Page 9 of Rule Breaker
“I don’t think the cold is good for him,” Jackson replied, his eyes bright. “But I’ll try to make every game. Or as many as my schedule allows. Unless I’m in a regatta.”
Dane turned to his boyfriend and the heated look that passed between them had me suddenly envious. What would it be like for someone to want me like that?
“…Do you want to come?”
I stared at Dane and Jackson, totally lost at this point.
“What?” I said, shaking out of my daydream and back to the present.
Dane laughed. “I said, Jackson and I are going to grab some lunch at the Blackbird Café. Do you want to come with?”
“Sure.”
After I’d scarfed down a chicken Caesar wrap and chips, I said goodbye to my friends and headed for my next class.
Halfway through my community development course, I got an email from Coach Banning about our team schedule. Our first away game with an overnight stay was taking place in Rochester in two weeks. Which meant traveling the night before. Last year, I got lucky and roomed with Dane for our road trips. I was hoping for the same this year. But it turned out, hope wasn’t enough.
And when I saw the name of the person I was rooming with? Let’s just say that my earlier panic hit an all-time high.
CHAPTER 5
KAYDEN
TWO WEEKS LATER (OCTOBER)
“Switch with me.”
“No.”
“Dane, come on,” I pleaded.
I wasn’t above begging to get what I wanted.
It was a cloudy afternoon, crisp but not cold, as we waited for our bus at the campus gates, along with the rest of the hockey team. Everyone had their bags by their feet, headphones on or around their neck, ready to roll.
Me? I wanted to run right back to my dorm.
Why the fuck had I gotten stuck with Maddox as a roommate? I’d approached Coach about it, but he told me that barring an emergency, there were no changes. Suck it up and deal.
“I sympathize, bud, but you know how Coach sets this up,” Dane replied. “It’s done. And someone has to room with Rocher. You’re probably the best choice.”
“What? Why me?” I asked.
“Come on, you’re the nicest guy on the team. If anyone has patience for assholes, it’s you.”
I sighed. Dane wasn’t wrong about the patience part. I was training to be a social worker, so empathy and patience were mandatory, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was the nicest guy on the team. That was Jace. Not me. And, yeah, usually I could always find something good in everyone. But my exposure to Maddox so far left me with a restless twinge in my gut. Like the kind I get when a game is going downhill real fast, and the clock is running out. Despite all the practices to date, I still couldn’t get past that mask of his. I was starting to think it was permanently attached to his face, and his personality.
“He hates me,” I added.
“Maddox hates everyone,” Dane lowered his voice and leaned in closer. “I heard he had it out with Coach. Demanded his own room on the road. Said he’d pay out of pocket, but the request got denied. And Maddox was pissed.”
I shoved a hand through my messy hair and tugged. “Great. Now he’s gonna be extra snarky, and I have to sleep in the same room. I’ll be lucky if I wake up at all.”
“Ignore him. Wear your headphones all the time. Do your own thing. Chances are, he’s not gonna talk to you, anyway. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Says the personnotrooming with him,” I replied.
“Sorry.”