Page 133 of Friendzone Hockey
“Wish I hadn’t brought the topic up, to be honest. Alright, I’m good. I can do this. Question, you okay if I chase Trevor and Alvin out of the restaurant with a pool cue?”
“It’s Trent and Alex, and no,” Dirk answers for him.
I stand up. “Fine. You comin’ with, Dirk?”
“Am I, Trav?” he says, which is fucking weird. Why are they being so weird today?
Dad shakes his head. “No. The dresser, remember? I need your help with it.”
“There you go, can’t. He needs my help. I’ll be down in a bit. I’m sure it won’t take long.”
On my way out of the kitchen, I brush shoulders with a man who has a wingspan as long as my body. He’s not from around here. Wearing a three-piece suit, tie, and shoes polished to shine like marble, he glides further into the restaurant as if he’s about to buy the building.
“Hello there, young man. Any chance you might know Stacey Alderchuck?”
Oh.Oh.Without him having to say it, I put together who this is. This man is the walking stereotype of daddy vibes. I’m not missing this for the world. “Right this way. Could I get your name?”
“Philip.”
Daddy Philip. Damn that has a nice ring. I show him to the table. Everyone’s eyes pop out of their skulls, including the summertime twins. They squeal.
“Daddy! Oh my god, we missed you.” They abandon Stacey like he’s last year’s iPhone and scramble to latch onto a side of the mammoth man. No wonder he needs two of them.
“Were you well-behaved for Stacey?” he asks them.
“We were, but you can still spank us if you want to,” Alex says.
My cheeks flush, and I swallow. Why do they have zero boundaries?
Philip hugs them to his sides. He’s being stern with them—probably because they like it—but there’s a fondness and love in his eyes I’ve seen somewhere else. Okay, it was foolish for me to be so jealous when clearly this is the man for them. I guess I need to find out more about this whole polyamorous thing. Not that I’m interested in it myself, just curious.
These two aren’t touching my Alderchuck anymore. Ever a-fucking-gain, just to be clear.
I didn’t notice their bags before. Stacey stands, handing them over to Philip. And then he does something fucking strange. Yanks me to him using the waistband of my jeans. What the fuck? But I’m not going to complain. Not right now, anyway. I’m more than happy to stake my claim in front of everyone.
Stacey’s arms wrap around me from behind. His head rests on my crown. To Philip, we must look like we’ve been together for years.
“Is this your man? The one you spoke about?” Philip says.
“Yep,” Stacey says.
“Nice to meet you, Dash,” Philip says. “Thanks for helping me find them.”
He knows my name?
“And I can vouch for them. They were well-behaved. It was mine causing trouble,” Stacey says.
“Hey!” Mine, though. He said mine. Wait a sec, Philip called me Stacey’s man. Did I miss a conversation?
“You’re kind of a brat,” Trent says.
I scowl. It’s time for them to go away and never come back. I stick my tongue out.
Philip laughs. “Alright. I’ll be in touch about the hockey game, Stacey. Thanks again for looking after them.”
“Hockey game?” I ask.
“Trent wants to see a hockey game. I was hoping you’d help me arrange something for them.”
