5. January 17, Monday #3
Minutes later, as the men took seats around the film study room, Ilya plopped down next to Bobby where he was scratching something barely legible in a notebook.
Bobby’s voice was barely audible over the chatting around them, "You okay, man?
" Without raising his head too much, Bobby wore a sympathetic expression that told Ilya he understood the tumult raging within him.
"Could’ve lived without having that whole scene, but yeah, I'm fine," Ilya managed, meeting Bobby's eyes only for a moment before looking back to the front of the classroom where the coaches would be standing in a few minutes.
Bobby studied him for a moment before sitting back and casting a glance around the room, his face lost in thought. In a blissful and charitable change of subject that left Ilya feeling grateful for his friend, Bobby asked in a louder voice, "Whose turn is it to check on Fido?"
Taking the bait, Pavel spoke up from behind them. "Didn't Ty feed him yesterday?"
“No, not me. I thought it was Christian.”
And the team began debating whose responsibility it was to look after the scruffy canine that had endeared itself to them all.
"Don’t know about yesterday but I’m pretty sure it's Duke's turn today," Ian added, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "He promised to bring some leftovers from his mom's famous lasagna and last night was Mama Night."
The men hummed in acknowledgment. Most of them had their own Mama Nights to attend, if not in person, then at least through phone or video calls. The guys who had their mothers close enough to give them food...the envy of them all.
Nothing ever quite compared to a parent’s signature dish.
Not that he would know. Ilya couldn’t decide if he was jealous…or lucky.
Having a close relationship like mother and son, or even father and son, sounded great on the surface…
but the guys definitely got their own fair share of drama, guilt, and problems from their ‘wonderful’ family members.
Ilya battled his own drama with Kira on a near-daily basis, he couldn’t imagine dealing with parental responsibilities on top of that.
"I mean, I love Fido and all, but shouldn’t we benefit from Mama Duke’s leftover lasagna and just give Fido some thawed freezer brand?
He wouldn’t know the difference," Tommy whined, rubbing his belly hungrily, earning a round of chuckles from the group as they teased him for trying to starve their beloved mystery pooch.
"Man, you’re totally wrong. If I drop by with leftover chicken tenders, they remain untouched and a few days later I have to don a gas mask so I can toss ‘em. I can only get the tendies from that butcher shop across the river by the casino. I swear the pup is swearing at me in a British accent when I don’t get him fresh meat.
” Christian exclaimed, gesticulating wildly.
Jason waved his arms in front of him like a karate master. “I swear that dog is some kind of canine ninja. I can’t ever catch a hint of him when it’s my turn.”
“You and every other dog catcher in Massachusetts,” grumbled Ian.
"Maybe you're all just too loud," Bobby chimed in, winking at Tommy. "Ilya never has a problem with getting a personal appearance from Fido."
Ilya raised an eyebrow, unable to hide a grin. "Well, what can I say? Fido has excellent taste."
"Debatable but I’ll let that go," Bobby agreed, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "But seriously, Ian and Ty are right. How does one dog manage to outsmart the best rescue agencies in the area?"
“Maybe it’s not just one dog. Maybe he’s cloned.” Tommy ran a hand through his long hair and pulled it back away from his harsh face. “Maybe he’s a government-enhanced asset.”
"Or…” Duke gave Tommy a concerned look before glancing around at everyone else. “Maybe it's because we keep feeding him. He's got it pretty good here, after all."
“We tried the not feeding him thing. Remember? Poor pup was all bones. Still refused to touch the food the catchers put out. Eventually, the agencies said he needed to eat or he’d die.”
“Then Ilya fired them.”
All eyes turned to him, and Ilya shrugged. “He’s not all bones anymore.”
If there had to be someone to blame, he’d fall on that sword. Every time.
The guys transitioned to sharing some of their favorite Fido memories as they waited for the coaches: miraculous escapes, ill-advised chases through the parking garage, stepping in one of Fido’s surprise ‘presents’.
As the laughter died down and the final players filtered into the classroom, Ilya let out a long, slow breath.
A familiar sense of warmth and camaraderie washed over him.
These were his brothers, his teammates, and they always had each other's backs, even when it came to something as inconsequential as a stray dog.
His brotherhood with them was similar to the one he shared with Mitch and the thought loosened the tension in his shoulders.
There was no way Mitch would begrudge him a renewed friendship with Zoey, not with their history. Mitch knew how close Ilya and Zoey were all throughout college.
Surely he wouldn’t expect Ilya to lose Zoey too…
Right?
A squirming, unpleasant feeling rippled through his gut and Ilya fought to keep the worried expression from his face as the coaches finally called for attention.