Page 81 of For the Boys
“Tell him I said hi! Where are you anyway?”
“She says hi,” he told Mitch. “And I’m actually just walking into the rink for practice. The doctor cleared me! I’ll call you after, okay?”
“Oh, that’s great news! Be careful.”
“Always,” he told her, and disconnected.
Mitch stood staring at him, arms crossed. “Babe? Sounds like that trip up north was good for y’all.”
“It definitely was,” Brent said. “I asked her to be my girlfriend.”
“Let me guess,” Mitch said as they started toward the locker room entrance, “she said no.”
Brent swung his arm out, smacking Mitch in the chest. “Obviously not.”
Mitch laughed and locked his arm around Brent’s neck. “I’m happy for you, bro. Seriously. Berk is a great girl.”
“Thanks, man.” Brent smiled down at his shoes. “I appreciate it.”
They entered the locker room, and everyone erupted in cheers.
“Well, well, well,” Jordan said, “look who’s back.”
Chase held his phone in the air, and Eminem began blaring from the locker room speakers.
“Aww, you missed me! How sweet,” Brent said, walking to his stall and setting his bag down, turning to address the room. “But seriously, thanks guys. It’s good to be back.”
“We missed you out there,” Rat told him, walking up to clap him on the back.
“It hasn’t been the same without you, man,” Cole said.
“That’s because I took all the talent with me,” Brent said.
The room once again erupted.
“Okay, okay, simmer down!” Jordan yelled.
“Let’s get changed and get out there,” Brent said. “It’s been too long since I’ve been on skates, and I want to see if I can still beat Grey end to end.”
“Oh, you’re on old man!” Grey yelled.
Brent smiled. It was good to be back.
Chapter Sixteen
Berkley
Holiday break was over.
Berkley had returned to Detroit on Saturday, which was later than she had originally planned. Brent was busy with hockey stuff, and her friends were all out of town or working, so she’d chosen to remain with her family for a little longer, soaking up the downtime before her final semester of law school occupied every waking second, and several of her sleeping ones.
“Hey, girlfriend!” Harper said, running up to Berkley outside the Keith Center, where all of their law school classes took place. Harper’s straight black hair was pulled back into a clip that loosened with every step she took. They were headed for their first class of the new semester, a contract drafting course taught by a professor who was also a well-respected and still-practicing lawyer in Detroit.
“Hey!” she said, squeezing her friend in a tight hug. “How was your break?”
“Amazing,” Harper said, turning to link her arm through Berkley’s as they made their way into the hall and down the steps to a row in the middle of the room. “About the only time I like going back to Florida is when the temperature here drops below fifty.”
Berkley laughed. “It could be worse. We got snow in TC while I was home.”
