Page 13 of For the Boys
Brent breathed a sigh of relief. Cole had yet to open his mouth, and Brent wasn’t looking forward to what would come out when he did, but at least Mitch was entertaining him.
Finally, Cole spoke. “Who is she? Don’t tell me you finally made your move on that girl from the bar.”
Brent bit back a grin, heat creeping into his cheeks.
“Holy shit, you did! You finally fucking did it.” Cole lifted his hand for a high five, which Brent gladly gave him. “Wow. I’m proud of you, man.”
“Wait,” Mitch said. “Thegirl from the bar?”
Brent nodded. “Her name is Berkley. She went to MSU, and she lives in Detroit now. She’s getting her law degree, and she’s beautiful.”
Cole nodded. “She is pretty hot. Got hot friends too.”
Brent smacked him in the chest. “Not the point, Cole.”
“I’m just saying. She can hook me up.”
“If she ever speaks to me again…” Brent said.
The men rocked forward as the bus pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant. Mitch stood, towering over his teammates, and pointed to Brent. “This ain’t over, Jean. We’re hashing this all out over dinner. I don’t know what you did, but we’ll fix it.”
Cole laughed. “I love when he goes Uncle Mitch on us.”
Dinner with a group of nearly thirty grown men was always a rowdy affair, but never more so than after a win. Hockey games were grueling, the season an all-out war. Points were hard to come by, especially on enemy ice.
Bottles of champagne were passed around the tables, giant platters of surf and turf were ordered, and the private room was full with the sounds of laughter and shouted insults as they rehashed plays from the night’s game.
Brent was seated between Mitch and Cole at a circular table. Parker, Mitch’s tall, ginger-haired defensive partner, was seated across from him.
On the ice, Parker was a force to be reckoned with; he had a sixth sense for where opponents would be. The puck rarely found the back of the net when he and Mitch were patrolling the defensive zone.
Off the ice, Parker was one of the goofiest guys Brent had ever met. Still, ladies went crazy for his gray-blue eyes and wide, straight smile.
“So tell me, Jean, what did you do to fuck things up with this Berkley girl already?” Mitch asked.
“Yeah, does it have anything to do with that night we saved them at The Backdoor?” Parker asked.
“Wait, what?” Mitch asked.
In order to explain to Mitch how he might have fucked things up with Berkley before they even started, he, Cole, and Parker first told Mitch about the incident in question. Then he downloaded them on recent events. Following her on Instagram. How she’d messaged him after his hat trick in Anaheim the week before. Talking about college and how he’d seen her around at the bars back in Detroit. Discussing that night in August with her.
“You told her about the night they got drugged?” Parker asked, eyes wide.
“Well, yeah.” Brent shrugged. “I mean, I didn’t give her the full play-by-play, but I told her we were the reason she and her friends ended up in that hotel room.” What was the big deal? He’d figured she would appreciate that he was already taking care of her.
Mitch slapped the heel of his hand into his forehead, and Cole groaned.
“What? What’s wrong with that?”
“She probably thinks you’re a creepy stalker now!” Mitch said, shaking his head. “I think that’s one of those situations where they were better off not knowing, man.”
The blood drained from Brent’s face. “Seriously?”
Parker nodded solemnly. “Seriously. She’ll probably never speak to you again, bro.”
Brent scrubbed his hands over his face and ran them through his hair. Things had to be bad if even Parker thought he’d screwed up.
In his previous relationships, including the one he’d been in right before leaving college to go pro, the girls he’d been with loved to be taken care of. All women liked that sort of thing, right? He would have to turn on the charm and do something really big and magical to make Berkley see he wasn’t some creepy stalker. Something that would show her he was the kind of guy good enough for her.
