Page 63 of Chase Lovett Wants Me

“Yeah. No. I don’t know.” I tell them what happened with Barbiebelle.

“Why are you surprised by this? Those girls are assholes to everyone.” Gage shovels a forkful of mashed potatoes covered in gravy into his mouth.

“You’re probably going to regret this meal when we’re on the ice in an hour,” I say, then look to Brody and Mac for…I don’t know what. Advice on how to handle this.

“Good for her for standing up to them.” Mac is never a fan of the mean-girl nonsense.

“She dealt with them, then?” Brody confirms.

“Yeah, but like…they called her a loser and she was just…apathetic about it?” I run a hand through my hair. “Like she expected as much. Do you think that’s why she hasn’t wanted to come to one of my games until now?” She always has an assignment to work on. Which is legit, I neverdon’thave homework of some kind.

Mac crosses his arms and leans back in his chair until he’s balanced on two legs.

Brody and Gage exchange a look. “What was that? What was that look?” I motion between them.

Gage wipes his mouth with a napkin and sets it on the table. “What was your high school experience like, Chase?”

“I don’t know, typical? Why does that matter?”

“What does ‘typical’ mean to you?” Gage presses.

“I played hockey, did well in some classes, did not so well in a few where the teachers didn’t think hockey should be my number one. I went to parties, had friends in most groups.”

“So high school was a fun ride for you, yeah?” Gage sips his chocolate milk. The guy fucking loves chocolate milk.

“Sure. Yes. That’s what high school is supposed to be. Where are you going with this?”

“Do you think Brody’s and my high school experiences were the same or similar?”

“I know Brody’s was. We hung out all the time.” We lived in different parts of the city and went to different high schools, but we played on the same hockey team outside of school and went to a lot of the same parties.

“And me.” Gage points to his massive chest. “Do you think high school was fun for a good-looking fucker like myself?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m sure it was.”

Gage points to Mac. “And what about this guy?”

“I studied a lot,” Mac supplies. “But high school was still fun for me.”

“And in the same vein, do you think Barbiebelle had a pleasant high school experience?” Gage stabs a grape on my fruit plate.

“Probably at the expense of a lot of other people’s happiness,” I grumble.

“Probably.” He stares at me.

I stare at him. The dots connect. “You think Cammie’s used to this because she was bullied in high school?”

“Makes sense, don’t you think?” Gage slurps his chocolate milk and looks to Brody and Mac to back him up.

“She’s beautiful in an unconventional way and she’s different. She doesn’t play by the rules, and she acts like she doesn’t give a shit. And girls like Barbie and Annabelle are so caught up in being cool, and having the right friends, and being at the top, that anyone who doesn’t fall into line with them is automatically the enemy,” Brody says. “You remember Tina, don’t you?”

“That girl tried to hump your leg every chance she got.” She was at every party. Thankfully she went to school somewhere on the East Coast.

“Don’t remind me.” He rolls his head on his shoulder, neck cracking. “Think about all the shit she used to pull in the name of getting attention. There will always be girls like that, and they’ll bounce around from group to group, spreading their toxicity.” He sighs and hangs his head. “And for a while they were a nice buffer from the bullshit, but I feel like it’s my fault they’re still around all the time.”

“I never told them to fuck off, either,” Gage says.

“I mostly ignored them.” I rub my bottom lip. “I can’t have girls like that fucking with my girlfriend all the time.”

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