Before I can change my mind, I get in my car and drive to the sports bar. This is going to be great.
What could possibly go wrong?
Damien
This was a terrible mistake.
After I begged off hanging out with the guys last weekend, Matt was getting all suspicious. He kept texting me asking if anyone is giving me a hard time. I lied my ass off, and said that I was just tired that night. I thought Matt bought it, until I got to the sports bar this afternoon.
Matt told me it would just be him, Ben, and one of the other young guys, Bailey. I was fine with that crew. Bailey has never done anything to me, and Ben is one of my friends.
When I got here, I saw a huge table with nearly the entire team sitting around it. Matt tricked me into showing up. I haven’t had a chance to yell at him because I don’t want the other guys to think I’m petty or whatever.
So far, it hasn’t been terrible, but it hasn’t been great, either. Only a few of the guys have spoken to me. I asked an older player, Jamie, to pass me the salt and he full on ignored me. That felt great.
Matt noticed and nudged Jamie until he passed the salt. I wanted to tell him I can fight my own battles, but is that even true? I’ve been on the team for a month and I haven’t so much as tried to do anything about how the older guys treat me. I’ve taken a passive stance. That’s obviously a mistake.
What am I supposed to do, though? Call them on their shit? I don’t know if that’s going to help anything.
This group setting is obviously not the time and place. Matt should’ve known that. I get that he just wanted to help, but what did he expect to happen? An afternoon trip to a sports bar won’t cure all our issues.
The afternoon this is weird, too. We have an away game tomorrow so our call time is super early. I think we could’ve at least come for dinner, though. Matt insisted we have a late lunch. I’m guessing he wants to spend the rest of the night with Sophie before we’re gone for three days. The two of them are nauseating. I still can’t believe he’s getting married. If anyone was on my side about monogamy, it was Matt. What a traitor.
“I’m getting another beer. Anyone else want anything?” Matt asks. A few guys say they’ll take another round.
“I’ll help you,” I say.
I follow Matt to the bar.
“Dude, what the hell?” I say.
“What?”
“You said it would be the four of us. This is more than four.”
Matt rolls his eyes. “Come on, man. I’m not blind. I know some of the guys have been cold towards you. They need to get to know you. This is the perfect opportunity!”
“They need to be called out. I need to stand up to them.”
“Well, yeah, but you also need to hang out and talk. They’re all pretty cool if you get to know them.”
“That goes both ways.”
“True,” Matt says. “But someone has to start it. Why can’t it be you?”
“Fine. I’ll try talking with some of them. If it backfires and they hate me more, that’s on you.”
“It won’t backfire.”
The bartender gives us the beers and we turn around to go back to our table. I nearly drop the beers I’m holding when I look up. There, at the door, is Jenna.
What the hell is she doing here?
She’s looking around like she’s completely lost. I doubt Jenna has ever entered a sports bar in her life. She’s not a sports person. She usually hangs out at regular clubs.
I drop the drinks at the table and rush over to her.
“Jenna?”
Her eyes light up when she sees me. “Damien! What a coincidence, meeting you here.”
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Are you meeting friends or something?”
“Or something.”
Jenna can’t make eye contact. Every time I try to meet her eyes, hers dart away. She’s up to something. This has always been her tell.
“Tell me why you’re here.”
“It’s a public place, Damien, you don’t own it.”
“I’m not saying I own it. I’m wondering what you’re doing here. I’ve never seen you in here before.”
Jenna puts her hands on her hips. “You’ve only been living here a little while, Damien. For all you know, this is my regular hang out spot.”
“Okay, that’s a fair point. However, I highly doubt you hang out at sports bars on weekday afternoons.”
“You don’t know me anymore, Damien!”
I roll my eyes. “Jenna. No one changes that much.”
“How would you know?”
“Knock it off and tell me what you’re doing here.”
She scoffs. “You always think I have a nefarious purpose.”
“Because you usually do.”
I stare her down, and she continues to avoid my eyes. After a minute, she finally breaks down.
“Okay, fine. I came here because I knew you were here.”
“You could’ve just asked me to hang out.”
“I tried! You said you were out with the guys.”
“Well, I am, but if I’d known you were this desperate, I would’ve ditched them. Besides, this isn’t going well.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just not what I expected. Some of the guys… let’s just say, being the new guy isn’t easy.”
“Oh, Damien, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come…”
“It’s fine. So, you came to see me?”
Jenna bites her lip. “Well, yeah, I came to see you. But I came because I’ve been thinking, and I was wondering if you could introduce me around to your single hockey friends?”
I gape at her. “You came here to get me to wingman you?”
“Please, Damien? I’m desperate. I tried online dating. I tried meeting people in real life. Nothing is working.”
“Come on, Jenna. You’re only twenty-four. It’s not like your clock is running out.”
“I know. We talked about this. It’s been a while. I want a relationship.”
I sigh. I do not want to introduce Jenna around to my teammates. The only single guys are the ones who don’t like me right now. Beside that, I don’t want to deal with my teammate dating my best friend. That would be a whole lot of complicated.
“I don’t know about this, Jenna. You and a hockey guy? I don’t see it.”
“I’m willing to try anything at this point!”
I glance back at the table. Matt is eyeing me like he thinks I might try to bolt. The rest of the team is ignoring me. Well, they’re not ignoring me, but they’re not paying me any attention. I scan the crowd and consider who is single. I can’t see Jenna with any of them, and not just because they’re my teammates and that worries me. They’re not her type.
Then again, maybe I don’t know her type. The only thing I have to go off of is Mike, and that was years ago. Compared to his cut-and-dry, boring personality, these guys are definitely going to be too much for Jenna.
“This isn’t going to work. I’m sorry, Jenna, but I can’t.”
She pouts. “Why not?”
“You can’t date my teammates. Do you even want to? Look over there and tell me if there’s a single guy you’re interested in.”
Jenna subtly checks out the table. “Okay, fine, maybe they’re not exactly my type, but maybe that’s the problem. I should be branching out!”
“Branch out somewhere else.”
“Damien!”
“Jenna!” I mock. “Listen, I want to help you. Just not like this. Why don’t you take me out to some of the places you usually go, and I’ll wingman you there.”
She considers this. “You really mean it? You’ll do that for me?”
I squeeze her shoulder. “Of course, I will. I’m an excellent wingman. You’ll have a boyfriend in no time.”
“I don’t know, Damien. I haven’t had any luck anywhere else.”
“Well, how do
you usually pick up guys?”
“I don’t.”
I roll my eyes. “I mean, how do you talk to them?”
“I don’t.”
“Well, there’s your problem. I can help with that. We can talk to them together. It’ll be great.”
“This sounds like it’ll end in disaster,” Jenna says. “But, if you think it’ll work, I’m willing to give it a try.”
“Perfect! Now go home, Jenna.”
She scoffs. “Absolutely not! Just because I’m not allowed to date them doesn’t mean I can’t meet your teammates. You’ve never introduced me to them.”
“I barely know them.”
“Whatever. I’ll wingman you now.”
“What?”
“You said you’re having trouble connecting with them? I can help with that. I’m new and they have no reason to be wary of me. It’ll be perfect.”
I’m skeptical, but Jenna seems determined. I won’t be getting her to go home any time soon.
“Fine, let’s go.”
I lead Jenna over to the large table of hockey players.
“Hey, guys,” I say. Everyone looks up at me. “This is my friend, Jenna. She wanted to meet you all.”
“Hi!” she says. “I’ve seen you play. You’re all really good.”
I start to laugh but cover it up with a laugh. Jenna has never been to a single one of our games. I’ve begged her to come and support me, but she refuses. It’s a running thing between us.
“You’re the infamous Jenna!” Matt says. He stands up and pulls her in for a hug. “I was beginning to think you were fake.”
“You must be Matt,” Jenna responds. “I thought the same about you.”
After her introduction to Matt, Jenna makes her way around the table, working the room. She makes funny jokes and gets to know the guys. The entire time, she drags me with her under the guise of only knowing me. She’s pretending like I’m showing her around when in reality, she’s doing the opposite.
By the end of lunch, the guys are more receptive to me. I manage to laugh and joke with a few of them without Jenna running the conversation. If I’d known all it would take was Jenna to stop the animosity, I would’ve brought her around a month ago!
We pay the tab and start to pack up.
“Hey, man, you need to come out with us more often,” Jack says. He has never been an instigator, but he hasn’t gone out of his way to befriend me since I got here. “You’re hilarious. That girl of yours is, too.”
“She’s not my girl. We’ve been friends since we were born, basically.”
Jake eyes Jenna. “Damn. If I was single, I’d be all over that. I don’t know how you hold back.”
I watch Jenna joking with Ben. She’s attractive, but she’s not my type. I prefer blondes, and Jenna has long, brown hair. Besides, Jenna is a relationship kind of girl. I’m not looking for that.
“It’s not easy,” I say. It may be a lie, but it’s what Jake wants to hear. He claps me on the back and laughs before heading out.
Jenna and I are the last to leave.
“So?” she asks. “How’d I do?”
“You were great. I had no idea you could work a room like that. I don’t get how you can’t talk to guys.”
Jenna sighs. “It’s easier to talk to guys when I’m not trying to date them. Once I’m interested, I get all tongue tied and freaked out.”
“I get that. We’ll work on it. I’ll be away this weekend, but how about next weekend?”
“Perfect! I already have plans with a friend from class. You can join us.”
“Sounds good. Stay out of trouble until then, Jenna. Don’t just show up at random sports bars.”
Jenna scrunches her nose. “There’s no danger of that. You were right. I don’t belong with a guy who spends all his time here.”
I laugh. “Exactly.”
I hug Jenna goodbye and head on my way. This afternoon started weird, but it ended okay thanks to Jenna. I’m so glad we’re back to living close together.
Now, I have to hope I don’t get traded anytime soon, or I’ll be far away once again.
Jenna
This is been the longest week of my life.
Everyone is coming in to work to get their teeth fixed. For some reason, February through April are our busiest months. It’s probably a New Year's resolution thing or a health insurance thing. I have no idea which, I just know it makes my life more stressful.
Class has been insane, too. I get that we need to learn a lot so we don’t kill our patients, but I didn’t realize how much more difficult my second year would be than my first. Does it keep getting worse from here? I don’t know if I can’t handle that.
The worst thing has been waiting for Damien and Melonie to take me out to the bar.
I’ve hardly seen Damien since last week when I crashed his lunch with his teammates. We got together for breakfast on Monday before I went to work, but that’s it. I’ve been too busy to see him. I thought being in the same state again would mean we could see each other regularly, but that hasn’t happened. I see him about the same amount as I did when he lived in Mass. I hate it!
At least we’re hanging out tonight. He’s supposed to pick me up in twenty minutes. Melonie is meeting us there.
I check myself in the mirror. My makeup looks good. My hair looks good. I look good.
Tonight is going to be a good night. I believe in myself, Melonie, and Damien.
Speaking of Melonie, my phone starts to ring and her name is on the screen.
“Hey, girl, you excited about tonight?”
Melonie moans. “Please don’t hate me. I have a stomach but. I thought I was going to be okay by today but I still can’t stand for more than five minutes.”
“I saw you yesterday!” Although, now that I think about it, she didn’t talk that much in class. I assumed she was tired, but apparently, she was sick.
“I know, and as soon as I got home from class I started throwing up.”
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry. I know you needed me…”
“I need you to feel better. You should rest. Besides, I have Damien.”
“Wait, who is Damien?”
“He’s my friend. We used to be neighbors, and grew apart, blah blah blah, now he lives here and plays hockey.”
“You have a hockey player friend? Girl, hook me up!”
I laugh. “I’ll talk to Damien. He wouldn’t hook me up with them, but maybe he will with you.”
“Convince him! I love hockey players. Any kind of sports guys, really.”
“I’ll talk to him tonight, I promise. He’s actually gonna be here soon, so I need to go. I hope you feel better!”
“Thanks, girl. Have fun and keep me updated on how it goes!”
“I will. Bye!”
We hang up, and I flop down on the couch. There goes my wing woman! I really wanted Melonie to be here with me. It would take some pressure off.
I guess just Damien will have to do.
There’s a known on my door. “It’s open!” I yell, hoping it’s Damien and not a burglar or a serial killer. Luckily, my friend walks in.
“Hey, Jenna. You look great.”
“Thanks. Come on in.”
“You’re not ready to go?”
“Eh. I was thinking maybe we could try my dating apps first?”
Damien sits next to me on the couch. I grab my phone and open up to the first app. Damien cringes when he sees the guy on the screen.
“Absolutely not. Which way is no?”
“Left.”
He swipes left, and a new guy shows up. Damien doesn’t like him either. The same goes for the next ten guys.
“Wait!” I say when an attractive one pops up. “He has potential.”
“He’s looking for a casual hookup,” Damien says.
“How could you possibly know that without looking at his profile?”
“I know guys like him. It’s a certain look.”
“You’re bullshitting me.”
“Would I ever do that?”
“You absolutely would.”
Damien laughs. “Okay, yeah, I would, but in this case, I’m not. Go ahead, check his profile.”
I scroll down and sure enough, he’s only looking for something casual. “You got lucky,” I say.
“Nope. I know guys.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Damien gets a look in his eye. He loves a good challenge. “Well, then, let’s make this interesting. If I guess correctly on twenty guys in the next five minutes, you owe me dinner.”
“You didn’t eat before you came here?”
“No. Did you eat before I came here?”
“No.”
“Perfect. I can’t wait for you to buy me dinner.”
“Not gonna happen. How many wrong answers do you get?”
“Let’s say I need to get twenty out of thirty right.”
“Fine. Go ahead.”
Damien swipes to the next guy and guesses casual. I verify his answer, and he goes to the next guy. We continue this for thirty different guys. Damien gets twenty-eight correct.
I gape at him when the five minutes is up and he’s already finished and won the bet. “How the hell did you do that?”
He shrugs. “I told you. I know guys. I am one.”
“Show me your skills! I need to be able to go through guys that fast.”
“No, you don’t. We’re getting out of here. This app is not how you meet people.”
“I don’t know, Damien. Melonie is sick…”
“So? We’re going. Take me to your favorite bar in Hartford.”
When Damien gets it in his head that we’re doing something, we have to do it. I grab my coat and lead him outside.
“It’s walking distance,” I tell him. “Less than a mile.”
“Perfect. Lead the way!”
I hesitate, but finally start towards the bar I planned on taking him and Melonie too. It’s got a country theme, though most of the time they play pop or crossover music. It’s got a good vibe, and the guys are usually pretty hot.
The bouncer doesn’t bother to check my ID since I come here a lot, but he stops Damien.
“I knew I looked young,” Damien says proudly when we get inside. I don’t tell him that they check everyone. They got busted for underage drinking last year, so they need to be vigilante.
Arrogant Puck: A Friends to Lovers Sports Romance (Hockey Heartthrobs Book 2) Page 3
