Page 4 of Bar Down

I shouldn’t judge the poor girl, maybe she’s shy and needs something to take the edge off, loosen her up a bit. “I do play goalie,” I say, opening another beer and taking a sip.

“I bet you’rereallyflexible. Can you do the splits?” she asks and I promptly choke on my beer and have to cough into my elbow to regain my composure. Yeah, she’s not shyat all.

I barely get myself together before she takes a step towards me and places her free hand on my abs, bunching the shirt there. I frown down at her tiny fist, annoyed that she’s going to leave wrinkles on my nice button-up.

She leans further into me and goes up on her toes to whisper in my ear, “Maybe you can show me.” I lean back slowly, trying to put some much needed distance between us. What is she even talking about? Show her what?

I get distracted by Ash pulling up next to me and grabbing a whole bottle of whiskey off the table before glancing my way.

Hannah pulls back and repeats, “Will you show me how flexible you are?”

My cheeks go red and I look at Ash, but he’s already walking away. “Sorry, I don’t think I will.” I pry her greedy hands off of me and move to follow Ash, but I’m met by a frantic Robbie.

“Hey man, I need your help,” he says and pulls me aside. “Can you go hang out with Trip and Mackenzie for like five minutes? I just need a break from socializing.”

“Where’s Olivia?” I ask.

“My bedroom, waiting for me,” he says, smirking.

Ugh. I give him a shake of the head and a fake scowl. “Seriously, you want me to entertain your guests while youentertainyour girlfriend?”

“What can I say, I’m fucking whipped.”

At least he can admit it.

“Okay, fine. You owe me, though.”

Robbie smiles and hugs me. “I know. Thanks man.” He starts walking away but then turns back, “Oh, can you also keep an eye on Ash? He’s been a bit off since yesterday.”

“Yeah, sure,” I say, mentally preparing myself to go talk to people. Once that is taken care of, I need to talk to Ash and figure out exactly what his message meant.

PART 1

ONE

Present Day

Ash

It’sfunny how much a year can change a person. Last September, I was in the same exact place in Traverse City, Michigan, chugging beers and making fun of Robbie for being old and talking about retiring.

While he may have let me use his parents’ cabin for the weekend, Robbie is not here to keep me in check this time. But it’s not just him that’s missing; Jordan is gone too. He was traded to the Texas Coyotes at the end of last season, right before the Calder Cup playoffs.

Our group has slowly been falling apart, and I can’t help but feel responsible for some of it. If we had performed better as a team earlier on in the season, maybe Jordan wouldn’t have been traded, maybe Robbie wouldn’t have had to retire.

I stand on the back patio of the lakeside cabin and close my eyes, breathing in and out, trying to get my brain to relax. I knew being back here would bring up all the memories of the last year.

I need a drink.

No. I need another appointment with my therapist.

I reach into my pocket with shaky fingers and pull out my phone. The smoke from the neighbor’s bonfire wafts over to me, and it brings on a wave of nostalgia.

I want to go back to that night.

When we were all together.

When everything was lighthearted and fun.

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