Page 32 of Wicked Minds
“Oi, how many times have I saved your ass when you were too busy staring at your reflection in the ice to notice the puck going straight past you?” Gavin shouts.
I point a finger at him. “That was one time! And I had something in my teeth. It was driving me nuts.” Raising my voice over the cacophony of noise, I yell, “What are we?”
“Huskies!” The team responds, and I’m pretty sure I hear some of the other patrons join in, too.
“What do we do?”
“Win!”
“How do we do it?”
“Together!”
“Damn fucking straight! Now let me hear it!” As a team, we throw back our heads, the entire bar erupting into howls.
Collapsing into my chair, Gavin claps my shoulders, grinning broadly. “This is our year, man.”
My smile is equally broad and relaxed. “Fucking right it is.” We’re both seniors. This is our final year playing collegiate hockey. We’ll never get this time back. Even if we both go on to play professionally, it won’t be the same. It won’t be this time.Myteam.
So, with that in mind, I sit back in my chair and just enjoy being with my team.
I stop after two beers, but others in the team continue drinking, our table growing rowdier as the night wears on. We also seem to have grown in size, too. A few guys I recognize from the football team came in a while ago and pulled up chairs to our table, and the typical puck bunnies and cleat chasers have ventured closer, a few even climbing into some of the guys’ laps.
Typically, I’d have messaged Royce and Grayson to come hang with us too, if Royce wasn’t already out here with his team, except that’s no longer the norm. As much as I enjoy being with the guys, I also miss having my friends here.
“Yo, man.” Todd, the captain of the football team, drops into Gavin’s vacant chair beside me.
“How’s things?” I ask, lifting my chin in greeting.
“You still living with Royce?”
Eyeing him, I cautiously admit that I am.
“How’s he doing? I ran into him a while ago on campus, but he rushed away. Now, he’s been impossible to find this year. I never see him around and he’s stopped answering my calls or returning my texts.”
Sighing, I relax back into my chair. “It’s been rough on him. He didn’t take his ejection from the team well, but I think he’s turned a corner recently.” All because of a certain redhead.
“That’s good. Thanks, man. I’ve been worried about him.”
“Same. He’s getting there just… don’t give up on him, Todd. He might not be open to reciprocating right now, but I’m sure he appreciates knowing that you’re there.”
He gives me a friendly smile and a nod before wandering back to his teammates as Gavin reappears from the bathroom.
“I think I’m gonna?—”
“Hey there, Logan.” A feminine voice cuts me off, and I turn to find a girl I vaguely recognize. I wanna say her name is Kaitlin or Kami. Something like that that begins with a K instead of a C. “Hi Karly,” I hedge, hoping I’m right.
Her smile drops a little. “It’s Karoline.”
Right, now I remember. Even more ridiculous than I imagined.
“Sorry.”
Instantly forgiven, her coy expression returns. “It’s not a problem.”
Of course, because a guy calling you by the wrong name is such a turn-on. Kill me now.
“You’ve been playing amazing this year. Do you mind if I join you?”
