Page 33 of Hockey Bois
Gregory Smegory: Sick pic I’m making it my cover photo??
Lucy J: OMG you got a new jersey!!!! It looks awesome!@Brady Derek Jensen
Brady Derek Jensen: it’s not mine I was borrowing it from a friend but yeah it’s pretty sweet
Lucy J: Guess I know what I’m getting you for Xmas then!!????
“Uhh…” Nick couldn’t place the name to any of the conversations he’d had with Brady, though that didn’t mean much. It’d taken months to even find out Brady was from Pittsburgh. Brady was tight-lipped when it came to non-hockey topics; the more personal, the less Nick knew.
“Girlfriend?” Terry suggested.
Nick felt like his heart had either stopped or was beating so fast he couldn’t distinguish the individual beats anymore. Words failed him, and he focused on making sure he breathed in and out and didn’t vomit all over his shoes.
“Hold on.” Jenna clicked on the small picture of the mysterious Lucy J. Her profile picture now filled the screen and showed a couple, their hands linked as they stared lovingly into each other’s eyes. Neither person looked familiar, a good indication that whatever their relationship, her and Brady werenotdating. He recognized the skyline in the background, and suddenly it made sense.
“Lucy Jensen,” he said, happy his voice wasn’t as shaky as his legs were. “Sister?”
“Ohhh,” Jenna said excitedly. “You might be right.”
The rest of her profile was blocked, giving no other clues. Once again, Jenna zoomed in on the picture and focused on her face.
“Stupid beautiful sunset putting her in shadow,” Jenna grumbled. “You see a family resemblance there?”
“In the super zoomed-in, poorly lit picture? No, no I do not.”
“Well.” Jenna handed back his phone. “You could always ask him if he has a sister. I’m guessing she’s family, so I wouldn’t worry about that.”
He could not conceive of a way to bring that up.“Hey, Jensie, we doing hockey this weekend? Also do you have a sister named Lucy who maybe commented on that team picture? ’kay, thanks.”“He could have some other girlfriend out there,” Nick grumbled.
“Or boyfriend,” Terry added helpfully.
“You should put yourself out of your misery and ask him out,” Jenna said. “The worst that happens is he says ‘no’ and you don’t date… which is exactly the situation you’re already in.”
“That isnotthe worst-case scenario. I could lose a friend over this if it gets awkward, never mind that we play on a team together. He’s the better player, and he’s been on the team longer. I could get kicked off the team or whatever the hockey equivalent of an honorable discharge is!”
“You’re both adults. You don’t think that’s a little extreme?”
“Nah, I’m with Nick on this one,” Terry said. “You said the worst case, and he pointed out a much worse case. I don’t know howlikelyit is, but it’s not as simple as ‘they date’ or ‘they don’t date.’ Even if the guy says ‘yes’ and they try it out, they might not work as a couple, and then they break up, andthenhe loses his hockey buddy and gets kicked off the team.”
Jenna’s face made it clear she wanted to smack them both. “I swear to God, how are you two functioning adults? All right, I concede, it might get awkward, but you two are drama queens if you think the path diverges into either Happily Ever After or Banned From Hockey Forever.”
“Could we just… let me make my own decision about this? It’s my life that gets fucked up if I get it wrong.”
“Fine,” Jenna said and held up her hands in defeat. “Just keep in mind, it’s your life that can also get way better if you get it right.”
Nick’s cheeks flushed, and he put the brakes on his imagination running away with that possibility. He didnotneed to picture any sort of happy domesticity with Brady.
*
Nick’s phone vibrated on his desk, but he ignored it. He was in the middle of something and whatever the call was, it could wait. He was tired of staying at work an hour after the day had officially ended to make up ground. So help him, he was getting out of hereon timetoday.
“So I need approval for a new corporate credit card,” Chad said as he stepped into Nick’s office. He was tossing a Rubik’s cube back and forth as if that were an acceptable way to use one. “I emailed you about it.”
As rude and entitled as Chad’s entrance was, Nick appreciated that it was straightforward. Definitely better than the hour he had lost last week when Chad pulled him into his office to settle a bet between him and some other sales guy that sort of related to hockey but actually somehow ended up being about baseball.
“I can’t authorize new credit cards,” Nick said without looking up from the files on his desk. Maybe if he was also straightforward, they could get this over with. “I can process your old expense reports, but if you lost your card, you’ll have to go to Larry.”
As if Chad didn’t already know this. Waste of his damn time.
