Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
PARKER
“Come on,” Jaylen says after practice Wednesday, picking my keys off the bench and tossing them to me. “You’ve looked like someone stole your dog all afternoon.”
“I don’t have a dog.”
“You’d be a terrible dog dad.”
“Fair.”
“Beers at Shane’s Tavern?”
I almost refuse.
Then I think about going home, opening the article again and staring at the cutest little ice hockey phenom in Eastern Europe with a father she can’t outrun.
“Yeah, just a few.”
The sports bar is half full and loud enough to pass as a distraction. College basketball on one wall. NBA on another, but the biggest screen over the bar is showing an NHL game.
Jaylen notices me looking up. “You still watch. Still a fan?”
“Sometimes.” I take a swallow of beer.
“You miss playing?”
“Sometimes.”
He follows my line of sight just in time for a goal replay and there he is. Cantor. Still fast and smooth. Still celebrating like the world owes him applause.
I feel my teeth grinding, jaw popping.
“You know that guy?”
“Used to.”
“Friend?”
I let out a huff. “No.”
Jaylen waits for me. I don’t know why I’m telling him. Maybe because the beer is cold, the bar is loud and I’m tired of carrying the weight of this story alone. I mean my family knows but I just left Michigan without a word to most of my teammates or friends.
“Cantor played with me at Michigan.”
Jaylen’s eyebrows shoot up. “Hold up. I didn’t know you played hockey for Michigan. Isn’t that like one of the best hockey programs in America?”
“Yeah to both.”
“Damn, you were legit.”
That makes me grin. “I’m still legit.”
He holds his hands up. “Okay, I see you’re still sensitive about it.”
I look back up at the television to see Cantor laughing it up with a teammate. “Cantor slept with my girlfriend,” I say.
Jaylen chokes on his beer. “Damn, that’s cold.”
I just nod, tapping the bottle against the table.
“Well, that was an ugly ass goal,” Jaylen, always on my side.
“It was top shelf.”
“Still ugly.”
I can’t help but laugh. Jaylen is a true friend, taking my side without question.
“You over the girl?”
“The girl? Yes.”
“You’re not over the cheating teammate?”
“No,” I admit. “Not really. He broke the code and took something that I loved from me.”
I did love her and hockey so I’m not sure whether I’m referring to both or not.
Jaylen nods like it makes sense. Athletes understand grudges. We use them to fuel us. He tips his bottle towards me. “You know what? It sounds like you need better friends and teammates. Good thing you got me.”
I raise my bottle and tap it to his. “To good friends and better women who don’t cheat.”
We both drink, taking long pulls as our bottles sweat.
“So, who’s got you staring at your phone every twelve seconds?”
I look down like I’ve been caught cheating.
“No one.”
“Sure.” His voice, full of sarcasm.
“My performance coach.”
Jaylen grins. “That sounds dangerous already. She’s coming to games and practices. It must be working because you didn’t drop many balls over the last week.”
I shake my head, but the correction slips out before I can stop it. “Annika—Anna.”
“Already have pet names?” He asks so sure of himself.
“She’s just…” I stop.
“What?”
Complicated.
Sharp.
Guarded.
Scared.
“Different,” I say.
Jaylen leans back, and gulps his beer. “Different good, or different I’m about to ruin my life?”
Before I can answer, my phone buzzes. I glance down. Annika and a ridiculous smile spreads before I can stop it.
Jaylen doesn’t miss a beat. “Oh, you’re cooked,” he says as he takes a pull of his beer.
“Shut up.”
My phone vibrates.
Annika: Your sister told me about the time you cried because she wouldn’t marry you when you were four.
I choke on a laugh.
Annika: And now I can stop picturing tiny cowboy boots and a bowl cut, so thanks for that.
My face hurts, I’m grinning so hard. Annika’s having drinks with my sisters.
Jaylen holds his bottle but points at me with his finger. “Is that your performance coach? Or someone else because that smile isn’t all business.”
“Speaking of business, mind your own.”
My phone won’t stop buzzing but this time it’s my sister.
Noelle: I love Anna. She’s amazing and fits right in.
That hits me in a different place.
Quieter. Deeper.
Because Noelle doesn’t say things like that about other women. Her best friends have always been guys. Girls were jealous of her looks, her athleticism and her brothers. She’s cautious and reserved when meeting new people.
And if Annika fits in with Noelle, she fits in with all my family.
No, don't go there. Not yet.
Jaylen leans over. “Why do you have that goofy smile on your face?”
“No reason.” I lock my phone and drop it on the bar.
He snorts. “Liar.”
Yes, I am.
Because the truth is, I haven’t stopped thinking about her since we shared some truths with each other, had sex and ate breakfast this morning. The way she looked at the envelope left for her. About the article sent to me on my phone, which I don’t know what to do with. Do I dig deeper?
Do I tell her that there are still fragments of her childhood?
About the pieces of the puzzle that are missing and still don’t fit.
And for some reason that doesn’t make me shy away. It makes me want to know her better. Her whole life.