Page 20 of Just a Footnote

“Probably.”

“Typical,” Skye scoffs, but her tone is still sweet, making Aiden hold back a smile. She sighs dreamily as she watches Ollie shove someone into the boards. “This party will be good for everyone. Liam’s been so weird since he broke up with his girlfriend over Christmas break.”

That gets his attention. Aiden turns in his seat, ignoring the activity on the ice, to aim what he hopes is a disinterested but nosy look at Skye.

“He broke up with his girlfriend?”

“Yeah, they’d been together since high school. She came to the playoffs last year. She was sweet. He’s stayed pretty hush hush about it. Didn’t even tell Ollie why, just said they broke up.” Skye nods towards Liam on the ice. “He’s just been quieter than usual.”

“Liam Walsh quiet? I think we know two different people.”

“Oh?”

“He’s always pestering me.”

Skye hums, looks at him thoughtfully, then returns her attention back to the ice. They’re quiet the remainder of the game. He can’t stop thinking about Miles saying Liam has a crush on him coupled with the fact Liam broke up with what sounds like a very long term girlfriend. He’s done the whole curious guy thing before. Aiden has slept with a lot of people, gender is not a thing for him. Liam is pretty, but he’s a terrible, no good,verybad idea.

Because he is Archer’s best friend.

Because he is Archer’s teammate.

He doesn’t know if Archer would be more pissed about him getting with Liam or Liam getting with him. Over the years it’s gone unsaid that teammates of Archer’s are off limits to Aiden. Mostly for the reason that when Aiden crashes and burns with them there’s no drama left for Archer to deal with after the fact.

But also…Archer doesn’t have to know everything, right? He keeps a few things from Archer. This is a small thing in comparison to those other things. Another small secret to add to the bunch. He’s getting ahead of himself though. There’s no way Liam Walsh wants to sleep with him. Right?

4

The hallway bustles with wild, excited energy like it always does after a game. Skye leans against the two-toned concrete wall, one foot hitched up, as she types away on her phone. Aiden can’t help but run a nervous hand through his messy hair. Why is he nervous? It’s just a party. He’s been to more than a few of them in college. The first to exit the locker room are Miles and Archer, bouncing with manic energy, high off their deserved win.

“Liam said he’ll give us a ride. Unless you want to ride with Skye and Ollie?” Archer asks, nodding towards Skye. Skye stares between them, something passes over her face, before she pins Aiden with a heavy look.

“I’ll ride with you guys,” Aiden answers, then turns to Skye with a wink. “I’ll see you at the party?”

Skye nods. She pushes off the wall when Ollie finally comes out, hair still damp from his post-win shower. It’s always weird watching small-framed Skye fold against Ollie’s large burly figure. How two people so different can fit so perfectly together, Aiden will never understand.

“Party!” Liam shouts upon barging through the locker roomdoors. Another teammate trails behind Liam, Matty, the tall, dark, and grumpy right winger. Through osmosis he has found out that Matty is Liam’s best friend from childhood and attends AU on a hockey scholarship, but is more focused on his degree than hockey. Surprisingly, they’ve never interacted before, oddly considering they probably have the most in common of anyone.

Miles rolls his eyes, but a smile breaks through when Liam ruffles his still wet hair. The air is bitterly cold outside. Drizzle falls on them the entire way to Liam’s car. Aiden looks up to the sky just to feel the wetness on his skin. Not cold enough in Georgia to snow. Aiden shoves his hands into his leather jacket’s pocket even though it doesn’t do much to warm him.

Just like all the other times, Aiden sits in the passenger seat while Miles, Archer, and Matty silently file into the back. Flicking the heat on for Aiden’s seat, Liam just smiles innocently at him, pulling out of the parking lot, he tosses Liam a glare at the caretaking behavior. The heated seatsarekind of nice though, if he’s being honest.

Half the team already waits at Liam’s house when they pull up. Cars are lined up in a neat row underneath the magnolia trees. The Christmas lights still hang from the roof even though it’s already halfway through January and Aiden suppresses the urge to climb up to start taking them down.

A few parents sit settled in the living room hanging out, chatting as they pass through the house. Liam shoots his father a wave before hurriedly guiding them down into the basement.

“Walshy!” Someone shouts from the far end of the basement. Soon everyone is enthusiastically shouting “Walshy! Walshy! Walshy!”

Liam’s face flushes bright red as he waves them all off. Aiden finds Skye in the corner sitting on barstool watching Ollie play a game of pool. He grabs the bottle of cider from Skye, takes along pull, then hands it back. He pointedly ignores the strange look Skye gives him.

“You’re being weird,” Skye says softly, lips turned down in a frown.

Aiden hums. “Not really.”

“You definitely are.”

“Long week.”

Skye narrows her eyes further. “It’s Saturday.”

---