“Thank you, Charlie,” Blake only says.
Charlie nods.
He falls asleep a few minutes later and Blake hopes he’ll snooze right through them landing in New York, because Charlie once told him that that’s his least favorite part.
Blake grabs his iPod, puts on Fleetwood Mac and eventually falls asleep as well.
#
Blake calls Noah after the Foxes’ game against the Lions, after Noah dropped the gloves with Pierce Martin.
“Are you calling to ask if my face is still unblemished and beautiful?” Noah says when he picks up. “To answer your question, yes, it absolutely is, but I look… rugged. How’s that?”
“So you’re okay?”
“Oh, Fishy, were you worried?”
“The only reason I’m letting you get away with calling me Fishy is because you got your bell rung by fucking Pierce Martin.”
Noah laughs, delighted.
“Why the hell did you think that was a good idea?”
“He called one of my guys a… derogative word for what you and I might refer to as a person who’s gay and knowing what you know, I guess I don’t have to explain to you why I found that offensive.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Blake says.
“The Lions are fucking insane, man,” Noah grumbles. “Half the roster is assholes. Anyway, my hand hurts. Fuckin’ Lions. But, hey, thanks for calling to check on me, that’s so sweet.”
Blake huffs.
“Don’t be embarrassed, I already know that you’re all soft on the inside,” Noah chirps. “It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Thanks,” Blake says gruffly.
“How are things in Jersey?”
“Pretty good, we’re on a seven-game win streak.”
“I know that, Fishy, I mean, like… How are things in Jersey, you know what I’m saying?”
“I… don’t.”
“Have you managed to replace me, is what I’m asking,” Noah says.
Blake rolls his eyes, mostly for his own benefit, because Noah can’t even see him. He probably knows, though. He’s spent too much time with Blake not to know. “It’s not like I’ve even tried to replace you.”
“Yo, Fish, wrong answer.”
“I didn’t realize there was a right answer.”
“The right answer,” Noah says, “is that I’m irreplaceable and that you miss me.”
“I do miss you,” Blake says. “You know, not… in that way, but…”
“Aww,” Noah says. “I know what you mean. I know. We’ll hang out when I’m in town in two weeks, okay? Drinks after the game? Or dinner the day before?”
“Both,” Blake says.
“You really do miss me.”
“Shut up.”
“Never,” Noah says. “Hey, have you talked to Elliot recently?”
“No,” Blake says, defensive, even though he sent Elliot a text this morning. “Yes.”
“Oh-hoooo.”
“We’re friends.”
“You’re–”
There’s a knock on Blake’s door. It’s probably Charlie, because anyone else would ring the doorbell. “Noah, give me one second, there’s someone at the door.”
“Ohhh, suuure, there’s someone at the door.”
“There literally is someone at the door,” Blake says as he yanks the door open.
Charlie waves at him with one hand, holds up a plate of cookies with the other. Blake waves him into his apartment, pointing at his phone.
“Who’s at the door, then?” Noah asks.
“It’s Charlie,” Blake says and kicks the door shut. “I gotta go.”
“I swear to fucking God, if you’re making up–”
“What, do you wanna talk to him?” Blake says.
“Can I?”
“No,” Blake says. “I’ll see you in two weeks.”
“Can’t wait. Bye, babe.”
“Don’t–” Blake shakes his head. No point in telling Noah to stop calling him babe. “Bye.”
Charlie isn’t quite frowning at him, probably more confused than anything else. “I can go, you know? I just wanted to drop these off.”
“No, don’t…” Blake nods at the living room. “Noah was just being a dick, it’s cool.”
“Noah?”
“He plays for the Foxes. He, uh… got into a bit of a scrap with Pierce Martin, I wanted to make sure his head was still on straight.”
“He fought Piercer?” Charlie asks, eyebrows raised. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, apparently he was saying some shit…” Blake trails off, not sure if he should mention what kind of shit exactly, because with stuff like that guys can surprise you, and not in a good way. You’ll think that a guy you’ve been playing with for years is great, because he’s been nice to little kids, throwing pucks, helping out with charity stuff, inviting people over for barbecues, and then he’ll turn out to be a homophobic asshole.
That particular guy retired two years ago, but still. Blake has learned his lesson. Just because someone’s nice doesn’t mean they’re a good person.
“Ah,” Charlie says. He grabs Squid when he comes to investigate. “He’s always been…” He shrugs. “Let’s say we weren’t friends.”
Blake hums.
“He was…” More shrugging. “LA wasn’t… It’s not a good room… Anyway…”
“Hey, if you wanna talk about it…”
Charlie pulls a face. “There were a bunch of really shitty people in that room. Like, people who could really get you down. You could tell that those guys didn’t like each other much. And they’re still good players and the Lions, I mean, if you look at the on-ice performance, the Lions are a great team. But in the locker room? None of that.”
“That sucks.”
“You know how it is in our room? The guys chirp each other, but it’s… it’s fun. It’s not actually hurting anyone. And the shit Piercer was spewing sometimes… It was bad. I don’t know if you know Leon Danvers?”
Blake nods, he’s met Leon. He was the Lions’ backup goalie and got traded to the Comets in the summer.
“His sister’s gay. And she came to a game. With her girlfriend. And Piercer was all… weird about it.”
“Weird as in…”
“Weird as in I nearly punched him in the face,” Charlie
