CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Definitely not normal
VANESSA
My birthday did not suck in the end.
I was absolutely spoiled by my friends, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the odd group I’ve come to hang out with.My parents would probably disprove of my friendship with the hockey team, but I couldn’t care less what they think.
Growing up, my parents taught me to believe that all athletes are egotistical maniacs who only care about money and themselves, which is probably why I constantly dated guys who fit that category, so I could piss them off even more. The guys on the team have taught me the complete opposite. Not only did they all split on a gift for me for my birthday, but they also threw me a party to make me feel better. These guys took my feelings into account, which besides Sydney and Maddie, no one ever does.
My parents didn’t even bother to call or text.
Jake threw me a curveball. I mean, his gift was so sweet and sentimental. Watching his fingers fidget with themselves while I opened it, patiently waiting for my reaction.
I don’t know how to interpret his actions.I don’t know if he’s doing these things because he genuinely enjoys my friendship or if he has some ulterior motive. I know I’ve joked about not hooking up with him, but I’d be lying if I said the idea hasn’t crossed my mind more than once. And sometimes I do wonder what would’ve happened if we hooked up that first night.
Where would we be right now?
I guess I’m kind of grateful nothing happened that night because maybe we wouldn’t have the friendship that we do now. Who knows how well we would get along, especially the whole team dynamic knowing I’d slept with one of their teammates. I value my friendships more than a hookup.
After last night, I felt like I got much closer with the boys. I think I may have even learned more about them than I wanted to. Stories were flying around, someone went streaking across campus in their sophomore year, someone accidentally took mushrooms before going to class, and a certain someone hooked up with his TA last semester and definitely got a better grade because of his Southern charm .
If it wasn’t for Nate kicking us out before midnight, I’m sure we would’ve all stayed there until the sun came up.
It’s safe to say that I regret staying up late and indulging myself in more liquor than I should have, because now I’m standing in front of the Greyhound full of college boys and hockey staff, and my head is absolutely pounding.
I blame Maddie for getting me to drink one too many rum and cokes.
The only upside is at least this time I came prepared with Advil and a Gatorade to help this minor hangover go away before we arrive in Vermont.
“Ms. Nichols, how are you doing this morning?”
I almost scream as Coach Wilson approaches me. “Oh, hi, Coach, good morning. I’m okay, just a little tired.” I can’t help the yawn that breaks out.
“Well hopefully the boys won’t be too rowdy and let you get some sleep before we arrive in Burlington. See you on the bus. Oh, and happy belated birthday, Vanessa.”
“Thank you.” I smile back at him, and he heads onto the bus.
Most of the guys have already arrived and loaded their bags into the undercarriage. I cannot wait to find a seat and close my eyes for the entire ride. I could use an extra hour or two of sleep. I drag my feet to the bus and slowly climb up the stairs. My body is exhausted from lack of sleep, so something as simple as climbing the stairs feels like I’m climbing a mountain.
“Vanessa! So good to see you this morning, how are you feeling?” Nate’s voice is obnoxiously loud, and he does it on purpose.
I want to stab him with my nails.
He stands up out of his seat and greets me in the aisleway, putting his arm around my shoulder. There’s no way he knows I’m hungover. I don’t have bags under my eyes or sunglasses to shade me from the bright lights. I’m totally pulling this off.
“I’m fine, Nate. Thanks for asking.”
“You sure? No headache or nausea?”
Okay, maybe he does know. I have a feeling he called Sydney this morning to see how we were all doing. If you interrupt Sydney’s sleep, she will say just about anything to go back to bed.
“Oh good, I was nervous you were going to be too hungover to sing karaoke with us the whole. Way. There . ” He pats my head then takes his seat next to Eli.
Nate better be joking because I don’t think my head will be able to take it.
“Ness, over here.” Jake’s voice carries through the bus as he waves me over from the back.
If he’s sitting at the back then it’s safe to say that there’s no way he’s going to coordinate a karaoke session.I duck between two of his teammates and make my way to the back of the bus where Jake is sitting with an empty seat next to the window. Across from him are Kieran and Levi—the latter already snoring with his hat covering his face.
I go to put my bag in the overhead compartment, but two very muscular arms reach up from behind me, lifting the bag.
“I think your arms are a little too short to reach up that high, I’ll get it for you.” Jake’s voice is low, as he whispers in my ear.
I most definitely can reach, but I also won’t fight him, it’s too early for me and my body is ready to collapse into my seat.
“You can have the window if you like, I normally take the aisle when I sit with Kieran.”
“Thanks.” I attempt a smile, but the tiredness is starting to take over and another yawn slips free instead.
He moves aside to allow me to squeeze in between him and the seats. As I work my way into my seat, I slightly rub against Jake’s groin.I move fast, making it seem like I didn’t notice us touching and I slump down into my chair. I just need to get into a comfy position and pass out.
“Has Coach noticed you’re hungover yet?” he whispers, as if Coach could hear us from all the way back here.
I play along. “I’m very good at hiding my feelings, Jake. If I was deathly ill he would have no idea unless I wanted him to.”
“Well, that’s a little morbid to say this early in the morning.”
He looks down at me with those deep ocean eyes. I wish I was on a beach soaking in the sunshine, lying on the sand, and listening to waves as I fall asleep. Maybe I should listen to ambient sounds the entire trip. That always puts me right to sleep.
“Ness?” He’s looking at me, waiting for a response. Oh God, I completely spaced out.
“Huh?”
He lets out a small breath that sounds like a low chuckle. “I asked if you had a fun time yesterday.”
I really can’t focus on anything he’s saying because his smile is too pretty. That’s it, I must be exhausted if I’m thinking like this.
“Sorry, I’m just tired. But I had a great time last night, I really appreciate you and everyone who helped put the party together. I think it was my favorite birthday I’ve had.”
Jake’s surprise party last night just showed me that sometimes it’s okay to have better relationships with your friends than with your own family.
“Well good. Next year I’ll make sure to go even bigger.”
Jake smiles down at me. God, he looks so good for it only being five in the morning. With his stupid teeth so white and straight, his fluffy hair tousled perfectly on his head, it’s like someone plucked him out of a goddamn magazine.
“Next year? Are you expecting us to remain friends after this season?” I look up at him, waiting for his response.
He flashes that smile of his. “Ness, you can’t get rid of me now.”
Two seconds ago I was sleeping peacefully, resting my head on the window, until the entire bus started belting out their own rendition of “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond.
Annoyed, I look down at my phone to realize we still have almost two hours left of the drive. Before I fell asleep, Jake was asking me a million questions about photography and why I got into it, and eventually, after talking his ear off for forty minutes about my passion, I finally passed out. But apparently, I didn’t sleep for long.
Jake’s standing in the aisleway, walking up and down, holding onto his phone, pretending it’s a microphone. He’s leading the rest of his teammates in his epic version of the song, and none of them seem to mind. Eli and Kieran join him, standing up and waving their arms in the air, making this a whole production. I should film them like this. How often do you see a ton of hockey players belting out on a Greyhound bus?
They’re definitely not normal.
I grab my phone out of my pocket and start recording as Levi walks to the back of the bus, singing at me.
“I bet you thought I was joking about the whole karaoke thing,” Kieran yells over the sound of his teammates singing.
I stop recording them as Levi takes his seat next to Kieran. I make sure to save the video so I can post it later.
I just scoff and I grab my AirPods out of my bag. “I’m going to turn my music on full blast and hope I can tune you all out.”
The boys go at it for another few minutes, that is until Coach Wilson yells at them to quiet down.
At least my headache is almost completely gone now. Some ambient music and finishing off my Gatorade should hopefully do the trick.
I shift in my seat, trying to get into a comfortable position, but I swear they make these seats with barely any cushion in them. I think my butt’s gone numb. And of course, to add to my day, my AirPods are completely dead, and I didn’t bring another set of headphones with me. Kill. Me Now. All I want is an extra hour of sleep before I go into work mode and edit photos and posts before the game.
Jake slumps down in the seat next to me, a wild grin looking down at me. “Good morning, sleepyhead. Did you enjoy our performance?”
“Are you asking if I enjoyed getting rudely woken up by your tone-deaf singing?” My eyes narrow on him, I’m imagining him freezing under my ice-cold stare.
“Geez. Note to self, tired Vanessa is cranky.” He ruffles my hair, irritating me even more.
“Will you please give me five minutes of peace so I can fall back asleep?”
He leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. This causes his shirt to go tight around his biceps. “Put your headphones in and pretend I’m not here.”
If only I could.
“I can’t, they’re dead.”
He looks at me for a moment, eyebrows furrowing as he contemplates whatever is going on in his mind. He reaches down into his backpack, pulls out his own pair of headphones, and passes me one of the earbuds.
“Here, we can share mine. What do you wanna listen to?”
I quirk an eyebrow up at him. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll listen to anything. No big deal.”
I let out a little laugh. “You might take that back when I tell you what I wanted to listen to.”
He looks at me, gesturing to me to continue.
“I like to listen to ambient sounds when I fall asleep. It clears my head so I can fall asleep in seconds.”
“Okay.” Jake nods his head and pulls his phone out of his pocket, typing away. “Do you want thunderstorms, light rain, white noise, or waves?”
He did not just look up ambient noises on his phone.I sneak a peek over his shoulder and see that he did in fact look it up. That’s so sweet.
“Um…” I’m about to answer when he continues his own thoughts.
“I feel like you’re more of a thunderstorm type of person. You’re loud and moody, but fascinating. Just like a thunderstorm.”
Okay, is he a mind reader?
“One, you’re rude for comparing me to a thunderstorm. And two…you’re right.” He looks at me with a knowing smirk. “I love falling asleep to storms. Something about them is so calming, it just lulls you to sleep. The rumbling sounds are almost therapeutic. It makes you focus on what’s going on outside and not what’s going on in your head.”
“When I was younger and still at home, my dad and I would sit in our garage and watch the lightning in the sky. It was almost like a tradition of ours. Anytime there was a storm, we would meet in the garage with drinks. When I got old enough he would slip me a beer once in a while without telling my mom. It’s one of my favorite memories of home.”
Every day Jake surprises me with another small piece of himself. Whether he’s sharing a random thought or a cherished memory. I wish I could be as forthcoming as him.
I put the earbud in as Jake presses Play and I try to get comfortable again. I try to cross my legs, but these damn seats could use an upgrade. I’m too squished . I feel like BCU makes enough money from our tuition and their donors that they would be able to afford more comfortable modes of transportation.I toss and turn, trying a million positions but I just can’t get comfortable. I should’ve brought my travel pillow, my rolled-up sweatshirt doesn’t do much to cushion my head against the hard window.
Jake must take notice of my discomfort because he grabs my legs and positions them on his lap. “You’re moving around too damn much I can’t focus on taking my own nap.”
I thank him for his kindness because now that I can stretch out a bit more and reposition my makeshift pillow, I’m much more comfortable than I was a minute ago.
My brain focuses on the soft sounds of thunder playing in my ear and my body starts to relax. Jake traces small circles on my ankle and this motion becomes so soothing I slip into a much-needed sleep.
I wake up as we arrive in Vermont. We stop at the hotel to check in and drop off our overnight bags before heading over to the arena.
“Everyone, listen up. I’ll be giving out your room assignments for the weekend.” Coach calls from the front of the bus. “Nate and Eli, room two oh three. Shepherd, you and Kieran are in two oh four. Levi and Xavier, two oh eight.” He continues through the lineup until all of the guys unload the bus.
Since I’m technically a part of the staff, I get a room all to myself, which is quite shocking.
I grab my camera bag from above my head and hop off the bus. Most of the guys are grabbing their bags from under the bus but leave their hockey equipment for when we travel to the arena. I grab my overnight bag and join everyone else in the lobby. Coach is passing out the room keys for everyone and I overhear him giving the boys strict rules for the night.
“After the game we’ll be going out for a team dinner. Your time is your own after that, but everyone, and that means you, Danford ”—his eyes narrow on Kieran, I wonder why he’s singling him out—“needs to be in their room by midnight. We leave tomorrow at eight a.m. and if you aren’t on the bus, then you can walk back to campus.”
Well, at least it’s not as early as this morning.
I grab my room key from Coach and read over the hotel pamphlet while walking over to the elevators. This hotel has so many amenities, I wish I was here for more than one night. There’s an indoor pool, a hot tub, a sauna, a bar, and a gym. So I guess the school cheaps out on transportation but splurges on the accommodations. Well, I won’t be complaining anymore.
The doors to the elevator slide open, and as I’m about to hit the button for my floor, Jake lugs his overnight bag over his shoulder and squeezes in between the closing doors.
“What room are you in?”
“Two sixteen, I’m in the block of rooms with Coach and everyone else.” I read off the number written on the pamphlet in my hand.
“I’m in two oh four, so I’ll only be a couple of doors down, y’know in case you get bored later.” He raises his eyebrows at me and winks.
God, he is such a flirt.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be taking advantage of that hot tub the moment we get back from the game.”
The elevator comes to a stop and the bell rings, indicating that we’ve reached our floor. Jake motions for me to exit first, saying something along the lines of ladies come first. We walk down the hallway, other teammates already checking into their rooms, and Jake stops at his door.
“Well, if you get bored hanging out in that hot tub all by yourself, the guys and I will most likely be in the hotel bar ’til curfew.”
I keep walking but turn around to say, “Don’t worry, if I miss hockey boys, I’ll just read the book Maddie got me.”
Jake presses his key to the door, and as the green light flashes, he calls out. “If there are any sexy parts, make sure you send them to me!”
He is definitely something else.