He shrugs. “Alright, if you insist.”
Insisting isn’t exactly what I’m doing. I’d call it self-preservation, probably. Or a favor to Jenna. I may not like the idea of her talking to my teammate, but if she keeps thinking we’re going to be a thing, she’ll only end up hurt. I can’t stand the idea of hurting my best friend.
Matt claps my back. “How you feeling, buddy?”
We watch as Garrett approaches Jenna. She seems shy at first, but he quickly makes her laugh. I know for a fact that’s a big thing for her. Any guy who can make her laugh is worth her time.
“I’m feeling fine. Another beer?”
Matt laughs. “Yeah. Not too much, though. I talked to my boss and he’s gonna call you up tomorrow and have you come in for a test job. Something simple, just to make sure you’re cut out for this work. The last thing you need is a hangover before a job interview.”
I swallow down the rest of my beer. “I’m quite a few drinks away from a hangover, don’t worry.”
“Alright. Let’s go, then.”
As we walk to the bar, I avoid looking in Jenna’s direction. I know Garrett would never try to do anything to her the way David did. Garrett’s a good guy, and he knows I’d kick his ass if he hurt Jenna. I feel fine leaving them alone together. In fact, I’d rather leave them alone than stare at them any longer.
At least, I might be getting a job tomorrow. That’ll be a great distraction. I don’t want to sit at home all day wondering what Jenna is doing. That’s boyfriend shit. It’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid here.
Matt and I order beers and return to the table. Most of the guys have separated into little groups. A few are off talking to women in the bar. Good for them. I would try, but I think that might hurt Jenna’s feelings. I don’t want to do that.
“Oh, I almost forgot, we need to do a tux fitting next month,” Matt says. “The entire bachelor party will be there. You guys can start planning shit.”
I laugh. “You’re not getting married for three more months.”
“Which should give you plenty of time to plan something epic.”
“It’ll be epic. Don’t you worry.”
I’ve never thrown a bachelor party before, but Matt is entrusting me to help his best man with the plans. The guy is one of Matt’s oldest friends, but he lives in Arizona so it’s hard for him to do local stuff. I’m the backup best man, apparently. I don’t mind. I’m glad Matt wanted me as a part of his wedding.
“Do you think you’ll bring Jenna as your date?”
I shake my head. “That’ll give her the wrong idea.”
Matt takes a sip of his drink. “You never know. Things might change by then.”
He may believe that, but I know it won’t happen. If I’ve been this way my entire life, I’m not going to suddenly change. Jenna is going to make a great girlfriend – for someone else.
It sucks how much that’s going to hurt, but it’s my own fault.
I made the decision. I’ll deal with the consequences.
Jenna
I have two new texts on my phone, but neither is from the guy I want to talk to.
Tuesday sucked. I still can’t believe Damien didn’t realize I’d asked him on a date. Next time, I’ll be much clearer.
Even worse is that he basically threw his teammate at me. Damien was dead-set against me so much as dieting with his teammates. Apparently, us sleeping together changed that. It shouldn’t have, but it did.
In my head, the second time Damien and I got together was supposed to change our relationship for the better. Damien doesn’t agree.
It’s so weird to me that he doesn’t want a relationship with anyone, let alone me. He has no idea what he’s missing out on.
If his parents had a messy divorce or something I might understand, but they’re still happily married. Damien is just strange.
The biggest problem is, I don’t think Damien is as set in his ways as he thinks he is. I keep seeing flickers or want in his eyes. He might not want a relationship right now, but he wants me. He’ll change his mind. I know he will.
The problem is, how do I speed up the change? I can’t wait around forever for Damien to decide to date me. I’d prefer he make the decision right now.
My dress obviously didn’t work. I suppose I should give Damien kudos for that. He’s not as superficial as I expected. Good for him, shitty for me.
I need to come up with a better plan.
The TV is on in my living room, but I’m paying no attention to it. I put on a funny TV show that Damien and I have watched together while I finished that paper. It was due today, and I got it in just on time.
That’s a big problem, and another reason for me to speed things up with Damien. He’s distracting me from my schoolwork. I can’t afford to fall behind. It doesn’t go with my plan.
One of the dentists where I work is going to retire the year I graduate. If I don’t finish in time, they’ll hire someone else. I’m supposed to start full-time. It won’t be impossible to find another job, but it would be so much easier to continue on where I’m already familiar. That’s why I took this job in the first place.
So, I can’t let Damien pull me away from my work. If we’re dating, there won’t be any problem. It’s the chase that has my head in a mess.
I laugh to myself. Isn’t it usually the guy chasing the girl. Figures I’d be the opposite. Why wouldn’t I have to work hard to get the guy I want? Easy is boring. I’d rather some excitement, as long as it ends with Damien and me dating. The means will justify the end.
If I can figure out the means.
I scroll through social media, hoping for some inspiration. An ad pops up for tickets and to today’s hockey game.
An idea pops into my head. Damien was upset that I’d never been to a game. What better way to prove we should date than showing up at his game? He’ll be thrilled.
I open up the ticket page. I don’t want to go by myself. That would be so lame.
I immediately call Melonie. She answers after a couple rings.
“Hey, Jenna, what’s up?”
“Hi! What are you doing tonight?”
“I don’t have any plans. What were you thinking?”
“Do you want to go to a hockey game with me?”
Melonie laughs. “Are you being serious?”
“Yes! I don’t want to go alone.”
“Why do you want to go at all?”
I gnaw on my lip. I haven’t told Melonie about what happened with Damien yet. We had a test in class and were too busy to talk otherwise.
“Something happened,” I say. “I slept with Damien again.”
“Oh, shit. How did that happen?”
“I don’t know! It just did. And then, I asked him on a date the next night and he invited his entire hockey team to come!”
Melonie cracks up. “Oh my God. That would happen to you. Did you flip?”
“I couldn’t because it was mostly my fault. Damien told me repeatedly that he wasn’t interested in dating. I didn’t listen.”
“So, let me guess. Us going to the game tonight is more of you not listening.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing!”
“Because it is, Jenna! You’re going to get hurt. If he has made it clear he doesn’t want to date, you need to figure out a way to accept that.”
I sigh. Melonie doesn’t understand. If she knew Damien the way I do, she’d know that his walls are crumbling.
“I think he’ll change his mind.”
“Jenna.”
“Don’t. Just say you’ll come to the game with me.”
“Of course, I’ll come. I want make you do something stupid alone. Besides, I actually like hockey.”
“Thanks, Melonie. Where should we sit? Where do the players sit? I want to be close to Damien.”
“I’ll buy the tickets. I know the arena.”
“Perfect. Let’s grab dinner before. At the smokehouse. My treat.”
“Cool.
I’ll meet you there at 5, okay?”
“See you then!”
I hang up and squeal. Melonie may not approve, but this is going to be great. Damien won’t be able to resist me when he sees that I care about his dreams.
The next step is figuring out what to wear. I’ve never been to a hockey game, so I don’t know the appropriate attire. Is it cold in the arena because of the ice?
I shoot Melonie a text for help. She responds quickly, saying I should wear long sleeves and jeans, plus my jacket since it’s still winter for a couple more weeks.
I still don’t know what to put on. I have a lot of long sleeve shirts to choose from. Damien may not be as superficial as I thought, but he’s still a guy. Cleavage is his weakness. I pick a deep v-neck and my tightest jeans. Perfect.
It’s almost four-thirty now, but the barbeque place isn’t thirty minutes away from my apartment. If I leave now, I’ll be embarrassingly early.
There’s not much I can do in twenty minutes. I end up on the hockey team’s website, looking at everyone’s bios. There’s nothing surprising in Damien’s, so I move to Garrett.
The guy was nice enough at the bar the other night. I actually really liked him. Not enough to give up my chase for Damien, but I did like spending time with him. Maybe we can be friends.
His bio says he’s from Tennessee, which makes sense. He has a bit of an accent. How a Tennessee boy ended up playing hockey is beyond me. I’d think football or baseball were more his speed, but who am I to judge?
Matt’s bio is more interesting. I know he and Damien are really close. They graduated from the same university, which I already knew. I didn’t know that Matt is from Massachusetts originally. It must be nice to be local. I miss my family a lot now that I’m living in Connecticut full-time.
I read through a few more until it’s time to leave. I grab my coat and head out the door. Melonie is waiting for me at the smokehouse when I arrive.
“Hi!” she says, pulling me in for a hug. “You look great. I hope you realize Damien will mostly be focused on the game and not you.”
“It doesn’t hurt to make a good impression,” I say. “Besides, if I want to win him over, I have to be on my game twenty-four/seven.”
“I want it on record that I think this is a terrible idea.”
“Your opposition is noted and ignored.”
“Maybe you should’ve been a lawyer.”
“I wouldn’t last a minute. You ready to eat?”
Melonie nods, so we head inside. It’s busy since it’s a Friday night. A lot of people are wearing hockey merchandise. This must be a popular pre-game dinner place.
We eat quickly. I’m anxious to get to the arena.
“I don’t want to miss him coming out!” I say.
“Relax. We’ve got plenty of time.”
I still want to get over there. My foot taps on the ground. Melonie finally sighs, finishes her sandwich, and stands up.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“You have the tickets, right?”
“They’re at will call.”
The arena is only a couple of blocks away, so we walk there. The line for security is pretty long, making my anxiety even worse. We finally get to the front and through the will call line.
Melonie leads me inside to where our seats are. There are a lot more people here than I expected.
“I didn’t realize low-level hockey was so popular.”
“Don’t call it low-level hockey in front of Damien. It’s still professional. And yeah, lots of people come to games. There’s not much else to do around here.”
“That’s true. I guess I’m one of the few people in Connecticut who hasn’t been to a game.”
“You’re changing that tonight! I may not approve of your reason, but I do approve of your coming here. You’re gonna have a blast!”
I’m not so sure, but I follow Melonie anyway. Sports have never been of interest to me. I don’t follow them. I get that hockey is important to Damien, but I’m not sure I’ll ever have the same passion he has for it.
Plus, I don’t exactly want to watch him get smashed against the wall over and over again. That doesn’t sound fun for me at all.
We find our seats. They’re right behind the box thing where the players sit. Damien is definitely going to see me!
My stomach is in knots.
“Melonie, was this a bad idea?”
“Yes,” she says, laughing. “I told you that already. But we’re here. We’re not leaving. You just have to commit.”
“Damien is the one who has to commit!”
“Honey, I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.”
I choose to ignore her. I can’t believe that. I know it in my heart that Damien and I are meant to be together.
The announcer says something I don’t understand over the loudspeaker, and everyone starts to scream.
“What’s happening?”
“Your man is about to come out!”
I stand up and join in the cheering. The guys start to skate out.
“Do you know what number he is?” Melonie asks me.
“Yeah. Eighty-two.”
We watch for him. When he finally gets out onto the ice, my heart is racing. There he is! My future boyfriend is playing hockey!
They do the National Anthem and the Canadian National Anthem. Damien hasn’t looked my way yet, so he doesn’t know I’m here.
Finally, the opening stuff is over, and the guys skate towards their seats.
Damien looks up and scans the crowd. I’m sure it’s something he does every game, but I’m hoping he’s looking for me. Tonight, he finds me.
The grin on his face is worth coming to this game. He looks genuinely happy to see me.
I lift my hand and wave. He raises his stick to me. The people around us look at me like they’re wondering who I am. The feeling of fame is something I could get used to. I’m tempted to say that Damien is my best friend, but the game starts, so I don’t get a chance.
I have no idea what is happening on the ice, but it doesn’t matter. Damien knows I’m here, and he knows I care.
That’s step one towards getting him to date me. Now I need to figure out step two.
Damien
I still can’t believe Jenna showed up at my game last night. I was so not expecting to see a familiar face in the crowd when I looked around.
Seeing her did things to me that I’m trying to ignore. I loved having her in the stands, cheering me on. I played my best game since the trade because I had my best friend watching.
We had an afternoon game today. A part of me hoped she would be there again. I had texted her last night, letting her know how much it meant to me that she came. She didn’t show up this afternoon.
I fight off the pang of disappointment. I don’t know why I let myself believe Jenna might come. Last night was the first time she came to a game since I started playing hockey as a kid. It would’ve been a miracle to see her two days in a row. In fact, I might’ve gotten a bit suspicious if I saw her today. It’s probably a good thing she wasn’t there.
My phone pings with a text as I get ready to hit the shower. It’s only a little after four. I’ve got the whole evening ahead of me. I love early games like this. It’s nice to get home before midnight for a change.
“Hey, what are you up to?” the text from Jenna reads.
I respond quickly. “About to take a post-game shower. Why, what’s up?”
“Nothing. Just wondering if you’d want to hang?”
I hesitate. I’m almost afraid to hang out with Jenna after everything that has happened between us. We haven’t been alone together since we hooked up.
I’m not saying I’m incapable of hanging out with Jenna without screwing her. I’m just saying it’ll be very difficult now that I know how great it is. That would be a very bad idea, which is why I’ve avoid us time.
There’s no excuse I can come up with tonight. I text back that I’m free if she wants to meet
up in an hour. She says she’ll meet me at my apartment, and that’s that.
After my shower, I throw on my street clothes and grab my gear. I’m one of the first to clear out of the locker room. The guys don’t usually rush after an afternoon game. I guess we all figure we can take our time and still get out at a decent hour. I’m only in a hurry because I know I’m about to meet up with Jenna.
She’s waiting outside my apartment when I get there.
“Hey! How was the game?”
“We won. Thanks for asking.”
“Sure. I had fun coming out last night. Maybe I’ll come to a few more this season.”
I grin. “That’d be great. It’s nice to have a familiar face in the stands.”
“I bet. So, what do you want to do? I’ve been sitting at home all day. I want to get out and do something.”
“How about a nice walk?” I suggest. “Get our blood pumping.”
“I like that idea.”
“Great, let me just put my gear away.”
Jenna waits outside for me to store my stuff. I appreciate that. I’m not sure we’d leave if she came inside.
Once I’m finished, we head out for our walk. Jenna knows the area a lot better, so I let her lead the way. She takes me to a nice park downtown.
“Wow, a carousel?” I say when we we’ve been walking through the park for a while. “I don’t think I’ve seen one of these outside of an amusement park.”
“This one is super old. It came here in the forties, but it was built in like 1914.”
I shoot her a look. “I didn’t know you were a carousel historian.”
Jenna laughs. “Shut up. I’ve read the plaque a few times. Do you want to ride it?”
I look at the old structure. There are kids and adults riding it right now, so it must be relatively safe.
“Sure, why not.”
I buy our tickets and we get in line. There are a lot of people considering the time of year. I wouldn’t expect twenty people in front of us, waiting to also ride the carousel. It’s like thirty degrees outside and still early mid-February.
Oh, shit. It’s mid-February. I missed Valentine’s Day.
Arrogant Puck: A Friends to Lovers Sports Romance (Hockey Heartthrobs Book 2) Page 11
