Page 102 of Hockey Boy
I roll my eyes as I lock my phone and toss it into my bag. Nothing to hide now. “It’s not a big deal. I just like knowing what Lennox is reading so I can act out her fantasies for her.”
Brooks scowls. “Does she know you do this?”
Biting back a grimace, I shrug. Okay, some may call it stalkerish to clone a person’s phone, but I don’t read her text messages or anything. I just follow along with what she’s reading using her Kindle app. Makes me feel closer to her when we’re apart. And we’re going to be apart a lot now that the season has started.
“That’s fucked,” Camden murmurs.
War nods, but his look is appraising rather than condemning. “Truly fucked.”
“Is it because of Lukov?” Brooks says, his tone soft. “Trust issues after what Jill did? You know Lennox isn’t like that. It’s clear she’s crazy about you.”
It’s clear she’s done a great job of making everyonebelieveshe’s crazy about me. Sometimes she even has me convinced.
“I don’t read her messages. I’m not stalking her,” I defend, gripping my phone tight.
Brooks cocks a disbelieving brow.
“It’s likehalfstalking,” I amend.
War snorts and kicks at the bench leg closest to him. “Half stalking. I like it.”
“You should tell her how you feel,” Brooks offers.
My chest tightens again. He means well, but Lennox and I aren’t like him and Sara. They were best friends when they started fake dating. She never rejected him.
If I tell Lennox how I feel, she’ll call the whole thing off. Then she’ll marry someone else to get her inheritance—someone who isn’t hopelessly in love with her—and I’ll lose my chance at convincing her that we could be more than fake. That we could be forever.
“I will,” I lie. “I do. All the time. Seriously, this isn’t about Jill. I do it to feel closer to her. But I’ll tell her I did it. She’ll probably find it hot. She loves stalker romance.” I grin, hiding my emotions behind my go-to funny guy mask. “Now, it’s time to unveil the new team song I’ve been working on.”
War’s lips twitch. “New song?”
“Yeah, I figure new captain, new season.” Hopping up onto the bench, I raise my hands. “New song!”
“Fuck yeah.” Camden and Daniel launch themselves up onto the bench on either side of me.
The room grows quiet. Why wouldn’t it? This is a sacred part of our game prep.
I start with the beat, stomping my foot twice and following it with a clap. Camden and Daniel catch on quickly, mimicking the movement and sound. It only takes a couple of heartbeats for the rest of the team to catch on to where we’re going with this and break out in cheers as I start my own personal rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.”
“Brooksie, you’re our guy, make a big save,
Defense got your back, gonna be a great game today
With Halls to my left and Cap to my right
Sliding the puck right into the net, chanting
The Bolts will, Bolts will win it.
The Bolts will, Bolts will win it.”
The chants grow louder as I lead the team in our new anthem, giving each man attention, calling to their strengths, reminding them that, as a team, we’ve got this.
By the time Gavin comes in to give his pregame pep talk, we’re energized, focused, and ready to take New York down.
Starting the season playing on another team’s turf isn’t ideal, but it happens. Tonight, though, is so much worse than any old away game. New York fans hate us. They’ve welcomed Seb with open arms, seeming not to mind that he’s a cheating asshole who cares about no one but himself.
I keep my eyes averted from New York’s bench so that I don’tinadvertently make eye contact with the fucker. I try my best to stay grounded during warm-ups as Daniel and I circle one another, slapping the puck back and forth, then as we move into stretches. The music in the arena is loud, but War is quieter than normal, his gaze drifting to New York’s bench often. Unlike me, he’ll gladly make eye contact with Seb, and every time he does, he shoots daggers.