Only One Forever (Only One 8)

Max comes out on the ice and tosses Michael and me a shirt. “You two are on my team.”

“Oh, goodie,” Michael says, grabbing the shirt and tucking it in his pants as I do the same.

“Why can’t you guys just put the jersey on?” Max looks at us, and we both look down at our outfit. We both are in black hockey pants, and the shirt is tucked in the back hanging out.

Michael looks at his father. “The real question is, who did you pick first?”

“Of course I picked you,” Max says, looking at Michael, and even I know he’s lying, as he tries to avoid looking at us in our eyes.

“Bullshit.” I laugh, and he holds his stick up at me. “I had better stats than he did this year.”

“I’m his son!” Michael shrieks. “You chose him over me.”

“Oh, stop whining,” Chase huffs out as he skates on the ice. “How did I go last? And to my own father.” I roll my lips, laughing at him. “I played hockey all through college!” he yells.

“Why do you even care?” Cooper asks him. “It’s not like you like hockey.”

“I like hockey; I just don’t love it,” Chase replies. “I save lives, not pucks.” He winks at us, and we gag.

“This morning,” Cooper says, “one of the kids asked if you keep a hammer in your bag.”

“It’s the blond in my hair,” Chase gloats, skating in a circle. “It’s the highlights from the sun.” If you thought he was big before, with his hockey equipment on, he looks like a beast now.

“Okay, are we playing or not?” Wilson says. “I have shit to do.”

Cooper looks at him, laughing. “No, you don’t.” He points his stick at him. “You need to work off that holiday weight.”

“Fuck you,” he says, holding up his finger, and all I can do is laugh. “Let’s drop this puck.”

For the next three hours, we play three on three. We push each other until I swear my legs feel like jelly. I sit on the bench with my father watching as I take a drink of water. “I’m going to tell Uncle Max,” I say the words stuck in my mouth when my father looks over at me. “I don’t want to sneak around and lie to him.”

He just looks at me. “If you’re sure,” he says, squeezing water into his mouth. “Then I agree with you. The longer you keep it from him, the worse it’ll be.”

I nod as they skate off the ice, and I look at my dad. “It’s now or never.” He gets up, and all I can do is follow him into the locker room.

I sit on the bench, looking around the room. I sit between my father and my grandfather. Uncle Matthew sits with of Cooper and Chase beside him. Uncle Max and Michael are talking about something or other. I don’t even know. Wilson sits by himself as he leans back against the wall and drinks his drink. I get up and head to the shower, and when I come back out and get dressed, everyone is at the same spot they were before. I look down at the phone and see a text from Alex telling me she’s going home to have lunch with Julia.

The voices start to sound like echoes in my ears. My pounding heart drowns out even the voices. “Um,” I say softly and I can feel my father beside me put his back up and stop moving. “Uncle Max.” I call his name, and he looks up at me, and my whole head is yelling at me to shut up. “I need to ask you something,” I say, and Michael just looks at me.

“Dude, you look like you’re going to be sick,” Michael says, and I don’t know why, but Wilson stands up, coming closer to me as if he knows shit is going to go down.

I stand, my legs shaking and so are my hands. My father stands beside me. “Why don’t we do this privately?”

“Privately?” Uncle Matthew says, almost laughing. “What the fuck are you talking about? It’s family.”

He must sense that I’m not laughing or joking, and he just looks at us and then at my dad, who shares a look with him. “I guess there is no good way to say this.” My father moves next to me but more in front of me, always protecting me. “I’m in love with Alex,” I say the words before I can stop them from coming out of my mouth.

I watch my uncle Max take in my words, and I also feel my grandfather get up from beside me and stand right where my father is just on the other side. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Oh, fuck,” my uncle Matthew finally says, getting up. He’s pretty much saying what everyone is thinking in the room.