Page 82 of For the Boys
“Oh, c’mon,” Harper said, dropping her bag onto the floor next to her seat. “You grew up in the north. Snow practically runs in your veins.”
“I’m not sure that’s a sound argument, but I know what you mean.”
“And how are things on the boy front?” Harper asked.
Berkley smiled. “Amazing. He surprised me in TC over break, and he asked me to be his girlfriend.”
“Aww. That is so cheesy and adorable. I love it.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty great. I haven’t seen him since though.”
“What does he do for a living again?” Harper asked.
Shit. Berkley had forgotten she hadn’t exactly clued her law school friends in on the fact that she was dating a professional hockey player.
“What does who do for a living?” a voice from Berkley’s right asked. She turned to find Reece Bennett, the third member of their freshman year study group, seated next to her. He shoved his floppy brown hair out of his hazel eyes, which tended to shift between brown and green depending on his mood.
“Berkley’s boyfriend,” Harper said.
Reece’s eyebrows shot up. “Did I hear that right? Berkley Daniels is dating again?”
“Sure am!”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, his bottom lip poking out in a pout.
“I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it until it got serious.”
“And it’s serious now?”
Berkley nodded. “Definitely.”
“So whatdoeshe do for a living?” Reece asked.
“Ahh, well…”
“Let me guess,” Reece said. “He’s a plumber!”
“No, I bet he drives a garbage truck,” Harper supplied.
“Why am I even friends with you two?” Berkley said. “But for the record, he plays hockey.”
“So he’s like in a beer league or something?” Reece asked. “That’s not exactly a job.”
“No, like he plays hockey for a living,” Berkley said. “I’m dating Brent Jean.”
Both of her friends were stunned into silence, but the moment was short-lived.
“Holy shit,” Harper breathed. “Are you serious?”
“She can’t be,” Reece said. “How would you even have met him?”
“The Backdoor,” Berkley said. “Well, actually, he saved me after being drugged and then threw me a birthday party, but that’s a story for a different time.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Reece said. “You have to be joking. That’s just…preposterous.”
Berkley couldn’t help but giggle at the way his southern accent twisted the word.
Reece had been born and raised in southern Tennessee, just outside of Chattanooga. He’d attended undergrad at the University of Tennessee, and despite having been in a fraternity, had led an almost laughably sheltered life. He and Berkley had met on their first day of law school, and the more she learned about him, the more she made it her mission to corrupt him as much as possible, an undertaking Lexie regularly offered to help with.
