Page 142 of Staying Selfless

“Are you from Minnesota?”

“California.”

“Nice.” Zanders nods his head in approval. “How much do you hate it when people call it ‘Cali?’”

“Fucking hate it,” Eli mutters under his breath, causing me to chuckle, recalling Patrick’s nickname he gave me.

“It’s pretty cringe.”

“Have you always been a hockey fan?”

“No. Basketball. Hockey is new for me, but I’m a fan now.”

“Better be.” Zanders motions towards Eli. “You have a lot of hockey to watch in your future.”

“Maybe,” Eli quietly says for no one else to hear, before taking a long drink from his amber liquid. He clears his throat. “Speaking of basketball. Logan is a stud. She was a high school All-American and had a full-ride to play for Oregon.”

“No shit?”

“It was a long time ago,” I brush him off. “My turn for some questions.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you like going by ‘Zanders’ or do you wish people would call you by your first name?”

Zanders seems taken aback for a moment. “No one has ever asked me that before.”

“Well, what do you want to go by?”

“I don’t know.” He pops his shoulders. “You can call me whatever you want.”

Just then, a pretty girl with dirty-blonde hair saunters by, stealing a look from Zanders. “But you can call me ‘daddy,’” he says to her as he leans back and watches her walk by, biting his bottom lip in admiration.

“Jesus,” Eli laughs.

“Hey, just because you’re wifed up, doesn’t mean I am. If anything, my pool of options just got a whole lot bigger with you out of the game.”

Zanders turns his attention back to me. “But to answer your question. I guess it’s just a hockey thing—last names and nicknames. Take your boy, Goody, for example.” He nods towards the dance floor where girls are surrounding Eli’s drunk teammate. “There’s no way that’s his real name.”

“Nah,” Eli cuts in. “His last name is Goodrow.”

“And your goalie is Ben, right? Benny— just to give him a nickname,” Zanders adds. “So, it’s just a hockey thing. No one on my team would ever call me ‘Evan.’”

“Does anyone call you ‘Evan?’” I ask.

“Yeah. My sister.” Zanders’ mouth quirks in a mischievous smile. “You know what. Mostly because this will piss your boyfriend off, and that’s one of my favorite things to do. I’m going to give you a nickname, and you can give me one too.”

“Deal.”

“I hate you,” Eli says to Zanders, fully amused.

Zanders ignores him, keeping his attention on me. “What’s your last name?”

“Leo.”

“Hmm. I like it, but that’s not it. L-o-g-a-n,” he slowly says my name. “Gan. Gan-Gan.”

“Hell no. That sounds like someone’s grandmother,” I interject.

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