Page 54 of Forecheck
“Babe?” he asked, arching a brow. “Sounds like that trip up north was good for y’all.”
I fought back a snort at his use of “y’all.” Mitch had been born in Georgia, and lived there until he and his mom moved to Michigan when he was fifteen. I often forgot my best friend was a southerner because he’d easily adopted the Midwest vernacular.
“It definitely was,” I said. “I asked her to be my girlfriend.”
“Let me guess,” Mitch said as he finally stepped aside to let me through the door and we started toward the locker room, “she said no.”
I swung my arm out, smacking him on the chest. “Ha ha, very funny.”
Mitch chuckled and locked his arm around my neck. “I’m happy for you, bro. Seriously, Berk is a great girl.”
“The best,” I agreed. “And speaking of great girls…I heard through the grapevine that you’ve got a little something going on with her best friend.”
I waited for Mitch to deny it, to come up with excuses or tell me they were just fucking or any number of things he could say to get out of admitting it was more than it was. I knew the truth, both from when Lexie came to see me in the hospital, and from talking to Berkley about it.
Mitch, however, surprised me. “I really like her.”
Four simple words that spoke volumes, and the look on his face…I decided not to push him. I simply said, “Me, too,” and pushed into the locker room.
“Well, well, well,” our captain, Jordan Dawson, said when I appeared. “Look who’s back.”
As if on cue, as though they’d planned this—and they probably had—Rat held his phone in the air, and “Without Me” by Eminem blasted from the room’s sound system as cheers erupted.
“We missed you out there,” Grey told me, walking up to clap me on the back.
“It hasn’t been the same without you, man,” Cole added.
“That’s because I took all the talent with me.”
The room once again erupted.
“Okay, okay, simmer down!” Jordan yelled.
“Let’s get changed and get out there,” I 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!”
I grinned. It was good to be back.
Three days later, right before I was set to head to Canada on a road trip, Berkley and I met at a restaurant near campus for a quick dinner.
When we opened the door and stepped inside, the warm air was a welcome embrace, although it did nothing to ward off the chill of several sets of eyes turning our way. Throughout my career, I’d gotten good at ignoring the stares when I went out in public. Berkley, however, hadn’t been given the chance to acclimate the same, and her spine stiffened under my palm.
“It’s okay,” I whispered as the hostess led us to a table. “Focus on me.”
She inhaled deeply, her back rising and falling under my hand, and I rubbed soothing circles. “It’s just going to take some getting used to.”
“I know, babe. But nothing matters but us, right?”
She swallowed hard but nodded, giving me a small smile that was only slightly strained. “Right.”
“How were classes today?” I asked once we were seated, the waitress having come and gone to retrieve our drink orders.
“Exhausting,” she sighed, slumping in her seat. “It’s time to get serious about studying for the Bar if I want to pass it on the first try. All of my free time is going to be dedicated to that, so you might regret asking me to be your girlfriend before too long.”
I gasped theatrically. “Never!”
“You might be singing a different tune in a month when you haven’t seen or heard from me because my stack of textbooks and study guides crushed me to death.”
