23. New And Old Friends
New And Old Friends
Jamie
“ H ey guys, we need to make a move before we’re late.”
We’re due at the arena in half an hour for practice. I offered to drive us but I swear to God if those two aren’t in my car in the next twenty seconds, they can make their own way there and explain to Coach Harrison why they can’t be on time.
“Sorry, sorry.” Connor is the first one to climb in the backseat, followed shortly by Keene, who takes shotgun.
“What’s the holdup?” I ask, backing out of my parking spot right in front of our condo.
Connor sighs. “I have three midterms, and I’m studying like crazy. Sorry, lost track of time.”
“Me too.” Keene chimes in. “I’m a little behind on my European Modern History class work, and Poonani had decided to nap on my laptop, and it took me twenty minutes to coax her away from it.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “Jeez, are you surprised? The poor cat must have felt neglected since you came home with Bex last night and she had to shack up with Connor.”
“Right.” Connor chimes in. “And what’s up with the pink paint? You two were covered in it.”
The muscle in Keene’s jaw jumps as he glares at Connor through the rearview mirror. “Our art project got a little out of hand.”
“Ha.” I don’t let him get away with it. “Did it? Whatever you guys worked on at the art center, you definitely had the perfect excuse to drag Bex into your shower. But that also means that you finally got your head out of your own ass and made your move with our girl.”
He doesn’t say anything, and Connor scoots forward to punch Keene’s biceps from behind. “Hey, I let your cat sleep with me. The least you can do is tell us what happened between you and Bex.”
Keene rubs the spot Connor just punched, turning to look in the backseat. “Thank you for taking care of Poonani. I’m hoping to get her to understand that we like Bex. It’s just going to take a little time; she doesn’t trust easily.”
I park outside the arena, but don’t make a move to get out of the car. “That isn’t what Connor and I want to know. You showered with Bex, and she slept in your room last night. So, are congratulations in order, or what?”
I’ve never met a more stubborn motherfucker than Keene. “You’ll have to ask her. I don’t kiss and tell; I’m a gentleman.”
Yeah, that isn’t how this works.
“Look, Sarge,” I hold his gaze. “This isn’t about being a gentleman, and I’ll get the details later from Bex if you want.
But if we’re all dating the same woman, there is bound to be some sharing of information between the three of us.
Bex understands this, and she doesn’t care if we talk about what we do with her as long as it stays between the four of us. ”
Keene’s jaw ticks again. “Right. And with the two of you, it doesn’t really matter because you have threesomes. But I care about Bex, and I don’t want to fuck this up from the get go. So I’ll have to hear that she’s ok with us talking about things from the horse’s mouth before I tell you anything.”
This would be fair enough, but I take offense. “Dude.” I bite out. “Have I ever been less than one hundred percent honest with you?”
Keene barks out a laugh. “Oh, I don’t know. You fake dated Bex for weeks, and you only came clean not too long ago.”
Fuck, he’s right. “Ok, fair. But it was just because I was in denial about my feelings being anything but fake. The second I realized it, I told you and Con. You don’t need to tell us the details, but at least give us something. Did you two talk after you obviously played with body paint?”
He rolls his eyes. “We talked. I asked her to be my girlfriend… ok maybe not. Maybe she asked me to be her boyfriend. Fuck, I don’t know; I can’t remember who asked who first. But yeah, we’re together.”
Connor and I grin and high-five each other.
“Fuck, yeah. Good job, bud.” I offer him my hand to slap, but he glares at me.
“You two are weird.”
We both laugh. “Why? Because we want to see both the woman we love and our best friend happy?”
Keene crosses his arms over his chest. “Right. And you aren’t jealous or worried that I will try to make her choose me?”
Connor answers that question with a shrug.
“A bit of jealousy is normal, but to answer your question, no. We aren’t worried.
Bex is in love with me and with Jamie, and she would never choose just one of us.
For some incomprehensible reason, she has feelings for you too, despite your being an asshole to her more often than not.
But we know you’re a good man, and we understood that you had some personal shit you needed to work out.
So as long as you make her happy and treat her right, we told you we won’t stand in your way as long as you won’t stand in ours. ”
I couldn’t have said it better.
“What Con just said.” I nod. “The real question is, what are your plans for the future?”
This time, Keene groans. “You two are something else, I swear. First off, yes, I fucking swear I’ll treat Bex the way she deserves.
I also fucking pinky promise that I’m not gonna ask her to choose.
But I’m fucking falling for her, guys. I’ve never felt this way for anyone before, not even for my ex-wife.
What the fuck are we going to do after we graduate? ”
Connor and I look at each other and we smile.
“We’re moving to San Francisco. We’re under contract with the Paladins, as long as we both get a spot on the roster, and Bex agreed to move in with us.”
Keene considers my words. “Right. You have it all worked out.” It’s impossible to miss the resentment in his tone. “But what are you gonna do if you get traded before the season even starts or if you get sent to one of the Paladins’ farm teams?”
“My dad played with the current head coach of the Paladins for years. He’s a really good friend of my family.
I asked him to reach out to Coach Anderson to see what his plans are.
They have several players retiring at the end of this season and unless we fuck up royally during summer training, they really intend to keep us on the roster for our rookie season. ”
“I’m happy for you.” Our teammate says. “So Bex is coming with you, huh?”
Maybe we should let him wallow in his own misery for being such a pain in our assess with the whole Bex situation, but I know he cares for her and for us. I nod to Connor to continue.
“The thing is,” he explains. “Coach Anderson needs another solid defenseman as defense is the department where they’re losing two starting players, and they have another one out because of a long-term injury.”
Keene doesn’t understand where we’re going with this. “Good for you, man.” He says to Connor. “You’re a D-man; that should ensure that you get a shot on NHL ice during your rookie season.”
He doesn’t sound jealous, but we know him too well by now not to notice the tension in the set of his shoulders.
“True,” Connor grins. “The Paladins have been quite active with trades too; they’re looking at the draft in the spring.
They want at least another great rookie defenseman, someone they can develop and allow to grow within the franchise.
And it just so happens that my dad was hosting a BBQ recently, and he showed Coach Anderson some game tape of a defenseman I have excellent chemistry with. ”
Keene opens his mouth, finally starting to catch on what Connor is trying to tell him. “Do you mean me?”
“No, he means the fucking Cove Knights’ team mascot.” I snort. “Of course he means you, asshole.”
“Your dad had game tape of me?” Keene sounds surprised.
Finally, Connor puts him out of his misery.
“My dad eats, breathes, and sleeps hockey. He has tape of all our games so he can let me know whenever I don’t perform the way he expects.
This year, however, he’s been unusually happy about my game, and he thinks it’s down to you playing in my same line.
So when I asked him to put in a good word with the Paladins’ coach, he was on board.
He got Coach Anderson to attend our season opener and our game in Seattle.
The fact that you’re a free agent and he doesn’t even have to use a draft pick to have you is another pro on his checklist. My dad called me last night to let me know that Coach Anderson is contacting your agent this week to discuss offering you to come to San Francisco for your rookie season. ”
Keene’s jaw goes slack after being tightly ground. “He’s offering me a contract with the Paladins?”
Connor and I nod in unison.
“What… how? I mean, this has been going on for weeks and you didn’t think about mentioning it to me?”
“I thought it would be best if you didn’t know, so you wouldn’t be nervous. We’ve all seen the way you play, Keene. I had no doubt that you would impress any scout.”
I look at my watch and open the car door. “Guys, we need to get changed if we don’t want to be late for practice.”
“Wait,” Keene says, following us out of the car and into the arena. “You did all this for me before you even knew that I was interested in Bex.”
Con slaps him on the back. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but you aren’t as subtle as you think you are, brother. We’ve known that you liked Bex from the day after she got here.”
“That’s impossible.” Keene glares. “It’s obvious that she’s gorgeous, but the campus is full of beautiful women. I mean, I felt attracted to her from the get go, but I—It took me weeks to accept that I was being an asshole because I wanted her.”
It’s my turn to give Keene a reality check. “Dude, you looked at her as if she were a bottle of cold water in the desert. Why do you think Luke told Candace to pair you with Bex for that kissing game?”
“He did?” he gasps.
“So this is the thing, Keene. If you signed that contract, there’s no reason why you and Bex should have an expiration date.”
He shakes his head, still incredulous. “There isn’t.”