Page 17 of The Drop

I take my headphones out, ready to get the guy's head in the game, and I’m immediately hit with Adam and Bear bickering.

“What now?” I snap at the two of them, and they swing their heads towards me.

“Trying to decide if we should get burgers or tacos after.” They shrug at each other, and I shake my head; those two could start an argument over anything and everything.

“Burgers,” Gunnar huffs, sitting down next to me and chucking his phone into his cubby.

“All good?” I ask him.

“Yeah, just Sasha wanting to wish me luck,” he says, checking his skates.

“Long-ass good luck,” Adam murmurs, and Gunnar throws him a glare.

“She had a bad day,” he states. “She was venting.”

“Great timing,” I hear Adam mumble again, and Bear hits him upside the head.

Before Gunnar can react, the doors open and the coach walks in.

Game time.

We lost 2-1. We are still working on some lines and changes, so it's no surprise that we just couldn't pull it together in time for another goal.

Some of the team are going to the bar, but the four of us are heading to meet the girls at the local diner.

We walk in, spotting the girls in the back, taking up a large booth, and they both have their laptops open in front of them.

“Boring!” Adam cups his hands and shouts over, making heads turn as we walk past. “Put those away.”

Cami glares at him and gives him the finger, while Brooke smiles good-naturedly and closes her laptop.

“Sorry about the loss,” she frowns, hugging Adam and then Bear, Gunnar’s already scooted in next to Cami.

“I didn't know what was happening half the time, but you scored!!” She smiles as I wrap my arms around her. I immediately feel the stress of the game ease off. Even in a friendly game, I put a lot of pressure on myself and the team to take advantage of real game time on the ice. I can’t help but squeeze her tighter and lift her slightly, making her laugh. I usually take a couple of hours to shake it off, especially with a loss. I typically head to the bar or a party surrounded by noise and people. I can distract myself enough to stop replaying the game in my head, and what we can do differently. This is different. It’s like Brooke is all the distraction I need.

“I didn’t score.” I frown down at her when I put her down and pull away. Her face turns a little pink with embarrassment. I shouldn’t enjoy teasing her this much, but it’s fun.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought it was your number, and I could have sworn they said Ander—” she rambles on, and I can’t hold it in and laugh.

“I’m sorry,” I exclaim as she hits me. “It was too easy, but you’re right, I scored. Thanks for the hug.”

“No, you don’t get a hug, I take it back,” she sulks, sliding in next to Bear.

“You can’t take hugs back,” I scoff, pushing Adam over more, bumping into Cami, who pushes him back. He throws his hand up in frustration, telling her to quit it.

“Can too, right, Cami? I can take hugs back.”

“You certainly can, B.” She looks up from pushing Adam again. “Especially when it’s Grant.”

I shoot her a glare and look back at Brooke, who is sticking her tongue out at me. I can’t help but splutter a shocked laugh, and she smiles triumphantly.

“Trouble,” I mutter, looking at the menu and then back up, giving her a wink that makes her blush again.

We all order and start talking about the game, trying to teach Brooke some more of the rules before the food arrives, and we stop talking while we eat. Cami and Brooke shake their heads and keep talking between bites of their food while we just grunt in response.

“Why do you have your laptops?” Adam mumbles around his burger, barely making it possible for us to understand him.

“What?!” Cami snaps at him

---