Page 64 of Just Forever

Way to go, me. A supportive hockey hubby.

They’re playing Detroit tonight. The Blades’ fan base is both loud and loyal, and they love Ryker. And they think he’s hot. There are plenty of women with signs featuring Ryker’s name.

But, yeah, the Blades have a lot of fans, and the team is pretty dedicated to engaging with them and making appearances at community events and such.

The anthem plays, Detroit gets some loud booing from the Blades’ block, and then it’s time to play.

My eyes are fixed on the ice, so I’m not paying attention to anything else, so when somebody taps me on the shoulder I jerk back, looking around wildly. Paige sends me a wide smile.

“I thought it was you,” she calls over the noise. “Gotta say, I didn’t expect to run into you here of all places!”

I blink at her, the game and the noise fading into the background for a bit.

“Hello,” I say. I’m not sure if I’m more surprised or alarmed by this development. “What… what are you doing here?”

It’s an impolite question, and I don’t think staring with badly concealed horror is that welcoming either, but Paige just keeps smiling at me while she reaches behind herself and produces two other girls seemingly out of thin air.

“This is Kara and Stacey. It’s Kara’s birthday, and she’s a fan, so we’re here as a birthday present to her.”

“No, you’re here because you’re good friends and want to be interested in my interests,” Kara says pointedly.

“Absolutely,” Paige assures her with a teasing note in her tone. “Love me some ice. And cold. Kidding,” she adds quickly. “I’m actually really excited about this.”

“We are. Hockey sounds like fun. Plus, have you seen some of these players?” Stacey says. “Hot as fuck.”

Yeah, I’m not gonna comment on that. I mean, I agree, but I’m not gonna comment.

“We’re here for the game.” Kara rolls her eyes. “Not the, admittedly, quality eye candy.”

“You were doing so well on the not-objectifying them front for a second there,” Paige says dryly.

“I’m a work in progress.” Kara shrugs.

“Ignore them,” Paige tells me.

“It’s fine,” I mumble, awkward as ever, incapable of a normal conversation with strangers as ever.

Also, impolite as ever, because it takes Soren throwing his arm over my shoulder and shouting, “Introduce us, Lake,” into my ear before I remember that yeah, I should probably do that, even if it feels a hell of a lot like introducing the two sides of my life I don’t actually want to meet.

I clear my throat anyway. “This is Soren. These are Paige, Kara, and Stacey.”

Soren immediately moves over a few seats, and the girls sit down between the two of us. Soren takes Stacey in with clear appreciation, and the two of them fall into a conversation a second later.

“I didn’t know you liked hockey,” Paige says, making it sound like the two of us know anything about each other at all.

“I go to home games.”

Speaking of, the Blades look good today. Five minutes in, Detroit hasn’t had any time in the offensive zone yet and no shots on a goal.

There’s a break in the game and Beastie Boys blast from the speakers. People sing and cheer all around us.

“Oh my God.” Paige looks around with wide eyes. “Is this how it always is?”

Is the noise and the clamor a con in her book or not? I have no idea.

“It gets pretty intense, yeah,” I say.

On the ice, Davidson trips Martin Beran, and Detroit is getting a power play. They once again fail to get a shot on goal. A moment later one of the Detroit D-men skates straight into Laurent, and they end up slamming into the boards.

---