Chapter 3
Iwas going to break my promise. Four days had gone by since the library. Four days of trying to get my mind off Avery with extra workouts and binging Next Best Ninja reruns with my favorite girl. Henry didn’t care that I was pining for another female as long as I let her make a nest in my blankets.
Ducks were easy. Human women, not so much.
After spending the afternoon at the rink checking my phone every five minutes while I was supposed to be doing edge work drills, I admitted I was hopeless. Practice wasn’t helping, and I’d tripped on the last set. Luckily, no one else had been around to see me nearly dive face first into the ice.
The driveway was full when I got home, which meant all my roommates were probably around. I went through the gate and dropped my bag outside before coming in through the sliding glass door, Eva’s rule. She’d instituted it shortly after she’d moved in, claiming she couldn’t handle the stench.
Years of playing hockey had acclimated me to the smell, but Grandpa had always made me rinse off with the hose before coming into the house. I smiled at the memory and lifted my arm to sniff my shirt. Not great, but nothing a shower wouldn’t fix as long as I made it upstairs without drawing Eva’s attention.
The shower was my last-ditch effort to stave off the urge to text Avery. I took my pinky promises seriously, and I didn’t want to ruin my chances before she’d even decided to give me a shot at friendship.
Eva and Gavin were curled up next to each other under a blanket on the couch, and I purposely didn’t look too closely. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d walked in on my best friend’s naked ass. Not even the first time this week. Without classes or games, we’d all been spending more time at home.
“Cole, before you go upstairs, I need a favor.” Eva’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
I took the risk of turning to face her, relieved when the parts I could see were fully clothed. “What do you need?”
As usual, Henry came running when she heard my voice, her little feet slapping the floor until she got close enough to demand I pick her up with an imperious quack. Eva may have been the queen of campus, but Henry was the queen of this house.
I scooped up the duck, doing a quick check to make sure her diaper was secure, and peered toward the hall bath where she’d been hiding. “What was she doing in there?”
Gavin shrugged. “Who knows? Probably eating some important plumbing.”
Eva jabbed him with her elbow. “Not funny. The toilet has been making a weird noise all day.”
“It was a little funny,” he muttered, and I had to silently agree with him.
Henry had tried to eat enough cords that we’d taken to child proofing anything remotely cord-like. Twice. We’d all forgotten she had wings since she basically refused to use them unless she was getting into trouble. Our baby girl was a passenger princess, all the way.
“Can your favor wait until after I’ve showered?” I asked Eva.
Her nose wrinkled, but she ignored my stench. Not my fault she stopped me on my way upstairs. “This won’t take long. I was invited to participate in a cheer skills camp over winter break in San Diego, and we were hoping you’d be willing to watch Henry.”
“Why can’t Gavin watch her?” I figured I knew the answer, but I wanted to make sure.
“He’s coming with me.”
My gaze shifted to my best friend, watching the interplay with a carefully blank face. We didn’t have any games scheduled for three weeks, and Coach encouraged us to use our time off to see family. Gavin didn’t have any family other than Danny, so he’d been here every break running extra practices and drills. He deserved to take some time off.
I shrugged. “No problem. Henry sleeps in my room half the time anyway. When are you leaving?”
Eva snuggled closer to Gavin, who immediately shifted his attention to her. “Tomorrow.”
“And how long am I in charge?”
“You’re not in charge.” Gavin insisted. “Mase is in charge. You’re duck-sitting.”
Eva elbowed him again, hard enough to make him grunt. “At least a week, maybe two. It was kind of a last-minute invitation, so thank you.”
“Anything for you, Eva.” I pointed at Gavin. “You owe me.”
He didn’t bother looking my way as he flipped me off. I chuckled and jogged up the stairs with Henry chittering at me. Gavin was our leader—captain of the hockey team, a year ahead of the rest of us in school, and he usually drove. Me, Reece, and Mase had never had to function together without him, but how hard could it be?
My door creaked as I closed it, and I made a mental note to take care of it later. I was mostly certain Gavin had been kidding about Mase being in charge, but it wouldn’t matter anyway. Mase’s idea of leadership involved being the one to call in food delivery from his basement lair, and Reece would spend every second of the break trying to beat his own personal record for hook-ups.
I was definitely in charge.
Henry perked up when I opened my drawer to grab a random pair of sweats, but I’d learned my lesson there. She loved the idea of drawers right up until someone closed her in one. I set her down in Gavin and Eva’s room on my way to the hall bath.
Unlike all my other roommates, I didn’t have an en suite shower. Technically, Gavin’s bathroom was shared between the two rooms on his side of the hall, but Eva basically lived with him now. They had no problem sharing the space.
I shut the bathroom door firmly behind me and turned the lock. Henry had a habit of barging in when she thought we were playing in the water without her, and Reece was almost as bad. He had no concept of personal space if he needed something.
My roommates were my best friends, and we’d all throw down for each other, but sometimes I wondered what I’d done in another life to deserve them.
Eva’s trip took my mind off Avery for a solid fifteen minutes, but by the time I’d finished getting clean, the urge to text her had returned. I got dressed in my sweats, hung up my towel, and seriously considered seeing what Reece was up to tonight. Hopefully something far, far away from my phone.
Knowing Reece, he was going to a party to find female companionship. I could use the distraction of playing his wingman. He didn’t need the help, but his antics always made the night entertaining.
Henry was waiting at my door. She looked up at me and gave a disgruntled quack. I smiled at her reprimand and let her back into my room. The lady had spoken. Reece was on his own tonight.
I texted Eva to let her know Henry was with me, turned on some TV noise for her, and flopped back on my bed. Restless energy zipped along my nerves, making it impossible to relax. The tight ball in the pit of my gut insisted I should be working on reading the book currently mocking me from my bedside table.
Instead of reaching for more torture, I grabbed my phone. The guys teased me about being the golden boy, but I fell to temptation just like the rest of them. I wanted to know more about Avery—what did she do for fun, what made her smile, why did she look so wistful when she stared at my book?
I flipped my phone back and forth in my hands, staring blindly at the duck sleeping on my bed. If Avery were any other person I wanted to get to know better, I’d just text. Friendship didn’t have to be complicated, despite my near constant erection when she was around.
What did Reece say? Work hard, play harder. Well, I was ready to play.
I snapped a picture of Henry with her beak tucked under her wing and sent it to Avery before I talked myself out of it. No one could get angry at her little face. Three dots appeared almost immediately, and I had a moment of panic sweating while a thousand horrible responses flashed through my head.
Avery: An unsolicited duck pic? I think you might be confused on the spelling…
A laugh took me by surprise, and I let my head fall back onto my pillow in relief. In my defense, it wasn’t three a.m. and I hadn’t shown up with a hair doll. Technically, I hadn’t broken my promise, though the guilt pooling in my gut felt a lot like I had.
Me: Disappointed?
Avery: Not in the slightest. Who’s the duck?
Me: Henry. She lives with us. Starting tomorrow I’m playing duck daddy.
Avery: I’m not sure what to say to that.
Me: You’re supposed to ask to come over and meet her.
I knew I’d made a mistake the second I hit send. Avery had already warned me not to push, and I couldn’t last more than a minute before I tried to see her. I blew out a breath, disgusted with my lack of self-control. She had every right to block me, and I could only blame myself.
Avery: Can’t right now. Family business. Maybe later?
I stared at my screen in shock, legit surprised lightning hadn’t struck me down inside my bedroom for my hubris. Was she really agreeing to come over or was she messing with me again? Hard to tell with text. Only one way to know for sure.
Me: How about tonight? Me, the duck, and some reality TV? Entirely platonic.
My stomach tied itself into knots as three dots appeared then disappeared again. The world wouldn’t end if she told me to fuck off, but I hoped the draw of Henry would be enough to win me some points. At least enough to keep my texting privileges.
Avery: Are you trying to lure me into your chambers, good sir?
Me: We usually watch in the living room, but Eva and Gavin are taking up the couch.
Avery: Do your roommates know you spend time on the couch with your duck out?
Me: Is this going to be a theme in our conversations now?
Avery: Yes. You brought this on yourself.
Me: Worth it.
Avery: Have to pass for tonight. [sad face] Work stuff, then dinner plans. I want the duck daddy story tho. And send more pics.
Me: Done.
Achievement unlocked—permission to text at will. I couldn’t control my grin, but I saw the time and cursed. Probably for the best she couldn’t come over since I was supposed to be on my way to meet with Coach. He’d have to deal with the grin I couldn’t wipe off my face.