Page 8 of Until We Burn
“Seriously, man! Forget about Diana,” he scoffs. “So what if she treated you all weird? There are a ton of girls who wouldn’t. Look.”
He grabs my shoulders, panning me left and right. Girls around the gym toss suggestive smiles my way. At this hour every Friday, half the girls at DHU like working out here because that’s when the hockey team have their early morning workouts before their late day practice to accommodate everyone’s academic schedule. Unlike other Division I programs, DHU is hellbent on giving us a solid education in case we never go pro.
A blonde and freckled girl suddenly strides up to us. “Hey, are you guys going to the Wing and Flame?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Luke promises.
Her eyes flit to me, and expectation flickers in them. “Are you?”
The annual Wing and Flame is a bonfire party that kicks off thestart of the hockey season on October 1st. After the first game, the Griffins and the fans lose themselves in too many bottles of booze, too many plates of hot wings, and too many hookups.
I shrug and crack a small smile. “Maybe?”
“Well, I think you should.” She winks and walks past me, her hand subtly brushing against mine.
“Dude!” Luke smacks my chest. “See? Who needs to get all worked up about Diana Huang when you have girls likethatcoming up to you?”
I groan and rake my hands through my hair. “Look, after Andrea, I don’t?—”
“Date.”Rowan playfully rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. “Yes, we know. We’ve heard the speech before. Luke and I won’t forget all the nights in first year when you were ranting about her after she cheated on you.”
“She didn’t just cheat on me with anyone. She cheated on me with that asshole.”
Simon Valdis.The one behind my loss and my downfall.
“You don’t have to date anyone. You can just hang out for stress relief,” Luke proposes. “Judging by what you’re shouldering this year, I think that’s exactly what you might need.”
I let myself consider the idea for a split second before shaking my head. “No, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Because my life is complicated. My relationship with my family is complicated. The pressure to score a second chance of getting signed with a hockey team before graduation makes everything fucking complicated.
I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face. “The answer is still no, Luke. So you can stop sneaking condoms into my pockets.”
“You gotta be safe out there, man. No glove, no love.”
“Hey!”
I dart around. A short guy with a buzzcut and beady brown eyes glares at me. He nods at the cable machine. “You done with this?”
I smile apologetically. “Uh…actually, I’m not.”
The guy rolls his eyes and snorts. “Come on, you can cut the act.”
My smile drops just as my entire body goes stiff. “What are you trying to say?”
He scowls at the muscles cording my arms and my legs. “Everyone knows you being in here is just for show.”
His accusation brings me back to the day I lost everything in first year. My contract to play for the Winnipeg Narwhals. The confidence and the faith my team and the entire student body had in me.
I still remember exactly how it happened.
It started with my phone blowing up. Photos of me taking my anxiety meds in my locker cubby were circulated online. The caption was everywhere: “Kai Mason-Maiau, a star athlete or a doping fraud?”
The rumors weren’t even the worst part. It was everything that came after.
“Mr. Mason-Maiau, please hold still.” The nurse forces my arm down and positions the needle over my vein. My jaw tenses. Tears burn my eyes as I stare at the buzzing fluorescent beams lighting up the DHU medical clinic. The media pounds at the doors outside. They call my name so loudly; I swear the walls are rattling.
