Page 32 of Hockey Bois
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[Image Description: A picture of the “woman yelling at cat” meme. The top reads “Maryland.” The woman yells, “It’s the north!” The cat says, “It’s the south.”]
Nick (10:33 a.m.)
okay that’s just not fair
*
His phone buzzed in his pocket, giving Nick a chance to escape Terry and Jenna’s bickering about Italian vs. German sausage. (“They friggin’ INVENTED sausage, Terry! ‘Brat’ is a synonym for good sausage, fight me.” “They don’t do the spicy ones I like, though.” “They have HUNDREDS of types of sausage, I’msurethey makeone typethat you like.”) He clicked the Facebook notification, fully expecting to find out it was some long-forgotten acquaintance’s birthday. He couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath when he saw the picture he’d been tagged in.
There they were, the Jagr Bombs, about four beers into the night and taking up nearly the whole width of the concourse at Capital One Arena. They had managed to crowd in for the picture they’d bribed a vendor into taking, and it was a pretty good shot.
Well, it was a pretty terrible shot since they were obviously sloshed, but it was pretty good in the sense that they were all smiling and having a good time.
And that was totally him and Brady with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders. Brady was holding up a beer, Nick was pointing emphatically to the USA logo on Brady’s chest, and they were definitely far closer than he remembered them being.
“Ohhh, is that your hockey team?” Jenna asked. She had to go on tiptoes to see over his shoulder. “Which one is the cutie you’re crushing on—and never mind, I can totally tell.”
“Is it the bearded guy with his arm around you?” Terry asked. “Because if it’s not, you’re doing a really good job of hiding your crush if you’re hanging off of someone else.”
“Nick is incapable of hiding a crush. You remember Toby from kindergarten?”
“I didn’t go to kindergarten with you guys.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot. You skipped kindergarten because your family is ridiculous. Who skips kindergarten? Of course it’s easy, we’re cutting paper and gluing crafts and doing numbers and the alphabet. Totally fucked you over in the long run.”
“I graduated top of my class!” Terry whined.
Jenna gave him a withering glare. “Let’s not open that can of worms, okay? Truce so we can tease Nick about his not-boyfriend?”
“Yes. Truce.”
Nick yanked his phone away and took a step forward to clutch it protectively to his chest. “Yes, that’s Brady. Yes, I still have a crush on him.”
“Yes, heisas hot as you said,” Jenna said appreciatively, like she’d thought Nick’s taste was questionable up until that moment. “Like seriously, I didn’t know peoplethatgorgeous were just walking around on the street. Or in hockey rinks, I guess.”
“Who’s the girl in that picture? The small one?” Terry asked.
“I am not setting you up with Gail; she’d eat you alive.”
Terry’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“Are you sure he doesn’t know you have a crush?” Jenna asked. She motioned for him to hand over the phone. Since his only alternative was resisting and then having her literally wrestle him to the ground to get it, he gave it to her. “Like, this is pretty close. He might not recognize that doe-eyed look, but that is 100% a guy who’s head over heels.”
“I’m not—”
Jenna turned the picture around, zoomed in on his, indeed, very happy grin and the almost possessive way he had pulled Brady close to him for the picture.
“I mean… head over heels is a little much… It’s just a crush. I don’t know him that well,” he said weakly, mimicking Terry’s dejected posture. “There’s still hope.”
Jenna snorted and looked back at the phone. “Who’s Lucy?”
“Lucy?” He wracked his brain trying to remember Guy’s wife’s name. It was something way more French sounding, wasn’t it? “I don’t know a Lucy. Why?”
Nick and Terry crowded into Jenna’s space to read the comments on the picture.
Marc Garcia: Looking good guys! Sorry I couldn’t make the game!!
