Page 27 of Shutout
My knee starts bouncing. Every time I watch a game, I spend the whole time praying that no one gets hurt too badly, which sucks any fun out of it. For the year and change when I shut Brooke out of my life, I still checked the news after games to make sure he was fine. I do the same for my brother and my brother-in-law in the pros. Thankfully I don’t have to keep tabs on Luz anymore now that she’s officially retired from playing. But somehow I can’t escape this damn game.
“Okay, I got salted popcorn for the hostage, salted caramel for the athlete, and buttered for me. And my purse is full of soda and water bottles. Grab what you want,” Mina announces as the shuffling of the line begins and I end up sandwiched between them. Mina sits on my left and starts passing goodies along.
Corn is thankfully a safe food for me, and my roommates know very well that I can’t do dairy. Even if tonight sucks, I at least get a free popcorn and Coke out of it.
“Okay, can someone please tell me what we’re doing here now?”
Dee motions at Mina. “Please, do the honors.”
“Very well.” My other roommate turns her hair behind her ears, dyed platinum blonde and styled in waves. “Back at the party that eventually led to the breakup, Dee and I noticed how Brooklyn Tatum stood up for you.”
It takes me a moment to realize she’s talking about the breakup with my exboyfriend, not the one with my exbest friend.
Mina continues, “You never told us why and well, we know how hard all of this has been for you, so we didn’t want to press. Until now.”
I clutch at my popcorn tighter. My heart rate goes from normal to full steam. “Why now?”
“Here’s where Dee comes in.”
We turn to her. “Jenny, who is Maggie’s roommate, said she saw you and Brooklyn all chummy chummy in class. And Maggie told me at practice two days ago.”
“Who the heck is Maggie?” I ask, doing my best to not screech with the horror I feel on the inside.
Dee gives me a look. “Um, our goalie.”
“Don’t give me that look, I’m not your groupie.”
“The point is,” Mina says, drawing my attention back to her. “It looks like you have found the perfect target for your rebound. And since he’s the new captain of the Thunder Bolts, what better chance to get his attention than cheering for him tonight?”
I stare at the board across from me for a moment, without really registering anything.
Closing my eyes, I mumble, “I know you guys are trying to help, but this is entirely the opposite of that.”
“What do you mean?”
The floodgates open—and by that, I mean players from both teams emerge onto the ice. I raise my popcorn bucket to hide behind it, but it’s not like I’m the only person sitting in the stands. The arena has been filling up with people steadily, and I’d say at least seventy percent of them are girls. No way Brooke will spot me. I should be safe.
“It’s not like that between Brooke and I,” I say, ignoring how Mina repeatsBrookein a little squeal. Squirming, I decide the time to fess up is now. “Remember the guy I told you about in freshman year?”
Dee’s brow furrows. “The childhood best friend you were going to confess to, who turned out to be a total jerkface?”
“Yep.” I suck in a deep breath. “That guy’s Brooklyn Tatum.”
Mina mutters. “Oh, shit.”
We sit in silence for a good moment, even as the audience cheers at the Bolts circling the ice and warming up. I grab a handful of popcorn and eat it like a squirrel, trying to store my weight’s worth of food in my cheeks.
And of course, that’s when a Bolts player abruptly brakes right in front of us, raining sludge against the glass boards.
Slowly the sludge slides down and my eyes fall on the C stitched on the chest of his jersey. I lift my eyes up.
Brooke rests an arm against the glass to lean forward. He’s wearing that grin I’ve always found annoying, and even more now that I know what his lips feel like against mine.
And his eyes twinkle like damn fairy lights.
“Well, well, well,” Brooke says, loud enough that we can hear him through the glass and over the noise. “If it isn’t my best friend. Did you come to watch me?”
I recover enough to spit out, “Formerbest friend. And no, I was dragged under duress.”
