12. Party Games
Party Games
MACKLIN
When they say that hockey is king in Star Cove, they’re almost downplaying it.
Our college has a more than decent Division One football team that draws quite a few spectators to its games. A great swim team, and basketball team, and even a competitive skydiving team.
But our campus lives for hockey. The Cove Knights are the stars of the entire college and as such were given the place of honor in the rally parade. We’re on an open-top bus that goes down the main road, past the Dean’s office, and the parade culminates in Greek Row.
Fans are gathered to see us pass and scream our names. It’s a sea of turquoise and silver, our team’s colors. And right before we stop in front of the Zeta house, I spot three girls with my jersey painted on their naked chests. My number, nineteen, is drawn in silver over their tits.
“Did you see that?” Vaughn gasps. “I bet those three could be a lot of fun to go home with tonight.”
There’s only one woman I want to go home with tonight, but I know that’s not gonna happen. I have a feeling I’ll have to work hard to get Talia’s attention, but I’m up for the challenge.
And tonight might be a great time to get closer since Tucker isn’t going to be at the party we’re all headed to after the Dean rallies the crowd with his final speech.
If Tucker knew my intentions, he would make me disappear.
He’s hinted a lot of times that he has connections in town and if any of his teammates tried anything with his sister, we would end up in an unmarked grave.
The words “pig farms” have been uttered every time someone has unwittingly commented on how pretty Talia is.
I can’t blame Tucker for feeling that none of us are worthy of Talia.
My wild summer probably cemented that conviction in my case.
The only thing I can say in my defense is that I needed a clean break from Gen.
She kept hounding me about getting back together and my many public hookups were partially meant to show her that I had moved on and the ship of our relationship had sailed for good.
I’m not a hypocrite, and I’m not saying that hooking up wasn’t fun.
But while I rebounded from one hookup to the next, Talia was always front and center in my thoughts. Had I gotten one sign from her that she liked me, I would have been all in.
If anything, all that meaningless sex proved two things to me. That the thing between me and Gen had truly run its course, regardless of her cheating. And that no matter who I hooked up with and how fun the night proved to be, Talia was always my end goal.
I never promised my one-night stands more than I intended to deliver, so my conscience is clear. Every woman I was with was treated the way I wanted to be treated. With honesty, with their pleasure as my priority and safety and consent were always nonnegotiable.
Now I’m tired of hookups. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to get a chance to get to know Talia better. To see if what I’ve built up in my dreams could become a reality.
The Zeta house is fairly crowded, but the party is small compared to the crowds we just left outside.
There are going to be countless parties tonight on campus, and a couple of the houses on Greek Row have organized legit ragers.
I prefer a smaller gathering where I can keep an eye on my teammates. The Zetas have always had our backs, like we had theirs, and that’s more important than ever now that I’m captain.
Coach trusts me to make sure that no one does anything stupid that could mess with our shot at another championship.
The background music is just right in the large, modern living room. It provides a relaxed atmosphere but doesn’t make it impossible to have a conversation.
The French patio doors are open to the backyard, and people are flowing in and out of the house. Almost everyone has a drink in hand, and I’m no exception.
The second I set foot through the door, one of the sophomore Zetas approaches me with a tray of turquoise drinks. “Care to try tonight’s signature cocktail? It’s called the Frozen Knight. Giovanni created it especially for tonight.”
Giovanni is the house’s virtual butler. He manages the house security and controls a couple of cooking and bartending appliances that make the kitchen as hands free as today’s technology allows.
Whoever calibrated Giovanni’s cocktail making machine, however, set it to make the cocktails extra strong. I’ve suffered the consequences of trusting the fruity flavors created by the Zeta’s butler a couple of times, and I’m not gonna make that mistake again.
Coach wasn’t joking about going hard from the get go this year. And I can’t set the wrong example by showing up to morning skate with a hangover.
“That looks exciting, but no, thanks. I think I’ll stick to a light beer for tonight.”
The Zeta, Britney, if I recall correctly, looks disappointed. “There should be beer in the kitchen. You know how to get there.”
Vaughn and Davis come in after me and make the mistake of accepting a cocktail.
They’ve been to their fair share of parties here, so I swallow the warning that’s on the tip of my tongue.
I never appreciated the fine balance it takes to take care of the team without overdoing it when Luke Harper was captain. I have to remind myself that we’re all grown-ups, or at least we should be.
Everyone has been briefed about keeping themselves fit and game ready during the season, and they all know that Coach won’t tolerate any reckless behavior. All I can do is trust that the message sank in and be there for my teammates if they need help.
Speaking of someone who might need help, once I find the only light beer I’m going to allow myself to have, I head back into the living room and out into the backyard.
The first person I spot is Becks with one of those turquoise cocktails in hand and my ex-girlfriend wrapped around him like a koala on a eucalyptus tree.
Gen’s best friends Madison and Olivia are flanking them and the three women are talking Becks’s ear off.
I stifle a laugh when I notice the pained expression on his face. He’s known Gen as long as I have. What did he expect by coming here as her date?
The game Gen is playing is more than obvious.
She thinks that being seen on my brother’s arm is going to make me jealous.
It sucks that Becks got roped into her scheme, but I meant it when I said that I don’t care what they do.
If having someone holding his balls in her purse is what my brother wants, who am I to tell him what to do?
My eyes scan the backyard in search of the woman I wouldn’t mind holding my balls sometime soon.
Talia looks like a million bucks in a little black dress that highlights her toned body.
Her blonde hair flows down her back in loose waves, and her makeup is minimal and tasteful.
Gen was always a “full face of makeup” type of girl. She made me watch countless videos about contouring and on how to shape one’s eyebrows, and apply fake lashes.
I honestly don’t care what a woman prefers to do with her face. As long as she feels happy and comfortable in her own skin.
But if I had a choice, I would prefer a more natural look. Makeup that doesn’t change your facial features but rather highlights and enhances.
Gen and I have had this conversation countless times.
Not because the amount of makeup she used bothered me.
That was none of my business. But because I hated how she thought she had to do all that to look pretty.
She felt that she couldn’t leave her room without “the works.” That without layers upon layers of makeup she was ugly.
I can say many things about my ex and why things didn’t work out between us. But her looks were never an issue. I wish she had believed me when I told her that she didn’t need all that to look good. That she would still look beautiful to me even in a pair of sweatpants and not one lick of makeup.
As my eyes rove over Talia, I can’t help but imagine her first thing in the morning.
But my imagination goes further than putting her in sweats and very little else. I imagine her in one of my t-shirts or my jersey. Waking up in my bed and having a lazy morning cuddling and talking.
The image is so vivid in my head that I take it as a sign. An omen that it’ll become reality. I just have to play my cards right and hope that Tucker won’t kill me when he finds out.
Talia is holding one of those turquoise drinks, and she’s talking to her friend Sam.
I spend thirty seconds psyching myself up to go and talk to her. Tucker isn’t here to barge in tonight, so it’s the perfect opportunity.
“How is the Frozen Knight?” I ask, stopping next to them.
When she smiles, her whole face lights up.
“Your guess is as good as mine. I just took one not to offend our new president, who came up with the idea, but I’m not drinking it.
Giovanni is a little heavy-handed when he measures alcohol, and no drink is worth how shitty I’ll be feeling tomorrow if I partake. ”
“I love how you say he when you talk about Giovanni.” Sam chuckles.
Talia’s eyes light up with amusement. “He looks after us so well, he deserves the pronoun. No one knows the exact temperature I like my shower as well as he does.”
Oh, fuck. I have to force my mind away from any thoughts of Talia in the shower, or I’ll embarrass myself.
“Maybe we’d need a Giovanni at the Gamma house. I think the plumbing there is older than us and it takes a good five minutes of cussing while scorching my skin off one second and freezing to death the next before finally finding the ideal temperature.”
I know, lame. But this is the most words I’ve ever spoken to Talia, if you don’t count asking her to be my tutor. Guess one has to start somewhere.
To my surprise, Talia doesn’t seem bored by my small talk. “Actually, the current Gamma Delta Tau house was built by an alumnus in the mid nineties. So it’s over thirty years old. It has been updated a few times, but it still has the original plumbing.”
“Interesting.” I muse and I mean it. “How do you know all that?”
Her cheeks flush pink. She looks adorable.
“My elective last year was a class about the history of Star Cove with a special feature about the history of campus. Sorry, I’m a huge nerd. I’m sure you don’t care about how old the plumbing is on every building on campus.”
“No,” I argue. “That’s really interesting. And maybe it’s time for us to ask our president to look into updating a few things.”
Talia’s laugh is like a breath of fresh air. “Good luck with that, since your new president is Tucker. Although maybe he isn’t as hopeless as he used to be. He’s grown up a lot in the past year. Before that, he’d have blown the entire year’s budget on parties.”
I know what she means. My freshman year, Tucker was one of the biggest party animals on campus.
“We can always hope.” I chuckle.
“Speaking of brothers,” I follow Talia’s gaze to the spot where Becks is still listening to whatever Gen and her friends have to say. “I didn’t know you had a brother who played hockey.”
Her smile fades as she catches Gen whisper something in Becks’s ear, her manicured hand splayed on my brother’s chest.
She looks at them for a couple of seconds and then averts her gaze. Talia chews on her bottom lip for a couple of seconds before her gaze returns to mine.
I’ve noticed that she bites her bottom lip when something makes her uncomfortable and she’s trying to pull herself together.
I know. The amount of time I’ve spent observing her borders on obsessive, but I swear I’m not a creep. I can’t help but find everything about Talia fascinating.
“Yeah, since he decided to go play for Bridgeport, I thought it was better to keep things on the DL. Becks was a freshman last year and he didn’t get a lot of ice time.
To be honest, I was sorta relieved about that.
Can you imagine the amount of shit the others would have given me for having a brother who played for our biggest rivals?
I mean, a few teammates asked me if we knew each other, but last year’s Bridgeport was far from the team it had been in the past. They ended last in our conference.
So I guess no one paid that much attention to their roster. ”
She listens intently to my explanation, but I don’t miss the way her eyes keep drifting to the spot where my brother is standing with that ridiculous neon blue drink in hand and my ex by his side.
Is it possible that Talia likes Becks?
The thought hits me with the same violence and the same unpleasantness of being slammed against the boards by a two hundred pound defenseman skating at breakneck speed.
No. Fuck, no.
I would hate to see Talia date anyone who isn’t me, but my brother? Just the idea makes me want to walk up to him and punch him in the nuts.
Jesus. I need to get my temper under control.
God knows that Becks and I have had our fair share of brawls growing up.
Neither of us is a stranger to punching the other in the most painful places.
But we’re supposed to be adults, and we should reserve our aggression for our opponents on the ice, not focus it on each other.
I have no idea how Becks feels about Talia and if he’d be crazy enough to risk pissing off Tucker by hitting on his sister.
As far as I know, he could even have a girlfriend. Even though it’s unlikely since he’s here with Gen, but he’s looked at us a couple of times, and they seemed to have some sort of banter between them the other day after class. I can’t risk it.
My best course of action, the mature thing to do, is to talk to him and tell him that I’m into Talia.
Not to call dibs, Talia isn’t a possession and we’re not middle schoolers anymore.
But a man-to-man conversation to make sure he knows I’m interested in the woman who’s been the star of all my dreams for months at this point.