“How’d you guess?”
“I’d recognize that look anywhere. My wife used to say I had an intuition for finding heartbroken lads.”
“You’ve found one here. I think your wife is right.”
“If you keep that mindset, you won’t have girl troubles for long. I was married for sixty-three years when my wife died. The number one trick to staying married that long: the wife is always right.”
I laugh. “My dad says the same thing.”
“Your dad’s a smart man. Now, why don’t you tell me about your girl troubles.”
There’s something about this guy that makes me open up. Without thinking, I share the entire story from how Sophie and I officially met at a party to why I’m alone in a park while she takes a bus home.
“That’s some story,” the old man says when I’m finished. “But you can make things right.”
“I’m hoping, but I don’t know how.”
“I’ll tell you how: apologize.”
“I tried. She wouldn’t listen.”
The man waves me off. “It was the heat of the moment. She was understandably upset. What you need to do is apologize when she’s had a chance to cool off.”
I consider this. It makes sense. As long as I can get Sophie to talk to me again. We have classes together. That could be the perfect time to start my apology.
I hold out my hand to shake with the old man. “Thank you, sir. I think this is exactly what I needed.”
“My pleasure. I hope in sixty-something years, you’ll come out to this park and spread wisdom to another heartbroken lad.”
I laugh. “I promise I will.”
Satisfied that I’m okay, the old man walks off, probably to find another heartbroken gentleman to talk to. He’s like the park fairy or something.
I didn’t even catch his name.
I turn to chase after him so I can ask, but my phone rings, distracting me. I tear it from my pocket, hoping to find Sophie’s name on the screen.
It’s not Sophie. It’s my coach.
He doesn’t usually call on weekends unless we have a game. I squeeze the phone. I’m tempted to ignore the call, but if Coach is angry, ignoring him will make it worse.
“Hello?” I finally answer.
“Thank God, Matt. I thought I was going to have to scour campus to find you.”
“I’m actually in Boston right now.”
“Damn. You better get back here by tomorrow.”
“Are we having an unscheduled practice?”
“No, you’re having an interview.”
“What do you mean? With the campus paper or something?”
Coach sighs. “You’re dense, you know that, right?”
“Care to explain?”
“Your focus and determination are paying off, Matt. I got a call from the Rangers. They’re sending someone out to talk with you.”
My heart stops and I nearly drop my phone on the ground. I’m a Massachusetts kid, but I won’t turn down an opportunity with the New York Rangers. They’re a huge, incredible team. It’s an honor just to be considered.
“Have you died? I should’ve made sure you were sitting.”
“I’m not dead. I might be having a heart attack.”
“You’re not having a heart attack. Take a few deep breaths, kid. This is a good thing.”
Of course, it’s a good thing. It’s exactly what I’ve been working for since I started playing hockey as a little kid.
Now, my dream might be coming true.
“Be in my office at eight tomorrow. The guy’s not coming until noon, but we can go over some traditional interview questions he might ask. Wear something nice. Not too flashy but show that you know how to dress professionally. Got it?”
“I got it. Thank you, Coach.”
“Don’t thank me. This is all you. I’ll see you tomorrow. Enjoy Boston.”
We hang up, and I have to check my call log to make sure it actually happened. There it is. Coach’s name in my recent calls.
I’m going to interview with the Ranger’s tomorrow.
My first instinct is to call Sophie. It’s crazy, but I want her to celebrate with me.
I force myself to call my parents instead. Sophie wouldn’t answer, anyway, and even if she did, I doubt she wants to hear good news from me right now.
I try not to let the situation with her ruin my happiness. Good things are happening for me. I’m achieving my dream.
I just wish Sophie was next to me as it happened.
21
Sophie
The bus ride back to campus sucked, but not as much as having to avoid Carmen.
I’m sure Matt called her as soon as I left him in the park. I had no idea the two had become so buddy-buddy lately.
Is Carmen interested in Matt as more than a friend?
I force away the thought. She’s head over heels for Travis. That’s the only thing I know for sure anymore.
I just can’t believe my best friend would do this to me. Carmen knows how I feel about people talking about me behind my back. It’s like middle school all over again.
Their hearts were in the right place. Matt, I can forgive. It’s normal for a guy to go to the girl’s best friend for tips on how to win her over. In fact, I’d be disappointed if he didn’t put in some effort.
The problem is that Carmen manipulated so many situations to push us together. I know she invited the guys every time we did anything so that Matt and I would be stuck together. I bet that first double date was a ruse, too, but not in the way I thought. That would explain why Matt was so hurt by Zack showing up.
Then there’s the fact that Carmen shared personal information with Matt. She told him about my parents’ engagement spot and about Peter’s cheating. The first isn’t that big of a deal, but it feels like Carmen betrayed my trust. Can I tell her anything now without worrying that she might go tell someone else?
Tears spill from my eyes. Carmen is out to breakfast with Travis, so I’m free to spend my Sunday morning wallowing.
I’m sad that my relationship with my best friend is weird now. I’m sad that I was finally opening up to the idea of dating again, and then this happened.
Maybe I’m not meant to be in a relationship. The universe seems to be telling me to give up and get a bunch of dogs. I could open my own shelter or something.
I wish I was back home with my dog right now. He always knows when I’m upset, so he’ll cuddle with me on the couch and let me cry into his fur. If I didn’t have exams this week, I would skip classes for a few days just to take a trip home. It’s a long drive, but it would help clear my head.
Maybe I can go next week. I’m sure I’ll still need the reprieve. I don’t know how long it’ll take me to feel better after the mess of the last few weeks.
For now, I know watching something on Netflix might help at least a little bit. I scroll through until I find an interesting TV show to start. I haven’t watched a show from beginning to end in a while. It seems like I’ll have a lot of free time on my hands for the rest of the semester, so I may as well give it a shot.
I fall asleep hallway through the first episode. It sucks because the show isn’t boring, I’m just emotionally exhausted.
Carmen wakes me up when she comes back from breakfast. She startles when she sees me on the couch.
“Hey,” she says, her voice tentative. She’s tried to talk to me since I got home last night, but I’ve been ignoring her.
“Sophie, please talk to me.”
“I don’t have anything to say.”
Carmen laughs. “You have a lot to say, don’t lie. I know you’re mad. I know why you’re mad. But I want to talk about it. Work through it.”
Carmen is a talker. I learned that about her our freshman year when she insisted on talking over roommate issues instead of getting the RA involved. I’m the opposite. I usually let what’s bothering me fester until it explodes. I realize it’s not the healthiest coping mechanism, but it’s who I am a
s a person.
“You hurt me, Carmen,” I finally say. It’s pointless to resist. If not today, Carmen will get her way eventually. It’s probably for the best. I don’t like being mad at Carmen. I don’t want this to ruin our friendship, either.
“I know I did.”
“I understand why you did it. I’m not even mad that you helped Matt plan the dates. I just wish you hadn’t done so much to manipulate it all. I feel like a puppet. It’s like none of the relationship was real.”
Carmen nods. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have been that involved. I just got so excited about the idea of you dating someone that I got carried away. You’ve been in a slump since Peter, and I get why, but I wanted you to get out there and move on. I thought Matt would be the perfect opportunity.”
“I know you meant well, but Carmen, what you did crossed the line. You lied to me about randomly running into Matt. You told him about my parents and Peter. What else did you tell him?”
“Nothing, I swear. It was just those things. I wanted to make sure he knew what he was up against, so I told him Peter was a cheating asshole. Him and Travis threatened to go beat him up.”
I can’t help but laugh. I don’t have any siblings, but I imagine that’s what it’s like to have a brother. I don’t like the thought of Matt as my brother, though, so I quickly shake it off.
“I told Matt and Travis where we’d be a few times so they would come. In his defense, Matt only knew about the dates, he didn’t realize I was pushing you guys together otherwise, too. I think he suspected, but he wanted to believe it was fate.”
That does make me feel better. If Matt wasn’t aware of Carmen’s meddling, then maybe some of our relationship was genuine on his part.
“What about the shelter?” I ask Carmen. “How did you manage to pull that off? It was the perfect date.”
She grins. “I had nothing to do with that one.”
My heart sinks. “Are you serious?”
“Yep. You mentioned that you like dogs and he did it all on his own. I didn’t have to help him with that one.”
“Oh.”
“Do you forgive me?”
“I’m still upset, but I forgive you. Your heart was in the right place. Just promise me that you won’t get involved anymore. With Matt or anyone. Finding out was like walking into a surprise party, and you know how I feel about those.”
“I promise I won’t get involved. At least, on the same level. I might give some tips and hints if asked.”
“That’s fine. I’d do the same for you. But the inviting the guys to where we’ll be, planning double dates under the guise of helping you, and telling Matt to take me to the park where my parents got engaged? That stuff can’t happen again.”
Carmen nods. “I swear, it won’t.”
We hug, and it feels so good to have my best friend back. I knew I couldn’t stay mad at her for long. I’d be lost without Carmen. She keeps me sane, even when she’s driving me crazy.
“Now that we’ve made up, can we talk about Matt?”
“Carmen,” I warn.
“I just want to know if he still has a chance.”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I texted Zack this morning.”
Carmen’s face falls. She doesn’t know that I had told Zack I just wanted to be friends. My text this morning was more of a “I’m going through some shit and I could use a warm body” kind of thing. He responded saying we should go out next weekend, and I agreed. I don’t think he and I will ever date for real, but I wanted to be with someone. He might help me forget Matt.
Okay, I doubt it, since he hasn’t helped me forget thus far. It’s worth a shot, anyway.
“Okay. If that’s what you want, I’m not going to push it.”
I can tell it’s taking every ounce of Carmen’s restraint not to get involved, but I appreciate the effort she’s putting in.
Carmen and I settle onto the couch to watch the show I started. It’s really good, and we binge through half of the season before Carmen has to go.
“Travis got a draft letter yesterday,” she explains. “From a team in Canada.”
“Oh, Carmen! That’s amazing. Tell him I said congratulations!”
She grins like the proud girlfriend she is. “I will. I’m glad we made up, Soph. Don’t finish the show without me.”
I promise I won’t as she’s leaving. I’m happy we made up, but what happened still sits in the bottom of my stomach. It’ll take some time before I’m fully over it.
At least I’m moving in the right direction.
22
Matt
I get my draft letter from the New York Rangers on the Friday after my meeting.
It comes through Coach, and we both cry as we read it.
“Congratulations, Matt,” he says, hugging me. Coach isn’t one for affection unless his players are getting drafted. I watched the same thing happen last week when Travis got his letter. It was fitting that his letter came just a couple hours before my meeting with the Rangers.
He’s playing for a team in Canada. We’ll be playing against each other in the AHL. It’ll be nice to be on opposite sides for once. We’re both competitive, so it should be interesting.
“Thanks, Coach. I know you said I did this myself, but we both know that’s not true. If it weren’t for you, none of this would be happening.”
Coach wipes a tear from his eye. “It’s been an honor coaching you. But remember, just because you’re drafted now doesn’t mean you can slack off. I’ve got space for another championship trophy on my shelf.”
I laugh. “I’ll do my best, sir.”
We talk over the details a bit more, and then it’s time to get to practice. A few of the other guys have gotten letters or are waiting on promising leads. The vibe of the team is incredible. I think we’ve got the championship in the bag.
After practice, I call my parents to tell them the good news. They cry even harder than coach and I did, which is to be expected. My dad starts looking into season tickets to the Rangers and their AHL team in Connecticut before we even hang up the phone. I’m lucky to have supportive parents. Coach has helped a lot, but my parents are the ones who deserve the most credit for my going pro. They drove me to four am hockey practices before school when I was a kid, and they’ve been incredibly supportive ever since.
The next person I want to call is Sophie. I haven’t spoken to her since Saturday, except to say I was sorry when I saw her in class on Monday. She accepted my apology, but turned away, preventing any further conversation.
I need to do something more. I don’t want to lose Sophie for good. She’s too important to me.
Carmen is waiting outside the locker room when Friday morning practice is over.
“Hey,” I say. “How’s it going?”
“Good. I’m ready for school to be over.”
“It’s a bit early for senioritis, don’t you think?”
She laughs. “Please. I’ve had it since Freshman year. Now why don’t you ask me what you really want to ask.”
“How’s Sophie?”
“She’s okay. I think she misses you.”
“Carmen.”
“I’m serious. I’m not getting involved again, I’m just saying. I think it would be worth giving it another shot.”
“Do you think you can get her to the hockey party tonight? At the very least, I want to talk to her.”
Carmen holds up her hands. “Absolutely not. I’m not getting involved, remember?”
She has a point. It was Carmen’s involvement that caused all these problems in the first place. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to be on my own.
“You’re right. I’ll ask her myself when I see her in class. If I tell her I have good news to celebrate, she’ll come, right?”
“What good news?”
I grin. Travis is paying closer attention, too.
“You’re looking at the newest New York Rangers goalie. Well, recruit for goalie. You know what I mean.”
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Travis jumps on me, giving me a massive bear hug. All bro code is off when you get drafted into the NHL. I did the same to him on Sunday when he got his news.
“Holy shit, man. We’re going pro!”
We’re both laughing and sort of crying when we pull apart. “I almost can’t believe it,” I admit. “I keep waiting for them to call and say they were just kidding. But I signed the letter this morning.”
“I’m happy for you, Matt,” Carmen says. She gives me a much lighter hug than her boyfriend. “You both deserve this.”
“Thanks, Carmen. Now that I’ve got the career, I need to get the girl.”
“Dude, forget that for right now. We’re going out to celebrate. Lunch at the diner?”
“I have class!”
“Skip. Come on, Matt.”
I consider my options. Sophie is going to be in class. I could ask her to the party in person. However, if I do that, then she would ask me to just tell her the good news then. She might not come to the party. If I say I have big news over text, she’s more likely to show up.
“Okay. I’ll skip class, text Sophie about the party, and we’ll have a celebratory lunch. Deal?”
“Car? You in?”
“Sorry, I’ve got a test today that I can’t miss and I need to study for. But Matt, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“If it’s personal or private information, I don’t want to know.”
“It’s personal, but it’s not private. Sophie is going out with Zack this weekend.”
Well, shit. That puts a damper on my good mood. I shake it off. She’s been circling this guy for a while, but nothing has come of it. I’m hoping she likes me more than she likes him.
“Guess I have my work cut out for me,” I say. “But I’m not giving up. Sophie is worth the fight.”
Carmen grins. “I was hoping you’d say that. Good luck, Matt. And enjoy your lunch. I wish I could celebrate with you.”
“We’ll celebrate tonight when I have the career and the girl.”
Carmen laughs and hugs me again. “I really hope so. I’ll see you both later.”
Cocky Puck: A College Sports Romance (Hockey Hearthrobs) Page 13
