Chapter Four November
[boo pittsburgh.jpg]
[Image Description: Screenshot of a Tweet. It says, “Pittsburgh people dress like they’re terrified a stranger might pass them in the street and not know they’re from Pittsburgh.”]
i assume this is why you felt you needed to wear your jersey the other day
hilarious.
did you not text me all week so you could look for stupid pittsburgh memes?
Nick (10:04 a.m.)
i plead the fifth
but also
[double boo pittsburgh.jpg]
[Image Description: A picture of a meme. It reads: “When you go out of state this is the ‘I’m from Pittsburgh’ map.” It depicts a map of Pennsylvania with a circle around Pittsburgh that covers a large portion of Western PA.]
Nick (10:06 a.m.)
are you even *from* pittsburgh???
Jensie from Hockey (10:08 a.m.)
I’m from South Side yeah I’m from actual Pittsburgh I could see Downtown from my house
Nick (10:09 a.m.)
i don’t see ‘south side’ on this map
Jensie from Hockey (10:10 a.m.)
jfc
Jensie from Hockey (10:27 a.m.)
[0338b1gh.jpg]
[Image Description: A picture of the “woman yelling at cat” meme. The top reads “Maryland.” The woman yells, “It’s the north!” The cat says, “It’s the south.”]
Nick (10:33 a.m.)
okay that’s just not fair
*
His phone buzzed in his pocket, giving Nick a chance to escape Terry and Jenna’s bickering about Italian vs.
German sausage. (“They friggin’ INVENTED sausage, Terry!
‘Brat’ is a synonym for good sausage, fight me.
” “They don’t do the spicy ones I like, though.
” “They have HUNDREDS of types of sausage, I’m sure they make one type that you like.
”) He clicked the Facebook notification, fully expecting to find out it was some long-forgotten acquaintance’s birthday.
He couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath when he saw the picture he’d been tagged in.
There they were, the Jagr Bombs, about four beers into the night and taking up nearly the whole width of the concourse at Capital One Arena. They had managed to crowd in for the picture they’d bribed a vendor into taking, and it was a pretty good shot.
Well, it was a pretty terrible shot since they were obviously sloshed, but it was pretty good in the sense that they were all smiling and having a good time.
And that was totally him and Brady with their arms slung around each other’s shoulders. Brady was holding up a beer, Nick was pointing emphatically to the USA logo on Brady’s chest, and they were definitely far closer than he remembered them being.
“Ohhh, is that your hockey team?” Jenna asked. She had to go on tiptoes to see over his shoulder. “Which one is the cutie you’re crushing on—and never mind, I can totally tell.”
“Is it the bearded guy with his arm around you?” Terry asked. “Because if it’s not, you’re doing a really good job of hiding your crush if you’re hanging off of someone else.”
“Nick is incapable of hiding a crush. You remember Toby from kindergarten?”
“I didn’t go to kindergarten with you guys.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot. You skipped kindergarten because your family is ridiculous. Who skips kindergarten? Of course it’s easy, we’re cutting paper and gluing crafts and doing numbers and the alphabet. Totally fucked you over in the long run.”
“I graduated top of my class!” Terry whined.
Jenna gave him a withering glare. “Let’s not open that can of worms, okay? Truce so we can tease Nick about his not-boyfriend?”
“Yes. Truce.”
Nick yanked his phone away and took a step forward to clutch it protectively to his chest. “Yes, that’s Brady. Yes, I still have a crush on him.”
“Yes, he is as hot as you said,” Jenna said appreciatively, like she’d thought Nick’s taste was questionable up until that moment. “Like seriously, I didn’t know people that gorgeous were just walking around on the street. Or in hockey rinks, I guess.”
“Who’s the girl in that picture? The small one?” Terry asked.
“I am not setting you up with Gail; she’d eat you alive.”
Terry’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“Are you sure he doesn’t know you have a crush?
” Jenna asked. She motioned for him to hand over the phone.
Since his only alternative was resisting and then having her literally wrestle him to the ground to get it, he gave it to her.
“Like, this is pretty close. He might not recognize that doe-eyed look, but that is 100% a guy who’s head over heels. ”
“I’m not—”
Jenna turned the picture around, zoomed in on his, indeed, very happy grin and the almost possessive way he had pulled Brady close to him for the picture.
“I mean… head over heels is a little much… It’s just a crush. I don’t know him that well,” he said weakly, mimicking Terry’s dejected posture. “There’s still hope.”
Jenna snorted and looked back at the phone. “Who’s Lucy?”
“Lucy?” He wracked his brain trying to remember Guy’s wife’s name. It was something way more French sounding, wasn’t it? “I don’t know a Lucy. Why?”
Nick and Terry crowded into Jenna’s space to read the comments on the picture.
Marc Garcia: Looking good guys! Sorry I couldn’t make the game!!
Gregory Smegory: Sick pic I’m making it my cover photo ??
Lucy J: OMG you got a new jersey!!!! It looks awesome! @Brady Derek Jensen
Brady Derek Jensen: it’s not mine I was borrowing it from a friend but yeah it’s pretty sweet
Lucy J: Guess I know what I’m getting you for Xmas then!! ????
“Uhh…” Nick couldn’t place the name to any of the conversations he’d had with Brady, though that didn’t mean much. It’d taken months to even find out Brady was from Pittsburgh. Brady was tight-lipped when it came to non-hockey topics; the more personal, the less Nick knew.
“Girlfriend?” Terry suggested.
Nick felt like his heart had either stopped or was beating so fast he couldn’t distinguish the individual beats anymore. Words failed him, and he focused on making sure he breathed in and out and didn’t vomit all over his shoes.
“Hold on.” Jenna clicked on the small picture of the mysterious Lucy J.
Her profile picture now filled the screen and showed a couple, their hands linked as they stared lovingly into each other’s eyes.
Neither person looked familiar, a good indication that whatever their relationship, her and Brady were not dating.
He recognized the skyline in the background, and suddenly it made sense.
“Lucy Jensen,” he said, happy his voice wasn’t as shaky as his legs were. “Sister?”
“Ohhh,” Jenna said excitedly. “You might be right.”
The rest of her profile was blocked, giving no other clues. Once again, Jenna zoomed in on the picture and focused on her face.
“Stupid beautiful sunset putting her in shadow,” Jenna grumbled. “You see a family resemblance there?”
“In the super zoomed-in, poorly lit picture? No, no I do not.”
“Well.” Jenna handed back his phone. “You could always ask him if he has a sister. I’m guessing she’s family, so I wouldn’t worry about that.”
He could not conceive of a way to bring that up. “Hey, Jensie, we doing hockey this weekend? Also do you have a sister named Lucy who maybe commented on that team picture? ’kay, thanks.” “He could have some other girlfriend out there,” Nick grumbled.
“Or boyfriend,” Terry added helpfully.
“You should put yourself out of your misery and ask him out,” Jenna said. “The worst that happens is he says ‘no’ and you don’t date… which is exactly the situation you’re already in.”
“That is not the worst-case scenario. I could lose a friend over this if it gets awkward, never mind that we play on a team together. He’s the better player, and he’s been on the team longer. I could get kicked off the team or whatever the hockey equivalent of an honorable discharge is!”
“You’re both adults. You don’t think that’s a little extreme?”
“Nah, I’m with Nick on this one,” Terry said.
“You said the worst case, and he pointed out a much worse case. I don’t know how likely it is, but it’s not as simple as ‘they date’ or ‘they don’t date.
’ Even if the guy says ‘yes’ and they try it out, they might not work as a couple, and then they break up, and then he loses his hockey buddy and gets kicked off the team. ”
Jenna’s face made it clear she wanted to smack them both. “I swear to God, how are you two functioning adults? All right, I concede, it might get awkward, but you two are drama queens if you think the path diverges into either Happily Ever After or Banned From Hockey Forever.”
“Could we just… let me make my own decision about this? It’s my life that gets fucked up if I get it wrong.”
“Fine,” Jenna said and held up her hands in defeat. “Just keep in mind, it’s your life that can also get way better if you get it right.”
Nick’s cheeks flushed, and he put the brakes on his imagination running away with that possibility. He did not need to picture any sort of happy domesticity with Brady.
*
Nick’s phone vibrated on his desk, but he ignored it. He was in the middle of something and whatever the call was, it could wait. He was tired of staying at work an hour after the day had officially ended to make up ground. So help him, he was getting out of here on time today.
“So I need approval for a new corporate credit card,” Chad said as he stepped into Nick’s office. He was tossing a Rubik’s cube back and forth as if that were an acceptable way to use one. “I emailed you about it.”
As rude and entitled as Chad’s entrance was, Nick appreciated that it was straightforward.
Definitely better than the hour he had lost last week when Chad pulled him into his office to settle a bet between him and some other sales guy that sort of related to hockey but actually somehow ended up being about baseball.
“I can’t authorize new credit cards,” Nick said without looking up from the files on his desk. Maybe if he was also straightforward, they could get this over with. “I can process your old expense reports, but if you lost your card, you’ll have to go to Larry.”
As if Chad didn’t already know this. Waste of his damn time.