Taking a massive swig of champagne, I settle onto the couch with my closest friends, and it looks like we’re all going to crashtogether like old times. We’re quieter now, joking, shooting the shit, and dozing off one by one, but my mind is elsewhere.
As Carl falls asleep on my shoulder, I put my empty glass down and think. What James said earlier about taking chances and jumping into the deep end was definitely a reflection on his recently realized bisexuality, but it’s still advice I can use.
It seems like everyone in my life who knows about Erik is telling me not to throw my feelings for him away. I don’t know what people see in my stupid crush, but those feelings aren’t going anywhere.
Hell, I might as well lean into them.
Right then and there, at 12:17 a.m., I make a decision.
Erik made the offer, and I’ll follow through.
If he’s still on board, I’m going to book a ticket.
16
ERIK
JANUARY
Getting back into the swing of things after the winter break is never easy, especially when it’s twice as long as in the AHL. We’re a few days into the new year, I’m sitting on my sofa relaxing before our first game back, and my thumb is hovering next to Luke’s contact on my phone. He’s online, so I give him a call.
He answers from bed, and my jaw slackens. Yeah, even after four months, the sight of Luke’s sleep-mussed hair, combined with his deep voice, still makes me lose my train of thought. It’s a problem I never want to solve.
“Hey, Lukey,” I say. Does using his nickname blur lines? Absolutely. But Luke’s face brightens whenever I say it, so that encourages me.
“Hi, what’s up?” he asks, sitting upright.
“Nothing much, thought I’d give you a call.” I wait for Luke to finish yawning. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
“Nah, you’re good. I’ve been awake for a bit.” His video shakes as he gets out of bed and walks over to his office. Settinghis phone down on the desk, he leans back, and I’m blessed with a view of Luke in one of my old hockey shirts.
Luke freezes and squints at the screen. “Hold on a second, is itsunnyover there?”
I turn my head to check out the window, and he’s right.
Luke groans and lets his head fall into his hands. “It’s been cloudy for weeks here. I don’t think I’ve seen the sun since November.”
I raise my eyebrows. “We’ve had a weird amount of sunshine this winter. It’s been great, but it still gets dark super early.”
“Maybe I should visit,” Luke says, and my heart jumps into my throat.
Yes. Please. Please visit Sweden. Oh my god, please come here. Ideally tomorrow. For a month. Or however long Canadians are allowed to stay.
“That would be sick,” I manage, barely keeping my tone level.
“Yeah, maybe I’ll accept your invitation. You remember that, right?”
I nod back because Idoremember. I was buzzed, but drunk words are sober thoughts.
“So, what would you say if I told you I was scrolling through flights before you called?”
“I’d say hold on because I don’t want you to come to Stockholm when I’m on the road.”
Luke lets out one of his effortless, magnetic laughs, which draws an even bigger grin out of me. “Don’t worry, I was looking at your schedule,” he says, tapping at his computer.
The keyboard is the only sound that I hear for about a minute, and then Luke stretches up, cracking his knuckles. “Okay, I have a price calendar for week-long trips to and from every airport in Sweden for January through April.”
I didn’t know it was even possible to do that, but hey, it’s impressive as hell. “What are prices like?” I ask, trying to get a feel for what’s happening.
