Page 10 of For the Boys
“I would start by reading the message, you freak,” Amelia said, smacking her on the arm.
Berkley took a deep breath. “Read the message. Got it.”
@Brent22Jean:Awesome. I just noticed you went to Michigan State. I went to school there, too, you know ;)
Berkley couldn’t help but laugh. She’d been a few years behind him at Michigan State, a freshman when he was a senior. She’d had hockey season tickets and had sat in the front row of the student section obsessing over him that entire year. When he’d left for the pros at the conclusion of his senior season, MSU hockey games had suddenly become much less enjoyable.
@BerkDaniels:I did know that, actually.
Her phone pinged almost immediately, telling her Brent had responded. “Wow, that was fast,” Amelia said.
@Brent22Jean:Haha oh so you do know a little about me then.
@BerkDaniels:Maybe just a little. I’m a pretty big fan :)
@Brent22Jean:I believe you if you’ve been following me since my college days!
@BerkDaniels:Well I loved MSU itself for as long as I can remember, and I grew up a hockey fan so it was a natural fit.
@BerkDaniels:With the team I mean.
Brent didn’t respond for several long minutes, and Berkley couldn’t help obsessively monitoring her screen, waiting for his reply.
Finally, it came.
@Brent22Jean:So there’s kind of a reason I followed you yesterday…
@BerkDaniels:Why do I have a feeling this is about to get weird?
@Brent22Jean:Haha I promise it’s not! Well okay maybe it is. It’s just...you hang out at The Backdoor a lot, right?
@BerkDaniels:How do you know that?!
@Brent22Jean:I’ve seen you around!
@BerkDaniels:Okay you’re right. I do. But how did you know who I am? We’ve never talked…
@Brent22Jean:Actually...there was a night in August where you went out and woke up in a hotel room, right?
@BerkDaniels:Yeah…
@Brent22Jean:Well…I saw you guys get drugged. Well, no. I didn’t see it happen but I saw a guy drug a round of shots, and figured out it happened to you guys later. We’re sorta the reason you ended up at the Ren Cen.
@BerkDaniels:Wait what? Oh my God.
@Brent22Jean:We didn’t know where you lived, and you guys weren’t in any shape to tell us, so we put you up in that room.
@BerkDaniels:Who exactly is “we”?
@Brent22Jean:Me, Cole Reid, and Parker Graff.
“Dude, Parker’s pretty hot,” Amelia said. “And so is Cole, for that matter.”
“So not the point, Ames.” Berkley’s mind was spinning. She had a thousand questions, the first of which being why was he bringing this up? If he hadn’t said anything, she and her friends never would’ve known the difference.
@BerkDaniels:So what, you messaged me because you figured it was time for us to thank you? I mean, I’m happy to oblige. You seriously saved our lives. But I’m confused. Why now?
@Brent22Jean:No no no. I didn’t message you to guilt you into thanking me or anything like that. Truth is, I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while. You’re just always surrounded by your friends, or you’re shutting guys down left and right. I didn’t want to be one of them…
