Falling For The Hockey Captain
We spend the next twenty minutes discussing details, guest lists, logistics, the ordinary, mundane texture of planning something purely joyful instead of purely survival-based, and by the time we hang up, something warm and settled has taken root in my chest.
"Your mom wants to throw us a party," I tell Chase, who's been half-listening while reviewing his own conditioning schedule.
"A good party, or a we-need-to-manage-optics party?" he asks warily, old scars from the scandal clearly still tender in places.
"A genuinely good party," I say, smiling. "Just family and friends, celebrating everything without any agenda attached."
Something visibly relaxes in his expression. "That actually sounds