Chapter 25 Catching Feelings
Catching Feelings
Cole
I impulsively asked Harper to be my girlfriend in the middle of lunch with our friends.
And I don’t know if that was the most least romantic thing I could do or what, but guilt sits in my chest like maybe it didn’t seem serious enough.
I need to talk to her, solidify what she agreed to.
It felt real in the moment but as I wake up, I’m second-guessing what I did.
But it’s for a fraction of a moment because when I get out of bed, I’m telling Rex that she said yes. He’s wagging his tail, jumping around, feeling my energy.
Cole: Good morning, beautiful.
I pad down to the kitchen to find my roommate, Finn, in the kitchen.
“Cole,” he greets as I shove my phone in my pocket.
“Hey, man.”
“Did you say you have a girlfriend?”
Shit. I run a hand through my hair and laugh nervously.
“You were jumping around like a little kid.”
I rub my tired eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, you saw that, huh?”
He chuckles, closing the fridge.
My phone buzzes, so I pull it out, expecting it to be Harper. Instead, I see Liam’s name calling.
I answer on the second ring and say, “Trouble is keeping you so fucking busy, man. Feels like I haven’t seen you. Did you make it official yet?”
He scoffs. “No, Trouble is yesterday’s news.”
I pause. “Here I thought you were going to bring her to the team dinner.”
“Do you still have that extra stick?”
The change of subject means it’s touchy. “You mean the magic stick.”
“That’s the one. I need it.”
I cackle. “You don’t fucking need it.”
“I do. Bring it to practice.”
“My man’s in a mood. You all g?”
“No,” he says. “But who cares, right? Can’t keep it in my pants, so a guy like me doesn’t deserve happiness.”
“Is that what she said?”
“Forget it. Why don’t you check on Sirus, your new best friend. I’m sure he’s more your style these days.”
He ends the call, and this is the beginning of the shitshow I was worried about from the beginning.
Liam can catch a girl’s attention, even hold it if he wants to, but he always fucks it up one way or another.
Now I’ll be on babysitting duty when he spirals.
Great. And he’s jealous that I’ve been hanging out with Sirus. Dude needs to fucking chill.
By the time I get to the rink, I’ve managed to push thoughts of Harper to the back of my mind and focus on the day ahead. Liam’s in a mood when I enter the rink.
“Bring the stick?” he says, all business.
I nod. “It’s leaning against your locker.”
“Well fucking bring it here.”
I hit his shoulder pad. “You fucking get it.”
He stalks off, angrily. I watch him, wondering what the hell happened with Trouble. I almost laugh to myself because he gave her that nickname for a clear reason. Look at him. He’s been so quiet about this one, so he’ll have to deal with it alone. I’m not putting up with his bullshit this time.
I glide onto the ice, no longer worrying about Liam’s shit.
Practice is intense but loose, and Coach is in one of his rare good moods that means we might actually get out early.
In the locker room afterward, the energy is relaxed and easy.
Guys are ribbing each other about the team dinner.
Sanderson’s new stick is being manhandled by all the guys.
Cade’s watching with jealousy. Tommy’s getting roasted for his new haircut, and Sirus is defending his choice to spend Saturday night at a wine tasting with Maddie instead of hitting the bars with the team.
“Wine tasting,” Marcus says, shaking his head. “What’s next, couples pottery classes?”
“Don’t knock it until you try it,” Sirus shoots back. “Besides, Maddie knows more about wine than anyone I’ve met. It’s actually pretty cool.”
I’m half-listening to their debate while checking my phone to see if Harper’s replied to my last message. She hasn’t, but that’s fine—she mentioned having back-to-back classes this morning.
“Look at Cole over here,” Sirus says, noticing my distraction. “Checking his phone every five seconds. Dude’s already whipped. He asked to be his girlfriend yesterday.”
The guys start laughing. “Yeah, yeah.”
Before they can give me any more shit, Liam drops onto the bench next to me, towel draped over his shoulders, wearing that trademark scowl that usually means he’s about to say something that’ll get him in trouble.
“What are we talking about?” he asks, grabbing a water bottle.
“Cole’s love life,” Sirus says. “He’s found himself a girlfriend.”
Liam raises an eyebrow. “The girl from the double date? It’s that serious already? Damn, Cole. For a moment, I thought you didn’t have it in you. Did you fuck her yet?”
I shake my head. “No.”
He laughs like this is petty kiddish talk. “Knew it.”
I look over at Sirus who’s giving me that knowing look. Liam’s mood is radiating off him in waves.
“You’ve been fucking Trouble,” I say.
He snickers. “Yeah, but Trouble’s not girlfriend material. She’s just… hard to forget.”
Finally something vulnerable, but then he quickly reframes the narrative.
“And easy to fuck, which means she’s just like the rest of them.”
Sanderson and Cade start disagreeing about something. Cory and Peterson step in to end it before it escalates while Miller laughs. Everybody else stays out of it.
“Sounds like your type,” I say to Liam.
He glares at me like he could kill something right now.
“Am I meeting your girlfriend tonight?”
I nod. “You will, yeah.”
He hits my shoulder and leaves.