Page 36 of Just My Puck
Marissa drops her marker with dramatic flair. “Yes, finally!”
They high five, and Marissa takes her seat again.
“Oh, speaking of light bulbs,” Miles says, glancing at me. “Could you stop by and have a look at the shower head at our place? I can’t get it to stop leaking.”
I roll my eyes. “Dude, I’m not the team’s on-call janitor on the team. Stop asking me to fix your stuff.”
“I know,” he sighs. “I could call the plumber, but he always takes forever to come, especially with the holidays around the corner. I know you could have it fixed within minutes.”
“Fine.” I shake my head. “I’ll drop by tomorrow before we leave.”
“Caleb, you’re up,” Marissa says, handing me the small dry-erase board and marker.
I lean forward to draw a card from the deck, then study it. Easy enough. I start sketching the outline of a trophy.
“Cup! Stanley Cup! Championship!” Beaumont shouts, his French accent clipping the words slightly.
I add little lines to indicate shine, hoping someone gets it.
“Victory?” Hayley guesses.
“Close,” I say, trying to draw emphasis on the base of the trophy.
“Hey! No talking!” Marissa scolds.
Aria leans in, studying my sketch. Her perfume—or maybe the smell of her shampoo—takes over, and I suddenly wish to be teleported back home, watching TV with her on the couch. “Winning?” she guesses.
“Playoffs?” Wally tries.
I shake my head, adding a few stick figures holding up the trophy.
Aria gasps. “Champions!”
“Yes!” We high five, and I draw her in for a hug. She fits so perfectly in my arms, just like she fits in with my friends, in my home. It’s like the piece of my life that was missing, and I wasn’t even aware of it.
Adler claps loudly. “Finally, something goes right for our cap tonight! I mean—no offense,” he adds.
I break from our embrace and shoot him a look, but there’s no real bite behind his words. Just goodhearted teasing.
Beaumont grimaces. “Bit of an off night for you, huh, Cap?”
“Yeah, Caleb,” Marissa chimes in. “What was with that missed pass? Kind of a rookie move.”
I roll my shoulders, forcing a casual shrug. “Everyone has an off night once in a while.”
Miles tilts his head. “Hmm. But you don’t.”
He’s right, I usually don’t.I can’t lose sight of my focus. Tonight showed me that I was right, thinking that I couldn’t do both—have a relationship and play hockey. Not if I want to be there for my team. It’s just not how I’m wired.
I glance at Aria, and she’s watching me, a small smile tugging at her lips. My pulse kicks into high gear, and for a second, I’m ready to give up my entire career in the NHL just so we could have a shot.
16
"Who wouldn’t want to be fixed by Caleb?"
Aria
I’m watching Caleb flip pancakes, and something flickers inside of me. It’s the same feeling I’ve had since yesterday. Watching him shred across the ice with fiery resolve, hanging out with him and his friends after the game,that hug. Everything has stirred up a whirlwind of emotions that I don’t know how to process. The logical explanation? I have feelings for Caleb that go beyond friendship, but then again, I don’t have anything to compare them to. Maybe it’s normal to feel that wayabout a friend? Although, I definitely don’t have the same sparks in my chest when I talk to anyone else.
