Page 53 of Testing the Goalie

My eyelids are drooping, feeling like they weigh a million pounds as the movie plays, and I’m nearly asleep when my phone pings, alerting me that someone has sent a message on social media. I jolt awake and quickly reach for my phone, opening the app with fast fingers.

Calvin Appleton responded to my message, and my hands shake as I click on the icon to read the entire response.

Calvin Appleton: Hi, Ian. Thank you for reaching out. I am Ben Cooper’s childhood hockey coach. Your plan for Christmas sounds fantastic. I was actually planning on coming out to Michigan during that time anyway. Funny enough, I have a meeting at GSU for the opportunity to join their coaching team, and the only time that worked for everyone was during the Christmas break. I’ve been meaning to reach out to Ben, but I wanted to make sure the plans were solidified first. I would hate to get his hopes up and disappoint him. Anyway, if you’re still interested in the three of us spending Christmas together, please let me know, and I’ll be there.

My smile takes over my entire face, almost hurting as I type out my response immediately.

Me: That’s fantastic! And yes, the plan still stands, but I was kind of planning on keeping it a surprise. What do you think about that?

Calvin Appleton: Sounds great. I’m looking forward to meeting you and spending some time with Ben. Fingers crossed, I land the job, and I’ll be able to see him a lot more. That boy is like a son to me, and I’m so proud of the person he’s turned out to be.

Me: I look forward to meeting you too. Ben is an amazing person, and he speaks highly of you. Thank you for being the one person from his childhood who didn’t turn their back on him.

Calvin Appleton: No need to thank me. Ben deserved it.

I haven’t met Calvin in person yet, but it’s already obvious I’m going to like him a lot. With that piece of the puzzle solved, I develop more of a game plan to make this the best Christmas Ben has ever had.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

BEN

The door to my apartment shuts with a thud, and Bronny looks up from his textbook, smirking at me. “Oh, look who’s home. I was beginning to think you moved out but didn’t tell us,” he jokes, and I stick my tongue out at him.

“Ha, ha, very funny,” I reply dryly.

Bronny chuckles. “I’m just teasing you, man. How are things going with the professor?”

A lovesick smile spreads across my face, and I shrug, dropping my bag by the door and walking toward the living room. Ian and I have been dating for about two and a half months now, and honestly, things couldn’t be going better. He treats me like I’m a treasure that needs to be protected at all costs. It’s everything I ever could have hoped for in a relationship.

“Things are going amazing,” I reply, noticing how dreamy my voice sounds. “Sorry I’ve been a little MIA.”

Bronny waves me off. “Don’t apologize. You’re busy as fuck with hockey, and when you’re free, you want to spend time with your man.”

“That doesn’t give me an excuse to bail on my friends. We should plan a games night sometime soon,” I suggest.

“Sounds like fun. Just let me know when, and I’ll try to make sure I’m free.”

“Free for what?” Rio asks, exiting his room with wet hair.

“A games night,” I tell him, and he grins.

“Oh, that sounds fun. We haven’t had one of those in a while. Are you going to invite your hot professor boyfriend?”

“Would that be weird?” I ask Bronny since Ian is still technically his teacher, at least for a couple more weeks.

“I guess it depends when the games night is. I’d prefer it to be after the semester ends so he isn’t my professor anymore.”

“I could make that work. Maybe we could host it over Christmas break. We should also invite Monster and Sasha,” I add.

“Sounds like a plan,” Rio agrees. “Are you coming here after your game tonight or staying at Ian’s?”

“Do you mind if I stay at Ian’s?” I ask, feeling bad that I’ve been ditching my friends a lot over the past couple of weeks.

Rio waves me off. “Not at all, especially now that we have plans to hang out soon.”

A big smile spreads across my face at how understanding my friends are. I’m glad they’re in my life.

Two weeks later.

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