Page 139 of Hockey Halloween
Editing by Sarah Pesce
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Trope: Boy Hates Girl
Costume: Medusa
At Monarch College, hockey rules the campus. So when forward Karl Swanson heads to a Halloween party, he’s expecting fun and female attention. What he’s not expecting is a reunion with the woman who broke his heart back in high school. Will their accidental encounter turn out to be a trick or a treat?
Karl
Halloween is my favourite holiday.
I get to be someone else for one night. Not that I’m complaining about my life—I’m a forward for the Mustangs, and Monarch College loves their hockey team. But while I’m a good player, I’m not the team superstar or a gamechanger. So, Halloween is my chance to play the lead role, to act out my secret fantasies. And tonight’s role is pirate captain.
Putting on eyeliner is a huge fucking challenge. I’m aiming for Captain Jack Sparrow, but getting Kung Fu Panda instead. The only thing harder than applying eyeliner is taking it off. I move to the bathroom to try a warm washcloth and end up getting soap in my eyes. Great, now my eyes are both red and ringed with black. Too bad I’m not dressed as Darth Maul.
“Hey, Karl, are you ready yet? What are you doing in there?” Bergy pokes his head past the half-open bathroom door. Tyler Bergstrom is my best friend and linemate.
“I don’t know how women do this every day.” I take another swipe at my eyes with the eyeliner. It’s still crooked and one eye is noticeably bigger than the other, but it’s my best attempt so far.
“Maybe you can even things out with an eyepatch?” suggests Bergy.
I fasten on a hoop earring and look in the mirror. Everything looks right except no pirate ever had cropped blond hair. But a wig would be too hot. I put on the felt four-quarter hat to cover up.
“Aye, good enough.”
“What do you think of my costume?” Bergy pirouettes in his firefighter outfit. He’s wearing a dark yellow coat with neon bands, baggy pants, a red helmet—and a bare chest.
“Did you forget your shirt?” I ask.
He grins. “I figured that chicks would be more interested if I went as a sexy fireman.”
Bergy’s a positive guy who always has my back, but his one flaw is his obsession with sex. You’d think that being a varsity hockey player would be enough, but Bergy continually strikes out with women. And I’ve had a front row seat to all his failures.
He takes in my full appearance. “You look great!”
“Thanks.” I worked hard on my pirate costume: oversized white shirt, dark pants, high boots, and even a plastic sword tucked into my sash belt.
“Are the other guys ready to go?” I ask. We live in a hockey house with three other teammates.
“Ethan’s already left. But?—”
Before he can finish, the exasperated voice of our usually relaxed housemate, Roy Matsumoto, rings out. “Fuck this stupid costume.”
Mats’s door swings open. “Do you know anything about Regency clothing?” he asks, clearly frustrated. He’s standing there in a lacy dress shirt and the tightest black satin pants I’ve ever seen.
Bergy whistles. “You ever seen those models that seem to be wearing clothes but it’s just body paint? That’s what your pants look like. I mean, I’ve already seen you naked in the showers, but now everyone can tell you’ve been circumcised.”
“Fucking awesome,” Mats says. “I told Lana that hockey players can’t wear normal-sized costumes—our quads and glutes are justtoo big. Guess there were no hockey players in the 1800s.” Mats’s girlfriend is both beautiful and bossy.
“What are you supposed to be?” Bergy wonders.
“Some goof fromBridgerton.” Mats sighs and points to the remaining clothing lying on the bed. “This didn’t come with a photo or anything. Guess I shouldn’t have fallen asleep when Lana made me watch the show.”
I walk around Mats. “Yarrgh, those pantaloons are going to split faster than a clipper ship.”
“Well, Captain Morgan, what should I do then?”
