“Finally,” Jack said without looking up. He folded the newspaper and settled it down on the table before taking another drink. Finally, he lifted his dark eyes. “What, no morning shower?”
“I know, I know,” Alec said, dropping into his seat and resting his chin in his hand. The strong scent of coffee caused his nerves to start loosening up, waking up, and he glanced at the coffee maker to see how much was left. “My sister – your delightful girlfriend – already told me that I smelled.” Jack snickered. “She’s a charmer, that one. Definitely ring shopping material.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Jack said, “but you’re not wrong.”
Alec heaved a sigh, pushing himself up like it took all the effort in the world to do something as simple as stand. He made his way to the cupboards and pulled out a Mayhem mug. He needed coffee or else he might fall asleep on the ice, and that was the last thing he needed. He didn’t think Coach would look for an excuse to cut him. Jack and Alec, together, on the ice, were practically unstoppable. But that didn’t mean he was irreplaceable.
He poured the last bit of coffee into the mug and went to the fridge for some creamer. He typically preferred his coffee strong, but he wasn’t in the mood for it.
“How you holding up?” Jack asked, picking up the paper again. “Zummo wrote a nice little article about how your head isn’t in the game and how your other head is playing a different game that could get you into trouble with Hanson.”
Alec made a face after pouring the creamer into his coffee. “Is he talking about my dick?” he asked, shutting the door.
“He’s talking about your dick,” Jack said with a nod. He brought his cup of coffee to his lips and took a long sip.
“The guy is obsessed with my dick.” Alec rolled his eyes and grabbed a spoon so he could stir his creamer into his coffee. “I swear. It’s like he looks for any excuse to talk about it.”
“Who isn’t obsessed with your dick at this point?” Jack grinned to himself, and Alec was well-aware his best friend was giving him shit. Which he probably deserved.
“Oh, I know the answer to that one,” Lily said, sauntering in with her hair in a fresh ponytail and a hoodie on.
“Ugh, I don’t need my sister talking about that part of my body,” Alec said, bringing the mug of coffee to his lips.
“Everyone else does,” she pointed out.
She dropped into the seat next to Jack and grabbed his coffee without even asking. Jack didn’t seem to mind from the way his eyes softened, the way his lips curved up. Alec was glad Lily found a good guy but it still bothered him that it happened to be his best friend. He didn’t want to see this side of Jack. He’d rather see the other, angry part of him, the one who fought anyone for breathing wrong. But that Jack had gotten into trouble with Seraphina Hanson just like Alec had. Unlike Alec, he had also gotten out of trouble, but that might have been Lily’s influence. Who knew at this point.
“Anyway,” she said after setting the coffee back down. “The only person I know of who doesn’t give a shit about your dick is taking a shower right now. You might want to hang out with her more often. It’ll keep your ego in check.”
“My ego doesn’t need me to be kept in check, thank you very much,” he said. “It’s doing just fine on its own.”
At that moment, Noah herself emerged from the bathroom, hair still damp, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and jeans. Alec glanced over at her, and there was something about her that caused him to stare a little longer than he normally would have. He didn’t know what that was, but he knew he was annoyed with himself. She wasn’t terrible to look at. If she were, this would be a lot easier. But she wasn’t. She had this earthy quality to her, something grounding and eye-catching that made Alec’s stomach tighten whenever he saw her, and not in an unpleasant way.
“Noah,” Lily said, breaking the awkward silence between him and Noah, even though neither of them had engaged in any sort of conversation in the first place. “I’m glad to see you. I have to go to work and the boys have an early morning skate.”
“I didn’t realize nine in the morning was early,” Noah said.
Alec erupted into forced laughter, faking it. He had no idea as to why. Noah just stared at him with a what the fuck are you doing? look, and both Jack and Lily had something similar etched on their faces as well.
“Anyway,” Lily said, raising her brows. “Are you okay to be here?”
“She’s not a child,” Alec interjected. “She’s fine. She’ll be fine on her own.”
“Actually, I was hoping I could tag along with the boys,” she said. There was a tremor in her words that was uncharacteristic about her. Alec narrowed his eyes. “If that’s okay.”
No, it wasn’t. But before Alec could tell her that, Lily clapped her hands together.
“I think that’s a great idea!” she said.
6
Noah
The last thing Noah wanted to do was be transfixed by Alec, but some things couldn’t be helped, especially when Alec skated the way he skated. From what she overheard from Lily, he seemed to be having issues with his team and his reputation, which wasn’t a surprise. But Jesus, when he was on the ice, he was something else. He flew.
Noah didn’t know much about hockey, but she saw the way Alec held his stick, how Alec managed to trick
