5. Worst Night Ever
CHAPTER 5
WORST NIGHT EVER
RYKER
I stop in my tracks, just short of turning the corner to come into view of the locker room.
“Jagger.” A feminine voice says.
I would recognize that voice anywhere. I hide behind the wall, craning my neck to see the locker room door at the same time.
What the fuck is going on?
I can only see Bay’s back, but rather than letting my gaze wander in appreciation of her toned ass, I focus my attention on Jagger.
My teammate has his arms around two girls. I haven’t been in Star Cove that long, but everyone on the hockey team knows Bianca Williams. I think the other girl is Candace, the one who started the bunny strike that messed with our winning streak to begin with.
What are they doing with their arms around Jagger’s waist, dressed like they’re ready for tonight’s party?
I watch the exchange between them. It doesn’t take a genius to see the tension in Bay’s shoulders and to hear her clipped tone.
As Jagger walks the girls out, I enter the locker room and start to get ready for tonight’s game.
I begin putting on my protective gear on autopilot, my mind reeling about what I just saw.
Candace and Bianca were obviously here for that good luck ritual after Topher invoked the bro-code to whatever was going on between Jagger and Bay.
What was Bay doing here? Did Jagger not talk to her?
I don’t have to wait long to satisfy my curiosity. “Hey dude,” I call out when Jagger returns sans girls. “I thought the party was after the game? It looks like you started early though.”
Jagger’s jaw is rigid with tension, his brow set into a menacing scowl, fists clenched at his sides. “Don’t.” He bites out, going straight to his locker.
I abandon my attempt to skate around what I just saw and aim right to the goal. “If you’re going to ignore Topher’s demands, what were those puck bunnies doing in here? I’m sure Bay isn’t happy about?—”
He turns around so fast that I’m surprised he doesn’t get whiplash. “I’m not ignoring Topher’s demands.” He barks.
I blink, confused. “You aren’t? But if you got your good luck blowie from those girls, what was Bay doing here?”
He slams his locker so hard that the whole row shakes dangerously. “Beats me.”
In theory, this is none of my business and I should stay out of whatever is going on between Jagger and Bay. Their friend with benefits situation shouldn’t concern me.
It’s not like there’s anything more than some hot banter and a crazy physical attraction between me and Bay. I don’t even know where I stand with her after my “apology” last week.
Just the thought of her sweet taste, of the way she sounded when I went down on her makes me rock hard. But I ignore the stirring in my pants because Bay’s posture and tone were very tense a moment ago.
One look at Jagger was all the confirmation I needed that something is going on.
“I thought you and Bay had some kind of deal?” I prod him.
“That was before last week’s meeting. If Topher released my initiation video, I won’t be able to ever look my parents in the eye again. So I can’t keep seeing Bay.”
That would explain Bianca and Candace’s presence in the locker room.
“But if you told her you can’t keep seeing her, what was she doing here?”
If that was anyone else, it wouldn’t have surprised me. That’s why I don’t do relationships. I just can’t handle the drama, especially after getting caught in someone else’s drama almost cost me my hockey career before it even started. Bay however doesn’t strike me as the kind of crazy chick who would stir trouble for no good reason.
Jagger looks away, his expression sheepish. “I don’t know. Maybe she didn’t see my text. She was in class all afternoon.”
My fingers freeze on the laces of my skates. “You told her you couldn’t keep seeing her by text?”
My tone is hard, but Jagger’s reaction is more heated than I expected.
“Not you too!” He snaps. “Cole already told me I’m an asshole, the message has been received.”
Right. “Dude, I’ve known you since we were in high school. You’ve never been a sappy type, but I thought you and Bay were friends. A text message is cold even for you.”
He grabs his stick and for a second, I think he’s going to hit me with it. “I’m just trying to do what I have to do for the sake of the team,” he bites out, walking to the door. “I just wish people appreciated it, rather than trying to get all up in my business.”
He leaves, slamming the locker room door the same way he did earlier with his locker.
I’m not going to win an award for being Mr. Sensitive any time soon, but even I can figure out that getting a blowjob from two of Bay’s sisters after ending his deal with her by text will cause some hurt feelings.
Technically Jagger didn’t break up with her because they weren’t together, but after he marched me into Bay’s room to apologize for the pool incident last week, I expected more from one of my oldest friends.
As I walk to the ice rink with my helmet and my stick in hand, my thoughts should be focused on the game.
Instead all I can think about is that I hope that Bay is ok.
Judging by her tone and posture, I suspect she might be upset. As I start skating around the rink, I make up my mind that I’m going to check on her after the game.
COLE
Our opponents wipe the ice with us.
I haven’t seen such carnage since I started playing hockey more than a decade ago.
We’re out of synch, always a few seconds late on the action, no matter how many changes of line Coach implements.
By the end of the second period, Tucker’s goal has been sieged. On paper the Rino Trojans shouldn’t be a match for us. I’m not trying to be a snob, but they’re a Division Two team, playing up to Division One and, judging by the countless hours of film I watched, that shows on the ice.
Apparently not tonight though.
The other team is faster and more accurate and that reflects in the percentage of puck possession and in the score. We’re humiliated to the point that when the third period rolls around, we keep looking at the clock in the hopes that this torture will be over soon.
When I finally manage an interception, I skate away from our goal at breakneck speed, looking around to locate our offense.
Corey skates past me but he has an opponent covering him pretty closely, so I don’t waste my time passing to him.
I spot Ryker further ahead trying to get rid of his own cover and signal to him.
He nods and by the time I’m within passing distance, he’s out skated the Rino D-man and is free to receive the puck.
Usually Ryker has a tremendous sense of position and he’ll find himself in the ideal spot to sink the puck into the other team’s goal. Not tonight.
He hesitates, disoriented, as if his mind was miles away from the game.
“Moore!” Coach Harrison bellows.
Ryker shakes his head as if he finally realized that he needs to shoot or pass the puck, but it takes him a few seconds too long to shake off the trance he seems to be under.
The defense man he dodged before is back with a vengeance and he brought reinforcements.
There’s no way he’ll be able to score with two opposing players doubling down on him and thankfully he realizes it too.
“Ryker!” Jagger has left his spot in front of Tucker’s goal to offer support to our offensive action.
He signals to Ryker to pass the puck, completely alone on the left side our center offensive.
My jaw hits the ice when Ryker ignores Jagger and decides to try his luck with a weak shot that slides right into the gloves of the Trojans’ goalie.
Things only get worse from then on. Despite Corey’s goal when there are two minutes left on the clock, there’s no way to rescue the embarrassing six-one the final score.
We skate out of the rink and walk back to the locker room in silence, ready to get our heads chewed off by Coach Harrison.
“Go home,” one of the assistant coaches comes to tell us. “Coach Harrison wants to see you all here tomorrow morning at six am sharp.”
“Aww fuck,” Corey throws his dirty uniform in the hamper by the door. “Coach must be too furious to even come to yell at us.”
I nod. “Yeah. I think the fact that he wants us here at six tomorrow morning should give us an idea of how mad he is.”
“Motherfucker,” Tucker groans. “I bet my left nut that he’s planning some horrible punishment. My fucking quads still hurt at the memory of last year’s bag skating.”
Matt, a second string defenseman, looks like he’s about to puke. “I have never felt so sick in my entire life. I hope it’s anything but bag skating.”
Jagger looks resigned to our fate. “Even if it is,” he bites out. “We deserve it. There’s no excuse for how badly we played tonight. So whatever punishment Coach decides to dish out, we should take it like men. We’re the team to beat, last year’s champions. We should do better than how we played tonight.”
I can’t help but agree with him. “Jagger is right. I couldn’t even recognize us tonight. It was like we forgot how to play hockey.” I include myself in the critique, I know my performance was one of the worst to date.
“Yeah,” Topher’s eyes go from me to Jagger. “For once, we’re on the same page, Marshall. But we all know that what we do on the ice isn’t the only deciding factor when it comes to winning or losing. Has everyone done everything they are expected to do to keep our good ju-ju?”
His eyes settle on Jagger.
If I expected my best friend to squirm, or look uncomfortable, I’m surprised by the stony look he offers Topher.
“I did what I had to do, did you, Mumford?”
Our frat president doesn’t back down. “I sure did. Last time I checked, I wasn’t the problem when we got our asses kicked at the beginning of the season. So I’m going to ask you again. Did you do everything we expect from you to keep our luck in good standing?”
Jagger’s smirk is cocky. “If you’re asking if I got my dick sucked before the game, I did. You didn’t have to go as far as to send your girlfriend by the way.”
“Bianca isn’t my girlfriend,” Topher chuckles. “She’s just a fun little side piece. Something to keep me entertained until I get Bay back. You’re welcome by the way. I’m sure you’ve tried how much she loves playing with balls firsthand.”
I can’t fucking believe this.
I don’t know if I’m more furious at the arrogant, cocksure way Topher says he’s going to get back together with Bay, or at the fact that Jagger let the bunnies blow him before the game.
When he looked so torn earlier about ending his deal with Bay, I believed him. I even thought he might have feelings for her for a second. But it must have all been bullshit, if he got that blowjob. Especially from Bianca, after what she did to Bay.
I’ve always thought Jagger was a decent guy, that’s why we’ve been tight from the second we met on Cove Knights ice in freshman year. If he lied to Bay to get in her pants and then had the nerve to hook up with Bianca, I guess I didn’t know him as well as I thought.
I don’t give a fuck that he’s terrified that Topher will release that video. Whatever he did during his initiation in Gamma Delta Tau, it doesn’t give him a pass to treat Bay like she’s disposable.
For the first time ever, I’m almost more mad at Jagger than at Topher.
I clench my fists, fighting the urge to teach them both a lesson in decency and storm into the shower to clear my head and wash off this horrible defeat.
When I’m done, I leave the locker room alone, not in the mood to talk to anyone.
The shower hasn’t helped ease the storm of emotions that are warring in my head.
I’m still furious at Jagger and Topher, but I’m also aware that I’m not completely innocent in this situation.
If I’m ready to judge Jagger for trying to protect his reputation at Bay’s expense, what does it say about me that I’m avoiding her too?
I can justify my behavior with the fact that being kicked out of the Gamma house would leave me homeless. But if I look at the situation without any bullshit excuses, I must admit that Topher’s threat is very convenient.
The truth is that I’m terrified of putting my heart on the line. I love Bay so deeply, that if she didn’t reciprocate my feelings, it would fucking kill me.
I’ve known I was in love with her from the second we met. How could it be any different?
Bay is perfect.
Her outer beauty is just the tip of the iceberg, the thing that attracted me to her first. Her wit, her intelligence, her kindness are what made me fall hopelessly in love with my best friend.
By the time I had gathered the courage to ask her out freshman year, she was already with Topher.
The more I waited, the more excuses I found to justify why I couldn’t tell her how I felt.
When she came back to campus a few weeks ago, Topher was no longer in the way, but I kept looking for more excuses to keep the status quo.
She’s too hurt.
It’s too soon after the end of a long term relationship.
She’s on the rebound.
If I tell her and she doesn’t feel the same, I’ll lose her as a friend.
She’s hooking up with Jagger.
The reality is that I’m a chickenshit and I’ve been clinging to every excuse not to put my heart on the line.
This new awareness however, doesn’t change a thing.
I’m still too scared of how hurt I’d be if Bay rejected me, and Topher has just offered me the most convenient excuse I could have hoped for and I took it like the coward I am.
That meant that I started avoiding Bay just as much as Jagger. I’ve been the shittiest friend in the world. Too selfish to support Bay when things got tough.
I’ve been so preoccupied with everything that’s happening on and off the ice, that I took the long way back to the Greek Row, driving around campus twice to clear my mind.
By the time I pull into the Gamma house driveway, the party Topher insists on throwing after every home game is already in full swing.
Thankfully people Uber it here or walk because they plan on drinking and I don’t have to struggle to find my usual parking spot.
I hold the steering wheel with white knuckle force, psyching myself to cut the bullshit and go into the house.
I’m not in the mood to party, but I need to check on Bay. If she knows about the blowjob, after being dumped by text message, I’m sure she needs a friend.
The house is already crowded when I get in. Music is playing in the living room, where some people are dancing and another group is doing shots by the couch.
Bay is nowhere to be seen, but I spot Jagger and Candace.
Fury makes me see red when I see his arm wrapped around the girl’s shoulder. Is he for real?
Is this a decoy to keep Topher off his back, or is Jagger more of an asshole than I could have ever imagined?
I walk in their direction, my attention focused on weaving through the throng of bodies dancing in the middle of the room.
Bay comes out of nowhere, and she spots them before I can reach her.
She’s a vision in a short black skirt and a long sleeved green top that fits her like a glove.
Jagger can’t see her, intent on whispering something into Candace’s ear.
Bay pales as if she’s seen a ghost.
Fuck. I’m going to kill Jagger, but first I need to take care of my best friend, no matter how hard it is being near her right now.
She turns her back to her former friend with benefits, and heads toward the stairs.
I quicken my pace, elbowing a couple of people out of the way but Ryker walks up to her.
He says something I can’t hear and I stop in my tracks, watching them leave together.
What does it say about me that relief floods me like a tidal wave?
I probably should go and tell Jagger to take whatever is going on with Candace somewhere where Bay can’t see them.
Instead I go to my room. This has been the worst night ever and I’m spent both physically and emotionally.