“So what’s going on with you?” Lane asks. “You seem smilier than usual.” He circles a finger at my face. He’s not wrong. I smile like a loon all the time now. I have my dream girl, and in a few months, we’ll have the twins.
Leaning forward, I lower my voice. “You remember the woman from the resort, Juliette?”
“The one that busted your balls?” Marcus asks with a way-too-pleased smirk.
“That’s the one.” I pause for maximum dramatic effect. “She lives here in Pine Tree Falls.”
Lane lets out a whoop. “Fuck yes! This is just like one of those romance books.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You’re closer than you could even imagine, buddy. But you can’t tell anyone because her brother is… Baylor Ward.”
Two mouths drop open across the table from me, and Marcus shakes his head. “Dude, you’re playing with fire. Ward’s your teammate. He isgoing to snap your neck in two when he finds out you’re banging his sister.”
Anger boils up in me, but I do my best to put a lid on it. My friends have no idea of the depth of my feelings for Juliette. “It’s a lot more than that. We’re in love.” I cross my arms over my chest. Maybe I’m pouting, just a little. “And you’re acting like I can’t take care of myself against Ward.”
“Naw, man. You know you’re a bad motherfucker, but what’s that saying about a brother scorned?” He arches one eyebrow.
“A woman scorned,” I correct dryly.
He swishes his hand through the air. “Same concept. I’m happy for you, but dating a teammate’s sister is practically taboo.”
I pop my chin up an inch. “Well, he’ll have to get the fuck over it because I’m going to marry Juliette. In fact…” I reach into my pocket and pull out a ring box. When I pop it open, I’m pleased at their sharp inhales.
“Dayum, boy,” Lane crows. “That’s gorgeous.”
“And it’s totally her,” I say, looking down at the most feminine ring I could find. When I saw it, I knew it was perfect. An elegant three-carat marquise cut diamond is surrounded by smaller pink diamonds, and the band is etched with a pretty filigree design. I could have gone bigger on the center diamond, but the ones I looked at with gigantic rocks didn’t have the soft femininity I was searching for. They wouldn’t be right for my dream girl.
“Congrats, man,” Marcus says. “I hope you two will be really happy together.” Then he mumbles something under his breath that sounds likeif you live long enough.
I put the ring back in my pocket, and the server comes by to take our orders. We all get sparkling water since we’re pretty fastidious about not drinking during the season. I’ll have an occasional beer, but certainly not the night before a game. We do decide to split some greasyappetizers though.
“So, you’re happy here in this little town?” Lane asks, looking around the small bar, not with snarky derision, just a curiosity about how I’m adjusting from living in a metro area to a rural one.
“Yeah, it’s actually pretty perfect. You get the small-town feel, and yet the DFW area is only a short drive away. Best of both worlds.”
Marcus leans his elbow on the table and drums his chin with his fingers. “Do they even have a ride share service here?”
A smirk toys with my lips. They’re going to love this. “No, but there is a guy named Goober who will give you a ride in his twelve-year old Ford F-150 if you get too drunk to drive home. If you look like you’re going to hurl, he’ll make you ride in the bed of the truck. He’s very particular about his upholstery.”
“Goober?” they ask together.
“Yep, he even got a sticker made for the back of his truck that reads Guber with a U.” Marcus and Lane fall into each other in a fit of laughter.
“Oh fuck. That’s priceless.”
“According to local legend, Uber tried to sue him, but they lost because he doesn’t charge anything for his service,” I add.
“Wait, Goober the Guber driver does it for free?” Lane gasps, and I nod in confirmation.
“Apparently, he was arrested fifteen years ago for drunk driving, and as part of his probation, the judge ordered him to give inebriated people free rides home on the weekends. I guess to show him what it’s like to deal with drunks. He enjoyed it so much, he continued even after his probation period was over.”
“Shit, this is one of my favorite stories ever,” Marcus adds, grabbing a napkin from the dispenser and blotting his eyes.
“Another fun fact, Goober is married to the judge’s sister.”
My friends stare at me in disbelief for two beats, and then the hilarity starts all over again.
The locker room is filled with the sounds of rustling clothes, tape being torn, and small talk as we get ready for our home game against Denver. I’m sitting on the bench shirtless while I tape my stick.
