Page 28 of Four Letter Feelings

“You coming out tonight?” he asked AJ, who was lying on his bed playing a game on his phone.

“Nah, man. I’m wiped.”

“Aw c’mon! We’ve been bustin’ our asses for weeks now. It’s time to let loose!”

AJ yawned in reply.

“All work and no play make Jeremy a dull boy, man. Let’s go out!”

“Or, and hear me out on this one for a second, you could go out, and I could stay home and catch up on some zees.”

“You’re really letting me go out unsupervised?”

“Jer, if I went out with you tonight, I’d end up passed out in a corner somewhere. You’d be unsupervised either way and you’re a big boy, I trust that you won’t do something all-the-way stupid. Why don’t you go to that house party Blake and Chris are going to? I bet Mike and some of the others will be there, too. Honestly, I need a recharge. I barely know my own name right now. Go. Let me sleep!”

“I don’t have a costume.”

“I’d say you don’t need one, but that’s just way too easy, man. I have a Karate Kid costume in the closet. I keep it around in case of fancy dress emergencies such as this.”

“Karate Kid? So, shirtless?” He puffed out his chest. “I could totally pull that off, assuming it’s not too big for me.”

AJ arched an eyebrow. “You want it or not?”

Twenty minutes later, Jeremy was showered and heading out the door. He didn’t bother saying goodbye to AJ, because he was already asleep. The house party was only a few blocks away from the dorms, so Jeremy, Chris and Mike walked together.

As soon as they arrived at the party, they started drinking. It had been a while since Jeremy had let his hair down and he was intent on enjoying himself. Scanning the room to see if he recognized anyone else, he saw Blake, making his way through the crowd with jello shots.

“Already? Shit. Tonight’s gonna be messy!” Jeremy announced, as he plucked a green jello shot from the offerings and tipped it into his mouth, washing it down with a gulp of his beer.

Before long, Mike was in the corner making out with a girl Jeremy didn’t recognize, it was verging on R-Rated and even Jeremy found himself blushing. Blake was sitting on one of the two sofas in the main living room chatting to Ben, the server.

Words seem to be easier for you with a little jello shot Dutch courage, BB.

Chris was distracted. As far as Jeremy could tell, he was texting his boyfriend, they’d had some kind of disagreement and Chris was bummed out. For a random and fleeting moment, drunk-Jeremy swelled with pride at how inclusive and representative their team was, not least of all because the deep south often gets such a bad reputation, Alabama in particular. But here they were, two openly gay hockey players surrounded by nothing but acceptance and love; well, with the exception of Chris’s boyfriend but that wasn’t at all to do with the fact that Chris was gay. Jeremy’s reflective moment didn’t last long before Adrianne appeared in front of him, she was dressed as a flamingo and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I don’t know what you’re supposed to be dressed as,” she stated, with an edge of humour to her voice. “Are you the party security guard who just likes to show off his six-pack?”

“No, I’m the Karate Kid. Y’know… ‘Wax-on, wax-off’?” He did the motion for added explanation.

Her face remained blank. “Do you actually do karate? That would be pretty cool.”

He chuckled again. “Nah, I just didn’t have a costume at the last minute and my roommate had this lying around in the closet. I figured it was better than nothing.”

She flicked her hair back and eyed him flirtatiously. While there hadn’t been anything wrong with Adrianne, there just wasn’t any chemistry between them during the two dates they’d been out on. After their first and only no-sparks kiss, Jeremy had friend-zoned her without protest from Adrianne.

“You were the kid who always ran around naked, weren’t ya, Jer?”

“Well, when you look as good as all this… why wouldn’t ya?” he gloated.

“Ugh. Why do men think every woman needs what they have? Sure, you look, well, as good as all that, but Jesus. Have some modesty or, I dunno, something.”

“Dang, girl. Who pissed in your Cheerios?”

“Sorry. One of my friends got shit on by one of you… you… jock types. Guess I’m a little sensitive on her behalf.”

“There you are!”

A second flamingo appeared behind her and Adrianne gave a nervous giggle.

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