I don’t know howMr. Golden Boy; ‘hockey’s my first love. I don’t need a girlfriend’turned into ‘she just texted me, I’ll see her in a couple weeks, I hope she can video chat later,’but I don’t know which one’s more annoying.
Not that I’m not happy for my friends. They suit each other more than we thought; they weirdly complete each other, but hearing about her 24/7 is getting old.
Or maybe part of me wishes I could talk like he does. Scream from the rooftops that I have a girl who understands me in a way I thought no one could. But we don’t have what Declan and Ember have.
We have something most people wouldn’tunderstand.
“Tate just texted me to see if we’re done changing,” Fletcher whispers, wrapping an arm over my shoulder. “How are we gonna get Declan out of here but make sure Cam doesn’t see his sister?”
“I—” I don’t get to finish responding because Cam’s voice cuts me off.
“Thanks, Sanderson, but that was all me,” Cam says. “You coming out with us?”
Fletcher’s eyes widen as he looks from me to Declan, and the words fall out of his mouth. “He can’t.”
I shake my head as Fletcher shrugs, and Declan turns toward him. “I can’t?”
“No, you have that thing.”
“A thing?” Cam zips his bag.
“Yeah, but I’ll come out with you guys. Brooks too. It’ll be great,” Fletcher continues. “Sorry you and Zeke can’t come.”
I can hardly hold back the laugh forming in my throat because only Fletcher would make this situation ten times more awkward than it needed to be.
“Actually, I think your thing is already happening.” Jaxon hands Declan his stuff. “You should get going.”
“Going where?” Declan looks around like he’s scared we’ve hired another stripper to surprise him. Little does he know his girlfriend is on the other side of the door.
“Just trust me.” Jaxon pushes him out of the door and winks at me as he turns around.
“So, Campbell, what kind of beer do you like?” Fletcher wonders, but I can still see the heat in his cheeks.
“I don’t know. I kind of just drink whatever,” Cam replies.
“There’s this great bar not far from here,” Jaxon begins, “an old buddy of mine told me about it. I guess all the MSU guys usually hang out there.”
“We’re gonna go hang out with the guys we just served a loss to?” Jeremy tosses his bag over his shoulder.
“I think it’ll be fun. Aside from O’Connell, we don’t have any bad blood with players off the ice, you know?” Jaxon adds. “And if they don’t want us there, we’ll find somewhere else to go.”
“You sure you don’t want to come with us?” Brooks pats me on the back. “There were a lot of MSU fans that are just your type.”
“My type?” I shove my phone in my pocket.
“Female.” He grins. “Think of all the potential you’re gonna miss out on.”
“I’m surprised you’re going out. Won’t Liv be upset if you don’t ring in the New Year with her?”
“Oh, I will,” he says. “But I’ll celebrate with the team a little beforehand. Maybe witness Jaxon fight some MSU player.”
“Now that I need to see,” I continue. “If it happens, video it, okay? I’m feeling kind of beat.”
“Alright,” Brooks doesn’t push, “if you change your mind, I’ll let you know where we’re at.”
“Thanks, man. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I grab my bag and head out of the locker room; the final words I hear as the door shuts behind me is, “Zeke never misses out on a celebration. You think everything’s okay?”