Page 8 of Trouble in Love
If that wasn’t disorienting enough, hours of Teddy’s scattered questions were: “Hey Luca, why do you hockey boys wear shorts over your pants?”
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Talk to me.”
“Hey Luca, want a sweetie?”
“Want to hear a story about a skank named Polly?”
“Tell me. Tell me. Hey, Luca. Tell me.”
With an hour of flight time left, he tried one more, “Tell me. I can keep a secret. I promise.” I cracked.
“I didn’t mean to fall in love with her.”
Teddy’s head volleyed side to side as he poked himself in the chest. “Are you talking to me?”
“Who else would I be talking to? You’re literally the only person here.” Asher was in the opposite row, but he’d fallen asleep the second we took off and had dozed on and off since. At first, I thought he was pretending, but the drool Teddy kept snapping photos of convinced me it was genuine.
“Sorry. Right.” Ted sad, squishing closer. “You didn’t mean to fall in love with her, who? Rache–”
I clamped my hand over his mouth. “Are you trying to get me killed? No, not Rachel. I am not in love with Rachel.” Slowly and with a stern look of warning, I released my hold.
“So, you just want to bone her,” Teddy said instantly. “Got it.”
Since there was no denying that, I continued. “I mean Clara. My ex. The one I was supposed to marry.”
“Ohh. Her. Right. Wow, you do have a lot of pokers in the flame at once, don’t you?” he giggled. “Asher, Rachel, Clara. Is that a hockey-man thing or just a man-slut thing?”
I sighed, nervously rubbing the back of my neck. “Not sure. Bit of both, I think. Either way, Clara is the only one I love.”
“Well, of course you do, silly Billy. That’s why you were getting married.”
“It’s not. Do you remember those photos that leaked? The ones of me—”
“The ones of you performing calisthenics with a chick on your dick and some guys in you?”
“Yeah. Those. Well, this is between you and me, okay? But they were taken almost two years ago. I was out celebrating a win and drunk off my ass. Both are rarities for me because I don’t really drink, and rarely risk getting loose and flirty with guys in public. As you’ve seen, I’m not very good at hiding my interest.”
“You really are the worst.” Teddy laughed. More than I felt was warranted.
“Yeah, well, anyway. My management and PR cooked up a deal. Long story short, they hired Clara. The whole thing was fake.”
Teddy jumped in his seat and grabbed my thigh, “Holy shit! A fake wedding. That’s one of my favorite tropes. Okay, let me guess the rest. So, you and the little missus became friends, and after a night of drinking and truth or dare, you kissed, and everything changed. You began sleeping together because it was convenient, but all the while, you two were developing real feelings and falling in love.”
Sweat dripped from my forehead onto my clenched fist. “All of that, yes. Except for the kissing and sleeping together and both of us falling in love.”
“So, she didn’t fall in love?”
“Oh no, she did, just not with me. That’s why she ditched me for another man on our wedding day. Oh, and he was the teammate that I was beating the shit out of before he sliced my leg open with his skate.”
With his arms waving in the air, Teddy rose to his feet, catching the attention of a nearby flight attendant. “Alcohol, please. Can we have some alcohol, please?”
I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him into his seat, “No alcohol, and if I can’t drink this shit to oblivion, you can’t either.”
Pure disgust crossed Teddy’s face. “Not going to lie, Luca. I know you’re into me, and what’s between us could be love. But if you think I am going to spend a month with Evie Austen-Myers and her spawn without the numbing effect of alcohol, you’re delusional.”
“I’m delusional?” With laughter erupting, I lurched forward, slamming my head into the seat before me. My tear-stained cheeks ached because I couldn’t stop smiling. It felt good. Natural. For the first time in a long time, I felt like me, Luca, the tall queer kid from Brooklyn who liked playing street hockey with his friends, not Luca, the star athlete with the famous girlfriend and a secret.
