Page 15 of Hockey Boy

I roll my eyes. “Of course I do. I gave that one to ya.”

Eyes dancing, Aiden cups his mouth like he’s wiping away his smile. “So tell me more about these venues.”

Beckett: Aiden, how are you feeling today?

Gavin: Did you just ask Aiden about his feelings?

Brooks: It’s a valid question.

Gavin: When he shows up at your house and asks you to have a slumber party so you can stay up all night and talk about your feelings, I don’t want to hear it.

Brooks: LOL

Beckett: Sounds like you have experience with this…

Brooks: I definitely do.

Beckett: ????

Gavin: Same. Come to think of it, you’re owed an Aiden serenade.

Beckett: What? Who said anything about singing?

With a chuckle,I tilt my head and study the ceiling, running through songs that would be fitting for Beckett. He feels like an Aerosmith guy. I make a mental note to rework“Pink” and type out a reply.

Me: No pillow talk tonight. Sorry, big bro. I’m heading over to War’s.

I slip my phone back into my pocket as I knock on his apartment door, an overnight bag in hand. I snuck into my apartment today and grabbed a few things. Fortunately, all my belongings were as I left them. As far as I could tell, Jill hadn’t been back. Maybe she went to New York to be with her loser boyfriend. Whatever. If I keep moving and don’t think about it, I’ll be fine. That’s my MO. Put on a smile, and it will all be all right.

I tap my knuckles against the door in a jaunty little rhythm, and a moment later, War appears, a little out of breath.

“Someone here? I can come back.” I thumb toward the hallway. Sara won’t turn me away if I show up at Brooks’s place to wait until whoever War is with leaves.

He shakes his head, his blue eyes widening. “Nope. Just me.”

I stalk in and throw my bag down on the black leather couch. The second it lands on the cushion, I pick it up again. Leather couches in hockey players’ apartments probably aren’t safe. Too easy to wipe down.

With a huff, War eyes the way I hold the bag a few inches over the couch. “I never bring women back here.”

I roll my eyes. Other than Daniel, War gets more action than anyone on the team. Hell, he probably gets more than Daniel too. He’s just quiet about it. He’ll disappear randomly and without a word. One minute, we’re playing pool, and the next, he’s texting from the bed of some stranger, telling us to have a good night.

“Fine. But you better give me a sheet to cover it with tonight.” I drop my bag on the floor and head to thefridge for a beer.

“You can stay in the bedroom.”

I freeze, one hand wrapped around an ice-cold bottle, the other twisting the cap. “Dude, I get that it’s probably been a few hours since you got laid, but I’m not that desperate.” Coughing out a laugh, I hold up the beer. “Seems like you need this more than me.”

War snatches the bottle from me with a grumble. “I’m not fucking sleeping with you.”

“Good, ’cause I’m not fuckingorsleeping with you.”

He eyes me. “I got a place in Cambridge.”

Frowning, I take him in. The ripped jeans and the black T-shirt. The piercing blue eyes and the almost permanent scowl. “What? Why?”

He sips his beer and leans back against the counter. “Good schools. More grass. Easy access to the city.”

“Good schools?” I toss my head back and guffaw. “What are you, Beckett?”