Page 21 of Rookie Season
Ally sighs and shakes her head. “You two are such babies. I’ll make some coffee.”
While she gets the coffee started, working Fisher’s fancy espresso machine like a pro, I pull the refrigerator open and find it stocked with fresh bell peppers, cheese, and eggs. I grab them all and get to work making omelets.
“You’re the bessht, Noah,” Penn mutters with his face still smushed on the counter.
“You owe me,” I reply with a wry smile, not needing to remind him of the many, many times in college I dragged his hungover ass out of bed and made him an omelet so he’d make it to practice on time and escape Coach’s wrath.
As we make breakfast, I can’t help but notice that Ally and I work around each other in the kitchen like we’ve lived together for years. She scoots out of the way when needed, and I do the same.
When she wrinkles her nose at the peppers I’m chopping, I stop. “You don’t want peppers in your omelet?”
She feigns gagging. “No, thank you.”
“How about spinach instead?”
“Hard pass.”
Penn finally lifts his head off the counter and looks at us. “Ally, you have to eat your veggies.”
“I’ve lived twenty years eating as few green things as possible, and I'm as healthy as an ox.”
Fisher smirks. “Ally, please remember that Penn’sCanadian and he prefers if you usemoosein all animal-related analogies.”
Penn shrugs, clearly not caring either way.
“Fine. I’m as healthy as a moose,” she says with a laugh.
I barely hear the conversation, realizing Ally is younger than I thought. I assumed she was in the same class as Fisher, therefore the same age as us. But she’s two years younger. So, how did she and Fisher even become friends?
Fisher stands and walks through the kitchen, opening a cabinet full of protein powder and supplements. He pulls out my green drink mix that’s full of vitamins and antioxidants. “I’ll give you two options, Ally. Green juice, or veggies.”
“Hey, that’s mine.” I reach for my greens, but he spins out of my reach so I can’t take it.
Fisher hands the container to Ally, and she studies the label for a moment before unscrewing the lid and taking a sniff. “Blech! I am not drinking that.”
“Good, because it belongs to me,” I grump, adding the peppers to the skillet.
Penn suddenly chooses this moment to resurrect himself from the hungover dead and also comes into the kitchen, making it even more crowded. “It tastes better than it smells, trust me. Noah is ridiculously picky, and he’s been drinking that stuff for years.” Penn steps toward me and pinches my bicep. “And look how strong and pretty it made him.”
Ally’s eyes linger on my bicep, and I feel my face growing hot under her perusal. I shrug my arm out of Penn’s grasp and turn so no one can see my face.
I need to get out of here soon…first I’m smelling her perfume, then I’m blushing like a thirteen-year-old when she looks at my arm.
“Hey, I’m not the one who had five beers last night,” Ihear Ally say in her defense, and I smile to myself as I sauté the peppers. “I don’t need a lecture about my health.”
The words, “she has a point,” fly out of my mouth before I can stop them. The kitchen grows quiet, and I glance over to see the three of them staring at me.
“What? She does. Leave her alone.”
I shrug, pretending I’m not also concerned about her health.I mean, seriously, how does she get any fiber into her diet?
“See, Noah’s on my side!” Ally crows, turning a big, triumphant smile my way that makes me feel even more ruffled.
I turn back to my work and jump when I see Harry on the counter staring at me. “Ally, if you don’t care about your health, that’s fine, but get your damn cat off the counter.” The words come out more harshly than I want them to, and when I see Ally’s expression falter, I open my mouth to smooth things over but decide against it.
It’s nothing personal, Ally.
But if I'm going to live with her, she needs to stay away from me. And more than that, I need to stay away from her. Focus on what’s important here, which is having the best hockey season of my life.
