Page 11 of Treacherous
Then, there is the parking spot thief, Willow.
On the walk back, I realised whose car it was, causing my anger to spike further. Everything about her rubs me the wrong way, has done for years.
When we were younger, she was just my sister’s annoyingly loud friend. Then Willow decided to try hockey with me and Jaz. Unlike my sister and unfortunately for me, she loved it.
Next thing you know, Willow Rogers is everywhere I fucking look.
My chest constricts, breathing becoming a challenge. I inhale deeply, considering the next year. After senior year, I will escape her once and for all.
Upon opening my bedroom door, I run into the devil herself. Willow glares at me as if ran into her on purpose.
“Jayden,” Willow’s icy tone doesn’t scare me like it would everyone else.
“Willow,” I pause. “Do you usually steal people’s parking spots or is that a luxury reserved for me?”
Willow’s eyes narrow, while she tilts her head. “My mistake, I didn’t see your name on it.”
“You’re new here, but the final parking spot is mine because I leave early in the morning and I’m not walking three hundred yards to get to my car.”
Unfortunately, with only three parking spots that come with the house, people must park on the curb. The idiot who designed the road the Hockey House is situated on didn’t make them wide enough to both park cars and be able to drive. So, you have to walk a block just to park your car.
It isnotconvenient.
“What? So, I should have to walk. My mistake, your royal highness,” Sarcasm drips from her lips like a fine wine, a small smirk forming on Willow’s lips. “Besides, I also go to the gym in the morning. Guess I’ll be seeing you there,” she says, waving her fingers while walking off.
I clench my fists but follow Willow down the stairs, nonetheless. The music seems to have grown louder, with everyone from the team now situated in the lounge room. Even Jaz and Theo have arrived.
Luckily for us, the Hockey House contains a rather large lounge room, which is great for hosting gatherings between us or parties for the student body to enjoy.
The L-shaped couch becomes minuscule with Toby Hodge–the team’s goalie–Trent Newton, and Conner Lawson sitting on it. The latter boys are two of the team’s defensemen, so between the three of them, the usual five-seater couch has no more room.
My sister is sitting in Theo’s lap, her face lighting up as she catches up with Willow. I take a seat next to Cooper, who is pulling out a large cup and placing it in the centre of the coffee table.
“Hayes, Aiden! Get in here,” Cooper says.
The boys listen, taking a seat on the floor to the right of me. After we distribute drinks to everyone, Cooper starts us off.
“Welcome to Games Night Hockey House edition. First on the program is Twenty Plus One.”
The rules are you go in a circle and count to twenty-one. Once that number is reached, that person makes up a rule to replace a number. If you fuck it up, you drink. It doesn’t take long before everyone is forgetting the rules, and everyone is growing slightly tipsy.
After two hours and switching games up every now and then, we decide to play one final game: Never Have I Ever.
“Okay, never have I ever had sex?”
I roll my eyes at Aiden’s question. Of course he would ask something like that. I sip my cup, so does everyone in the room except for Cooper. Poor Cooper, although he seems to not mind.
“Do you mind if I ask why, Cooper?” Jaz asks.
Cooper’s smile is as bright as the sun. “Well, there’s no real answer. I have never really thought about it. Or in high school, there wasn’t anyone I was attracted to or trusted enough to be intimate with.”
Jaz smiles back at him. “That’s really sweet, Cooper. Well, you’re a catch, so I don’t know any girl who wouldn’t want to snatch you up.”
Theo tighten his grip on Jaz’s leg and I muffle my laugh. Despite Cooper’s inexperience, I think most guys would be jealous of him purely because he is so naïve when it comes to women. Coops wouldn’t even mean to flirt with a girl but somehow that’s how it would come across.
“Alright, who’s next?” I say, wanting to move on.
“I’ve got one,” Willow says. “Never have I ever kissed someone of the same gender on the lips,”
