Chapter Fourteen June #3
He tried to stay awake, he really did, but he zonked out somewhere between Jagr winning the Cup and winning gold.
He dreamed about hockey, some nonsense where Jagr was at the rink watching their game and proudly drinking from the Wheaton Cup while cheering for them.
Then, he dreamed about being literally chained to his desk at work as Chad and his sales bros dropped off more and more receipts, sales reports, and a bag of coins.
Then, thankfully, he didn’t dream about anything worth remembering.
When he woke up, groggy and hungry, his bed was empty and something felt off.
Not bad, just… different.
Nick rubbed his eyes to chase away the weird dreams and looked around his room.
The sun shone too brightly and cheerfully to actually tell him anything more than that it was sometime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. His bed was empty, which belatedly told him Brady had disappeared at some point, and he heard noises from downstairs.
Pulling on the first pieces of clothes he could find, he grabbed his phone and wandered downstairs.
Brady was in the kitchen, reading the weathered copy of Stat Shot from Nick’s bookshelf, wearing nothing but his boxers and a loose tee, drinking a cup of coffee.
It smelled like the good stuff Nick got from a place in Baltimore, with a rich aroma and a perfect amount of caffeine.
Easy to make, too, even with his shitty coffee maker.
He stood in the doorway enjoying the view.
“What time is it?” he said around a yawn.
“Uh…” Brady checked the microwave clock. “12:17 p.m.”
“Twelve— You let me sleep that long!?” Suddenly awake, he fell onto the stool across from Brady. “That’s like eleven hours! I don’t need that much.”
Brady shrugged and offered the rest of his mug to Nick. “Seems like you did. I tried waking you up a couple times; you just snored louder.”
“I do not snore.”
“You do. It’s cute.”
“Really?”
“I mean, if you think lawnmowers are cute, then yeah.” Brady leaned across the island to muss his hair. “It’s all right, I’ve heard worse. You should’ve heard the dog we had as a kid. Couldn’t sleep if he was in the house.”
“Great. First I was a lawnmower, and now I’m a dog.” Nick took a tentative sip of the coffee (a few minutes past the perfect temperature) and then drank most of it. “You just been reading? Sorry I’ve been a terrible host. You didn’t have to stick around.”
Brady shrugged. “Wasn’t planning to do anything else today, just hang out with you. Besides, you had a mountain of laundry that needed done and a sink full of dishes that needed washed.”
“…you did my chores?”
“Meh, some of it was my clothes. And it’s not like I didn’t use some of those dishes.”
There was a lump in Nick’s throat that he tried to swallow down with the last of the coffee.
“You, uh… you take care of all your…” Nick floundered for the right word.
“Boyfriend” would be his preferred one, but falling into bed together didn’t make a relationship.
These date nights—because he had no other word for them—helped, but he was fairly certain the frequency of them had everything to do with months of unresolved sexual tension coming to a head.
So instead of being adult enough to use this as an opportunity to figure out where the hell this was headed, Nick’s words fizzled out and he stared at the island counter.
“Thanks,” he said lamely.
Brady ducked down so Nick had no choice but to look at him. “You’re welcome. You wanna order some pizza and make out on the couch until it gets here?”
Nick might not know what the hell the two of them were doing, but he wasn’t about to say no.
*
Nick Porter: good news guys. i am not dead or mia anymore
Gail King: Guy I see you’re typing right now and I’m going to go ahead and save you the trouble
Gail King: MIA = missing in action. Nicki did not change his name to Mia
Guy Prince: Merci
Gail King: Welcome back from the (not) dead
Nick Porter: *takes a bow*
Gregory Smegory: Gifs only no text for reactions
Nick Porter: [colbert_midfing.gif]
[Image description: A gif of Stephen Colbert. In it, he mimes turning a handle with one hand while slowly raising his middle finger on the other.]
Gregory Smegory: Well played
Curtis Bennet: Good to have you back, Nicki! Does this mean you’re feeling up to our game on Friday?
Nick Porter: ??????
Curtis Bennet: My phone is showing little boxes… Did I do something wrong?
Nick Porter: i’m in for friday. can’t wait. i’m a little rusty though.
Gail King: I thought you and Jensie were working out
Gail King: Lots of cardio
Donnie Owen: Then you should be good to go you’re always in better shape than half the team anyway
Brady Derek Jensen: there’s an open skate thursday night if you wanna get your skating legs back
Gail King: Is this an open invitation??
Brady Derek Jensen: yes
Gail King: Look at you calling my bluff
Brady Derek Jensen: just remember that if we ever play on opposing teams
Alex Warner: NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO CHANGE TEAMS WE ARE A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM WITH NO SALARY CAP NO ONE LEAVES