Page 7 of Two for Charging

“Yeah, I guess it’ll be nice to have one of those, eh?”

“Eh,” Luca mocked. “And you call yourself Italian.”

“I am!”

“You are so Canadian you own snowshoes!”

“They’re useful!”

“You live in California.”

Chris waved him off with what he thought was a very Italian hand gesture. “So do you.”

“Fine. But no self-respecting Italian is as good at French as you.”

Chris gasped. “Was that a compliment? From you?”

“Being good at French is not a compliment. It is the linguistic equivalent of waving a white flag in the air. Any real European would know as much.”

Chris rolled his eyes. Luca stuck his tongue out.

“Will you come back to the party?” Luca asked. “Phil is worried.”

Reluctantly, Chris nodded. “But I don’t want to talk about…the thing.”

“I won’t let him,” Luca promised. “Every time he tries, I will remind him of a ridiculous thing you did last year. I have enough of those to last at least five barbecues.”

“You’re a good friend. Please don’t move out.” The last part slipped out of Chris’s mouth before he could stop himself, a ridiculous plea for things to stay the same.

Luca took it in stride, being that he was calm and cool and an all-around better person. “I was not planning to. But I would like to pay rent all the same.”

Chris frowned.

“And if you will not let me, I will find other ways to contribute.”

“You can try.” In a two-bedroom, upkeep and cleaning stayed minimal. Neither of them left food or clothes lying around, and between the two of them, there was only one functional cook, and it was not Luca.

“I will. So. Ready to apologize to Jax for knocking over his homemade bread?”

Chris sighed. He would be mocked for this afternoon forever. “Just let me text someone first?”

Luca indicated he should go ahead, so Chris opened his thread with Tabitha. He didn’t know what to say, so he asked if she was okay. Maybe not everything had to change all at once.

Chapter Two

Olivia Starling [off-screen]: Jax, how are you feeling about the new coaching team?

Jax: Good, yeah. I mean, we all love Phil, and he and Lindy are the only real changes.

Olivia Starling: The Sea Lions are now the first NHL team to have a female head coach. Is that a political move?

Jax: Still me?

Olivia Starling: Any of you.

Breezy: I don’t get the question.

Olivia Starling: Last season, you made headlines as the team who worked with the gay shelter—