Page 59 of Lucky Sucker

“Wait. Do you thinktwo—” I held two fingers up to him to demonstrate. “Two guys on the team are together.”

He nodded. “Maybe. I don’t know. It’s just something I saw. But I don’t even know, my brain just works weird I think. Connecting dots that don’t exist and all that.”

“Baby,” I whispered nuzzling my head to his neck and kissing him. “Are you worried someone will beat us for cutest couple of the year?”

“Huh?” he nearly scrambled off the side of the bed. “Is that a real thing?”

“No.” I kept hold of him and pulled him close. The beds would need pushing together, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to sleep comfortably together. “But we know the answer is going to be us. Right.”

Wren nuzzled his head into my chest. “Right.”

“I wish we could spend more time together before the game.” I kissed the top of his head. “But you heard the coach, we need to be over at the place before the game, I think we’re going to see if we can get five minutes on the ice before the game as well.”

He kept hold of me now. “I don’t want to go.”

“You don’t have to, not until later, but you should, for moral support,” I told him. “And because you’re repping the Orcas with your jersey, teddy, and you need to get the scarf and beanie from your bag.”

“I suppose that means I have to.”

“And also because you’re being a good boy,” I told him. “And good boys get good rewards, remember.”

A light whimper let his lips. “I am good. So, can I get a reward now?”

“How about a clue to thatbigreward waiting for you back at home?”

He pulled his head back to look at me, as if trying to determine whether I was being serious. “Go on.”

“Well, it’s big, that’s the first clue, the second clue is you can sleep with it.” I zipped my lips after that. It was already too big of a clue, and I wanted it to be a surprise. But somehow, a third clue slipped. “And it’ll be fun when you invite me into your little space.” And that was it. No more clues.

Wren gasped. “Ok. I’ll be good, and be your lucky charm.” He leaned in and rubbed his nose against mine. “That’s how it works. I’ve given you luck.”

“We’ve shared it.”

25. WREN

Luke was right about me going with them. I was there to report, and that meant assessing the atmosphere and the other team. Plus, I was a lucky charm, even if Luke was nicknamed Lucky, I was the charm behind it now.

Whitley College was nestled inside New Hampshire. There was a bit more of a chill in the air as it sat on an open plain of land without many mountains surrounding it. The gusts were heavy as they battered down on us on the walk from the bus to the ice rink arena the team were playing at.

“There’s going to be a lot of noise at this event,” The coach warned me as I walked with him and the other support staff. I wasn’t going to be caught called a distraction again, the first time hurt, the second time would injure me badly, so I kept it from happening. “They’re coming off a loss from their game last week. So, they’re going to need a win, but we need a win more because we lost our last game against them.”

I nodded along. “Well, I’m always rooting for the Orcas.” I opened my messenger bag at my hip to show Bloo off. “I’m always representing.”

“Good,” he said. “So, out of curiosity, who else is on this fantasy league team of yours?” he asked. “Anyone we’re going up against? You know, it’s bad luck to do that.”

“It has to have other people. Do you even know how it works?”

“Well, it’s been a while since I participated,” he said. “It’s like a hundred dollars to the winner. Right?”

I scoffed and shook my head. “A thousand dollars for the winner. It’s a competitive league, well, the one I’m in is. I almost didn’t even get to pick Luke.”

“Well, who else did you pick?”

“So, this league doesn’t all play each other,” I prefaced it with. “It’s a whole bunch of colleges from across North America.” I pulled out my phone to the list of players I kept in the notes section of my phone. It was better than logging into the site and seeing how well—or poorly I was doing. “I’ve got Ace McKinnon, he’s the captain of the Scorpions, they’re a team in Seattle, which a surprise choice considering most teams are East Coast. Anyway, um—” I scrolled the list, crossing my notes for the players. “Brennan Tate, goalie for Rainier Lumberjacks, he’s got some great skills, I wanted to pick Tyler but someone else drafted him first. Um—then I managed to get Adrian DeLuca, another great player, from Brynn University, another team we’re not playing. And oh, I really didn’t want this guy because all the research I did said he was an absolute jerk face, Liam Parnap, right winger, not that right wing.” I paused to giggle at my own joke. “He’s at Bellport for the Bobcats, but he’s actually a good player. And then there’s Aiden Mercer, Manchester University Maulers, center forward. I think we’re playing them at some point. And then, I tried to fill the rest of the team with as many Orcas as I could—or, well, that I wanted on my team. The only other one I wanted but didn’t get was Zachsomethingfrom the Penguins down in Arizona, another shock place because it’s all desert there, right?”

Coach patted me on the shoulder. “I’m glad I put in that word for you at the paper. You surprise me with some of the stuff you say. It’s good. You ever thought about working for our social team?”

“Isn’t that just one guy who records videos?” I asked.

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