Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
B riar
There’s a knock on my bedroom door. I go to open it and Charlie passes me a shirt. No, a jersey. Number 18 with the name Murray on the back. “Aaron told me to give you his jersey,” she says.
“Thanks.”
“Does this mean you two are admitting your feelings?” Charlie asks.
“It’s a lot more complicated than that. I have a baby to consider,” I remind as I spin around and go to sit at the chair next to the desk in my new room. Charlie walks deeper into the room.
“This is where I stayed too,” she notes with a hint of nostalgia. “I get being scared to put your feelings on the line, but it’s the only way to find out if what you guys have is real.”
“I know that, but so many people think I got pregnant on purpose. If I put on this jersey, it will draw attention to me. As it is, people I don’t know are coming up to me and asking me how I got Aaron to sleep with me.”
Charlie bursts into laughter. “The puck bunnies can be ridiculous. I wouldn’t let them influence the trajectory of your life.”
“I know you’re right,” I say.
“Then get that jersey on and let’s go to the game,” she urges.
“Give me a minute to change,” I say to Charlie.
“I have to change too. I’ll see you at the door in five.”
“Okay.” She leaves my room. I change out of my sweatpants and put on a pair of yoga leggings since most of my jeans are tight on me.
I slip on a cream-colored cable knit sweater, since I am sure it will be cold in the arena, and I put on Aaron’s jersey. When I check myself out in the mirror, I can’t hide my smile. It feels good to be claimed by a man like him.
Charlie and I head out toward campus. As we are walking we make small talk.
“How are you feeling?” she asks.
“My breasts are swollen, I’m in a constant state of horny, I get gas from eating the wrong food, and my pants don’t fit anymore. Is that TMI?” I giggle.
Charlie giggles too. “Nah, but the horny part can be solved very easily.”
She isn’t wrong. By the time we make it to the arena, I am shivering. The place is jam-packed since the games between Riverside and Michigan West bring in a lot of fans. Charlie was explaining the rivalry to me on our walk over. Even though both teams secured a spot in the Frozen Four.
At the arena we have front row seats. We are all standing as Finn faces off against a player from the other team. Finn misses the shot. We all sigh.
“How adorable, all of you dating hockey players. I see you helped your friend out too,” I turn around to the source of the comment to see it’s Scarlett..
“Scarlett, what is your problem?” Annie bites. Scarlett is Cade Price’s ex. The girl that cheated on him in public. She seems like a real bitch.
The girl beside Scarlett whispers something.
“Cade wanted a baby with me and Aaron is probably destroyed over the news.” Scarlett points to my belly.
Again, Annie turns to the side, ready to pounce, but Ruby and Charlie encourage her to keep her cool and ignore the girls. They are clearly puck bunnies.
The guys are having a bad night. We are only in the first period and they’ve had two goals scored on them. Luc isn’t goalie tonight. It’s someone else and things aren’t going well for the guys.
Since the arena is filled with students rooting for Riverside, there is a lot of booing going on. A guy from the other team stick-checked one of our guys and apparently the ref didn’t call it. At least that’s what Charlie is muttering. By the start of second period, it feels like there is a shift in the air. Our team shoots the puck across the ice at face-off. Aaron and Cade have a shift, and they are skating around the Michigan guys, shooting the puck back and forth between them and Finn. Aaron makes a pass to Finn just in time for him to score. The crowd cheers and so do I. It’s easy to like hockey. I get the appeal.
“Oh, that’s the girl I was telling you about. The one who got knocked up,” I hear a girl say a row behind us.
Annie side-eyes me. “Ignore them. They’re just jealous,” she whispers.
“It’s kind of hard.” I’m not the type of person to sit back and take being bullied. “I’m going to the restroom. I need a drink. Do you want something?” I ask my friends.
“I’m good.” Annie answers and Ruby and Charlie shake their heads.
I head out to the bathroom and then to the concession stand. I get an extra-large Sprite.
When I get back, the girls tell me Hayden scored another goal, so now the score is three to two for us.
Aaron is on the ice. Everything is moving fast as Aaron skates around the back of Michigan’s net; he gets hold of the puck. A skater from Michigan cuts him off just as he’s about to make the goal. The guys are fighting over the puck like crazy. Suddenly the player is pulling on Aaron’s jersey.
Aaron is fighting back.
“What is going on?” I ask Annie since she is beside me.
She shrugs. “Looks like the guy said something to Aaron. He cross-checked him and now they’re brawling. It happens on occasion.”
She makes it seem like no big deal, but Aaron swings at the guy and punches him in the face. He’s got a helmet on but his head still whips to the right.
The referee calls a penalty on both of them. They end up in the sin bin. Aaron looks pissed. I’ve watched him play hockey before. I’ve never seen him this stirred up.
The third period goes by without any more goals, so when the buzzer goes off there are huge cheers from Riverside. They win the game, but Aaron seems off.