Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Bodi
“I need a wingman,” I blurt on Saturday morning as I make a cup of coffee.
West looks up from something he’s doing on his phone. “Huh?”
“Like the Top Gun,” Vik adds helpfully.
West chuckles. “I know what it is, I’m just not sure what he needs it for.”
“I met a girl online and I’m going to meet her in person today. At the Farmer’s Market.”
“Oh.” West is thoughtful. “Okay. I can do that.”
“Farms?” Vik asks curiously.
“Farmers’ market,” I explain. “It’s like a flea market but for food and stuff.”
“I can wingman too?”
I hesitate, but really, what’s the difference? If things go well, they can find something else to do. If things don’t, I’ll have an excuse to leave.
“What happens if she’s not hot?” I didn’t realize Simon had joined us in the kitchen.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I mean, we’ve kept a level of anonymity, not exchanging numbers or anything. And she thinks my name is Broderick.”
“You haven’t even told her your real name?” West grimaces. “I don’t know, man, seems to me you’re setting this up to fail before it even starts.”
“Broderick is actually my full name, I just don’t use it except on legal documents. Anyway, she seems cool. And if she’s not my type, we can still be friends.”
West and Simon burst out laughing.
“Yeah, like that ever works.” Simon shakes his head. “I may have to tag along, just to see how things go down.”
I roll my eyes. “If you guys do something to embarrass me, or worse, do something to hurt her feelings, I’ll be pissed.”
“Hey.” West is momentarily serious. “We might give you shit for days, but I would never, ever do something to purposely hurt someone’s feelings. That’s not who I am.”
“Same.” Simon nods. “No worries in that department. And if you two hit it off, we’ll make excuses and disappear.”
“Where are we going?” Felix comes into the kitchen in nothing but his boxers. “Do I have to get dressed?”
“Well, if we were going out, you couldn’t go like that,” Simon points out, laughing.
Felix looks down like he’s surprised he’s barely wearing anything. “Oh. Yes. I am used to without the clothes.” He speaks decent English but has a distinct French-Canadian accent and sometimes uses odd phrasing. We’re used to it now.
“Farmer’s market is tomorrow,” West clarifies.
Felix nods and then turns and walks out of the room.
“You’re really all going to come?” I demand.
“Looks like it.” West claps me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. We’ll go in separate cars and leave you to it if things are going well. And if not, we can do some shopping. I’ve been meaning to check out the farmer’s market because I eat pretty clean during the season.”
“Okay. Well, I’m going to go jump in the shower.”
It turns out, living with four guys is a lot.
All of them are nice. No one has any bad habits that I’ve noticed, and we get along.
It’s just a lot of people in the house, so there’s always someone around.
In the kitchen. On the phone. Watching the ninety-inch TV in the great room.
I don’t even want to think about what will happen when someone brings a girl home for the night.
We did talk about that, and none of us are planning to bring home one-night stands—that’s just asking for trouble—but if one of us starts dating someone, it’s bound to happen. At some point, we’ll discuss boundaries but for now it’s just busy.
I’m up early on Sundays to get my workout in.
In addition to therapy for my mental health, I’ve been diligent about the gym.
This summer’s focus has been about speed and agility, as opposed to stamina and weight training.
I’ve always tried to compensate for not being a really big guy by being strong, but now that I’m twenty-five (almost twenty-six), I want to level up in other ways too.
West is an early bird so he and I head to the arena together to use the gym.
Now that it’s almost time for the season to start, they’ve opened it up and the place is beautiful.
The locker and dressing rooms are pristine, showers better than at a hotel, and the virgin ice is just begging for someone to skate on it.
“I’m ready to get back on skates,” I tell West as we start to run.
“Me too.” He nods. “I’m ready for hockey in general. This off-season has been a drag.”
“Did you spend time with family?”
“In the beginning, but then I had to sell my house, pack my shit, move.”
“Didn’t you pay people to do that?”
“The big stuff, but I still had to do personal shit. And I’m kind of anal about my cookware.”
I snicker. “Dude, for real?”
“It’s expensive and I like everything a certain way. If they don’t pack it right, and it gets scratched or damaged, I’ll have to replace it. And I’ve spent thousands on it.”
“Thousands?” I gape at him.
He just smiles. “Look, other guys buy electronics or golf equipment or whatever. I like to cook. And I dare you to tell me it’s emasculating.”
I shake my head quickly. “Hell no. I don’t know how I’m ever going to marry a woman now that you’ve been feeding me—they’ll all pale in comparison.”
He laughs. “I’ll give them some lessons if they want.”
“Well, I don’t think I’m marrying anyone any time soon, but you’ve really spoiled me the last few weeks.”
“It’ll be less intense when the season starts, so try not to get too used to the four-course meals.”
“Noted.” I pick up speed and get my heart rate up. A little cardio to start the day, then weights, and then we’ll do some agility training.
“Look at the overachievers working out.” Coach Morrison comes in with a smirk, holding a travel mug.
I nearly stumble but West seems to take it in stride. “Hey, Coach. You’re here early on a Sunday morning.”
“Busy at the house,” he mutters. “Way too much going on.”
“Yeah? Blaze get moved in okay?”
He nods. “Yeah, he’s in the downstairs in-law suite. My daughter’s already seen him naked, so I guess we’re off to a good start.” He rolls his eyes.
“Your…daughter?” I ask, narrowing my gaze.
He either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. “Yeah, we’re going to have to teach Lindy some boundaries. She walked right into his room yesterday morning, asking him to have breakfast with us. Poor kid just got out of the shower. I think he had a mild stroke.” He snorts out a laugh.
“Jesus.” West shakes his head. “Lindy okay?”
“I don’t think it fazed her at all. Lourdes has this thing about not making body parts taboo or some bullshit like that. So, a penis is no different than an arm or a leg.”
“I beg to differ,” West says, chuckling. “But it’s good she’s not traumatized. Blaze may need therapy, though.”
“He’ll be fine. Now, if it was Jayne who saw him…that would be different. She needs to stay far the fuck away from hockey players.”
West doesn’t miss a step. “How come? Some of us are nice guys.”
“Not the ones she picks. I lived through that nonsense when I coached at Stephens College. He totally took advantage of her to get in my good graces, so there’s a strict no hockey players rule at our house. Full stop.”
“That’s a bummer,” I say quietly.
He snaps his gaze to me, irritation written all over his face. “We both know what you boys are like. Even the married ones. My daughter needs a better human being than an athlete. Especially under my roof.” With that, he nods and turns on his heel, calling over his shoulder, “Have a good workout.”
“Did he just call us bad human beings?” I ask West once he’s gone.
He nods. “I think he did.”
We exchange a look.
“Good to know,” I say, scowling.
“Look, just focus on the game. Everything else is bullshit. You have something to prove this year, so that’s where you need to put your energy. Forget about his dumb rules and opinions.”
“He’s our head coach—how the hell do I forget about him?”
“By keeping your nose clean and your penis far away from his daughter.”
“Well, that’s already done, but I still don’t like that he thinks we’re all shit humans.”
“Think about that nice paycheck that’s coming. This is the most money you’ve ever made, right?”
I nod.
“And you don’t want to go back to the minors, so let it go. He tells you to play on the left, play on the left. He puts you in net, you gear up and pray it doesn’t hurt too much.”
We both chuckle and I set the conversation out of my mind.
I truly don’t need any distractions.