Page 11 of Hockey Bois
“Ditto. Only so much you can do by yourself.”
“Right!?” An idea hit him, one that he wasn’t sure how to articulate without making a fool of himself. “You, uh… you come here a lot?” Well,thatwasn’t it. Nick winced and immediately backtracked. “I mean—do youpractice—?”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Brady reached over and snatched Nick’s phone out of his bag.
“What are you doing?” Nick asked dumbly. He went on his tiptoes to try and see the screen as Brady’s fingers flew across it.
“I’m giving you my fucking number. What does it look like I’m doing?” He handed the phone back. “I’ll text you when I skate. I live around here so I come every weekend and sometimes during the week.”
“Oh.” Nick clutched his phone to his chest. “Yeah, me too. Live around here I mean.”
“Good, then I’ll see you around. Also, you should probably put a password on that thing.” He pointed to Nick’s phone, and there was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “Not everyone’s as nice as me.”
“Right. I’ll get right on that,” he muttered through a mouth full of cotton and his ears buzzing slightly.
It wasn’t until later that he checked his phone. There was a new contact and a new text message.
Jensie From Hockey
Nick (10:01 a.m.)
Nicki’s number, text for hockey @ wheaton
Nice. Looked like he’d made a new friend.
A really hot, super-talented hockey friend.
What could go wrong?
Chapter Two: September
“Hey!”
Nick looked up from his computer to see Chad sauntering into his office.
Knew I should’ve shut the door…
“Hey,” he said reluctantly. If it were almost anyone else, he’d be happy to take a break, but Chad from sales was a dick. He would gladly waste Nick’s time, not realizing or caring that Nick wasn’t enjoying himself, and would ignore all of Nick’s attempts to end the conversation. Nick had once gotten stuck listening to the guy talk about a golf tournament for his entire lunch because Chad followed him from the kitchenette to the bathroom and then back to Nick’s office without getting the hint that Nick didn’t care.
A break was a good idea, but at what cost?
He took a deep breath and asked, “What’s up?”
“I heard you’re playing hockey now. How’s that going?”
Shocked, Nick had to pull his jaw up off the ground before answering. He knew most of the sales guys had real bro/jock vibes. Maybe playing hockey had bought him some goodwill? And thatmightresult in his being viewed as a person instead of as a numbers guy who existed only to cater to his co-workers’ needs. Whether those needs were work-related or listening to self-aggrandizing stories, Nick often felt like he was a convenient prop.
“Really well, actually. Scored my first goal—”
“Awesome, bro!” Chad flashed him a smile that no doubt got him at least half of his sales. “So you got that T&E expense analysis? I promised Duffy I’d follow up on it.”
An invisible bubble burst.
OfcourseChad didn’t care about the hockey. Theone timethey might have had anactual conversation, but no—Chad’s question was just a line to get what he wanted. He hadn’t even done a good job at feigning interest, andstillNick had bought into it.
Honestly, screw this guy.
“I already sent it in, but I can forward it to you.”
