but he saved saying it out loud for some time when he needed to get out of trouble. “I knew she went to college, but not where.”

  “She’s very good at math. And accounting. Maybe she should teach Riley to balance his checkbook,” Maura said sternly, and Ethan wondered if Riley got that lecture while he got the smoking one. He didn’t point out that Riley’s checkbook didn’t need balancing, because the amount in there was always going to be more than Riley would spend. “I’m proud of you, honey,” his mom said and gave him a hug. “Everyone, even your coach, came up to tell me how much they liked you and what a good teammate you are. You know that means more to your mother than you winning any trophy. Don’t you?”

  God, how had he lucked out so much in the family department? “Yeah. I know, Ma. I still want to win, though.” And he did suddenly, in a way he hadn’t really before. Sure, Ethan wanted to win games because hockey was more fun that way, but he’d never been as competitive as some of the other guys—definitely not like Riley—and was one of those genuinely irritating people who really just loved playing so much that the score didn’t matter at the end of the game. Or it didn’t matter enough to kill the enjoyment Ethan got out of playing. He should really remind himself of that the next time he wanted a cigarette.

  But he wanted to win the finals more than he wanted to have fun, because he wanted to make his family proud of him. He wanted to be the champion
they always believed he was. Even though it would never change their opinion of him one way or the other, Ethan wanted to win.

  “Thanks, Ma. But I’m gonna be a Kelly Cup champion. Just watch. Me and Riley. And when we win? I’m gonna have a cigarette, and there’s nothing you can say about it.”

  “Ethan,” his mother said, but she giggled and kissed him on the cheek. “Fine. I’ll have one with you. How’s that?”

  “You’re a closet smoker,” he muttered, arm around her waist as they walked back to join the rest of his family. “But it’s a deal.”

  THE TULSA Phoenixes were a tired but riled-up team, and after the Storm took the first game in Jacksonville, the Phoenixes won the second and sent the series to Tulsa tied at one game apiece.

  The team’s name was confusing because there was also an ECHL team called the Phoenix Sunfires. The league was original like that. And it wasn’t until they were on their way to Oklahoma that the name of their opponents made any sense.

  “That’s the third sign I’ve seen that tells you not to drive into a fire and to head away from smoke if you see it,” Sloany said, pointing out the bus window. “Do people in Oklahoma have a problem with that idea?”

  “They have a lot of forest fires,” Becker said. When everyone looked at him, he shrugged. “I learned it playing Trivia Crack. Fuck off.”

  “And they still need to be told to avoid driving into a fire? Really?”

  “Maybe they come out of ashes. Yes? Like Phoenix. Is bird,” Vazov piped up from his seat behind Ethan.

  “I thought Phoenix was in Arizona,” Becker said, scowling. “But I suck at that geography category, so I dunno.”

  Ethan snorted a laugh and looked at Riley, who was in the seat across the aisle, pretending to be asleep. His mouth wasn’t open, and he wasn’t drooling and/or snoring, which was how everyone slept on a bus.