Page 36 of For the Boys
“What for?”
“I’m going to give you my number so you can call or text me when you’re ready to see me again.”
“What makes you think that’s going to happen?”
“I mean, didn’t you just agree to it?”
“Saying ‘sure’ isn’t exactly the same as an outright yes.”
“Berkley,” he said, exasperated.
Unable to hold it back, she giggled, and he relaxed.
She pulled her phone out of her clutch and handed it to him. When he gave it back a moment later, she saw he had saved himself as “Brent” with a little heart-eyed emoji next to his name. He winked, hesitated for a beat before he bent down to kiss her on the cheek, and then followed Chase out into the night.
Watching his retreating back, she couldn’t help thinking she had given in too easily. Throwing her a party she hadn’t asked for didn’t automatically give him admission into her life. With his kiss still lingering on her cheek like a brand, she silently vowed to make him work for her attention and affection.
Chapter Seven
Brent
“So, how’d it go?” Mitch asked as soon as he stepped off the ice after their Sunday morning practice.
Brent hid a smile behind his glove. “Good.”
“Good? Seriously, Jean? That’s all you’re going to give me?”
“I invited you, dude. You should’ve shown up and seen it all unfold for yourself.”
“Ahh, so you’re telling me there was something to see then?”
Brent smirked. When Saturday night had rolled around, he’d been so nervous he thought he might vomit. He hadn’t even been that nervous before his first NHL game, which happened to have been a playoff game. Something about Berkley turned him from typical, confident Brent Jean to a shy and diffident version of himself.
But all of his worries had been for naught.
He’d gone to the club early to make sure everything was set up as it should be, ready for when Berkley and her friends arrived. There were a lot of people there, and he spent a couple of hours before Berkley walked through the doors making small talk and signing autographs. To help take some of the pressure off, he had brought his teammate, Chase Olsson, along as backup. He had also begged Mitch and Cole to come, but both had blown him off, claiming they had other plans, so Chase was a last resort.
Chase was a great guy, but he wouldn’t be Brent’s first pick to have his back in a crisis.
Berkley arrived, and the look of shock on her face lasted just long enough to make him nervous. Then her face was split by a giant grin, and she turned to her friends, hugging and thanking them.
Waiting for the moment she approached him was pure torture. He watched her mingle with her guests, dance with her friends, and consume endless amounts of alcohol without it ever seeming to affect her. He had a sneaking suspicion she was dumping drinks out when no one was looking, but that could be their little secret.
Since he had been warned she hated surprises, it didn’t come as a shock to him when she gave him shit for going behind her back to plan the party. He loved watching her get all feisty. He played one of the toughest sports on the planet, going up against guys twice his size, but he’d be damned if she didn’t scare him just a bit.
Berkley had seemed to enjoy the night, but he couldn’t quite forget her attitude toward him. While she’d been appreciative, there had also been a weird undercurrent to their interactions that Brent couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was almost as if she’d been angry with him, though for the life of him, he didn’t know why. The best he could do was chalk up her demeanor to discomfort and move on.
Brent snapped back to reality and walked to his stall. Chase, who was standing in front of his own two stools down, looked over and smirked. “You talking about Jean’s little girlfriend? Emphasis onlittle. That girl is tiny!”
“You took Olsson to the party and not me?” Mitch yelled, throwing his helmet at Brent from across the room.
“I didn’t claim to be busy so I could sit in front of my Xbox in my underwear all night,Mitchell,” Chase said, sitting on his stool to unlace his skates.
Mitch’s jaw flexed at Chase’s use of his full first name. “I’ll have you know I had company over,” Mitch said, clomping over in his skates to retrieve his helmet. “And I was wearing a lot less than underwear,” he added with a smirk.
“I’d believe you if you weren’t so ugly,” Chase said.
Mitch took a step toward him and raised his fist, pretending he was going to take a swing at him. He lowered his arm and said, “Look, I’m not the topic of conversation here. Jean is. I need details.”
