“Of course. What’s up with Raelynn calling you Elias?”
He shrugs. “That’s what she prefers. I told her as long as it wasn’t Elias James, which is what my mom calls me, I don’t care. Why?”
“It’s kinda freaky is all.”
He laughs, thinking I’m crazy, I’m sure.
I’m shocked when the twins make a point to come over and give me a shoulder slap. “Glad to have you back, Hook,” they say simultaneously, which is fucking creepy, to be honest.
I run a hand through my hair. “Yeah, thanks. I’m sure I was sorely missed,” I joke.
“Trust us, you were,” they say together again.
“Okay, cut that shit out. You’re freaking me out.”
They laugh and wander back to their lockers. I glance at EJ. “When did they start doing that?”
“When we were in Ottawa. They enjoy giving everyone the fucking heebie jeebies. It’s even creepier that they can do it on the fly like that.”
He isn’t joking.
Game day skate feels so good. I’ve progressed into my routine without any problems, but knowing there’s a game tonight sends my adrenaline running high. Aside from wanting to get back to work, I need the distraction. Things still aren’t quite right with Deanna. I haven’t seen her since I went over there Saturday. She keeps saying she’s too busy with work. That bullshit ends tonight because I’m going over there after the game. If she doesn’t show up, that is. I invited her, but she gave a noncommittal response.
What in the hell am I doing? We’re walking out of the tunnel for the game. Deanna should not be on my mind. The crowd roars when they see us, and I allow myself one last thought of her.
Is Deanna one of the thousands cheering for us?
***
Brayden wins the first face-off of the night. Watching it on TV while I shovel ice cream in my mouth makes me wish I had actually gone to the game. For two hours, I had decided to go. And then, I changed my mind. What changed? I finally talked to Rose.
“Working together was ruining our friendship,” she said.
Somehow, her quitting on me with no notice helped keep our friendship together. I think she’s lying. When I asked if she had another job already, she said yes. Which makes me wonder if she started her plan to leave after our chat, after I thought things were better, and obviously they weren’t. Friendship-wise, she acts like we’re all fine and good. She wanted to chit-chat about Brayden. She told me how she broke up with her boyfriend. When she asked if I’d set her up with Zane, since he seemed like a good guy, I told her no.
That pissed her off and she hung up.
If Zane deserves better than me, then he also deserves better than Rose. No way would I ever consider setting him up with one of my friends. That’d be weird, I think. With a sigh, I drag my attention back to the screen.
I still don’t understand this game. Right now, the Rebels are on a power play, it seems. The other team has their four players in a loose square formation in front of their goalie, while our players are on the outer edges, passing the puck to one another. I can’t see all the names and numbers, so I’m not sure if Brayden is out there or not. I’ll have to wait to see if one of the announcers says his name.
One Rebel passes the puck to another one. This guy is the farthest from the net, yet he rears his stick back and sends the puck past all of those players and their goalie. None of whom are able to stop it or defer it. It sails through the air until it hits the back of the net.
The thunderous cheers of the spectators are almost louder than the goal horn. Who knew North Carolina housed so many hockey fans? There are only a few gaps of three or four rows of empty seats throughout what I can see of the arena. I wonder if it’s like that all the time. I didn’t pay attention before.
Cameras zoom in on the celebrating Rebels. Yep. Brayden is on the ice. He’s the only one not smiling. Well, he does have that faint, corners-are-barely-tipped-up kind of smile. I jab my spoon into my butter pecan ice cream and dig out a big spoonful. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what Maryann said about his past relationship. Why I’m worrying about it, I don’t know. It has nothing to do with us. On the surface, at least.
Brayden says he’s committed; I should be happy! Yet I worry that we’re both fooling ourselves here. I was firmly against relationships, but here I am because I feel like Brayden could be a guy who doesn’t make me settle. Shouldn’t it be easier than this? Why do I have doubts? My eyes flick to Mom’s notebooks. Reading them has only reminded me of every last bad decision I’ve ever made. I haven’t even gotten to the most recent ones yet.
How do I know Brayden is a good decision? How do I know I’m capable of such a thing? I just want some space to clear my head without Brayden clouding my judgment. I reach for the remote to change the channel when the announcers start talking about a breakaw
ay. What stops me is they mention Brayden’s name. He skates down the ice, releases his shot, and scores.
My stupid heart warms with excitement for him. Maybe I can watch a little more. The regret over not going causes me to eat more ice cream. What if he goes up to the box? He’ll turn stiff because it’ll be an uncomfortable situation since I’m not there. Why am I worrying about Brayden? He can handle himself.
Otis jumps off the couch and walks to the door. That’s my cue to walk him. While we’re outside, exciting stuff happened with the game. Someone on the enemy team scored, but so did a Rebel. I don’t know which came first or who scored the Rebels goal. That brings the score to three-one in favor of the Rebels. There are two guys on the ice now with the last name Kessy. One jersey has “Co. Kessy” and the other has “Ca. Kessy.” It’s kind of weird to see people you’ve met or know on TV. The twins are difficult for me to keep up with. I barely saw their jerseys long enough to see their names. Plus, they keep weaving in and out of any traffic that’s around them. How does anyone keep up with them?
They regularly make passes without looking at each other. I get invested in the game, but not for Brayden. I’m fascinated by the Kessy twins. Sometimes, I wouldn’t think that one knows where the other is, yet they make a flawless pass, one of which leads to a goal in the third period. I can’t tell if they’re actually faster than some of the other guys on the ice, or if that’s just me since I can barely keep up with what’s happening anyway. Man, if I were the Rebels, I’d be showing off those twins and gathering all the attention they could get. Then again, maybe they already are and I don’t know it because I’m not a serious follower.