The second was a blowout, and not in a good way. The Sockeyes were lethargic and uninspired, losing four to zero. Jock blamed himself, but he blamed himself for every loss. That’s what goalies did, as far as I could tell.

We flew back to Seattle, bruised but not beaten. After a rousing and rare speech by team captain Ice and assistant captain Smooth, the team rallied, discarded the two loses, and swore they’d start fresh at home.

The plane trip was oddly upbeat. The guys were feeling good about their chances and determined to turn this around.

On a personal note, Axel spent every night on the road trip with me. Jock didn’t say a word, didn’t even look annoyed, and he had to know where his roommate had been and with whom.

Axel and I went our separate ways after the plane landed. I had to help with equipment. Axel needed sleep. We made plans to meet up later in the evening for dinner, drinks, and dessert, and I’m not referring to chocolate but something far better.

I managed to get a few hours’ sleep before the afternoon practice. The coach didn’t work them too hard. The playoff schedule was grueling, and they needed to be fresh for the next two crucial games.

I arrived at Axel’s after eight p.m. He and Steele were playing a video game.

Axel abandoned his game and leaped to his feet. He wrapped me in his big, strong arms and hugged me. When he drew back, I kissed him, one of those kisses that tilted my world and spun it around until I was dizzy.

“Enough already!” Steele shouted.

We took our time breaking off the kiss and both laughed at the exasperated and slightly offended glare Steele gifted us. As a hockey player, I’d have thought he’d seen far worse than a deep kiss between us, but he was a little different than the average hockey player. In fact, Steele was an enigma. I hadn’t figured him out yet.

“Where’s Kaden?” I asked, glancing around. As a suspended player, he wasn’t allowed to go on the road trip with us, but I expected to see him here. “Surely he’s not out partying.”

“He’s at a cabin in the woods getting his head on straight,” Steele answered.

“A cabin? Where?”

“In the Olympic Mountains or something.” Steele rolled his eyes. “He should’ve gotten his head on straight before he got kicked off the team.”

One thing I did know about Steele—he was a rule follower, dependable to a fault, and predictable. He took his responsibilities seriously, and he expected the same of everyone else. Kaden, Ziggy, and Cave had betrayed their team and themselves.

Axel brought us each a beer. We sat down on the couch and enjoyed a brew together.

“He’s been weird ever since he met that woman,” Steele said. “Then she disappeared on him or dumped him or went back to her husband or whatever, and he’s been on self-destruct ever since.”