33. Chapter 33
Jake
Lying in bed with Lottie curled up next to me was not how I expected my morning to start.
I laid everything out for her, put my heart on the line, and I’m so glad I did.
I still can’t believe she kissed me back, or that I told her the story behind the tattoo.
It was beyond any of my wildest dreams, and I want to shout it from the rooftop.
She’s currently sleeping her hangover off, and honestly?
There’s nowhere I’d rather be than here, being her personal pillow.
I glance at my phone, conscious I have morning skate.
I can’t be the last one there—no way am I being the recipient of the dare again.
Gently stroking Lottie’s hair, I carefully move myself in the hope of slowly waking her up. As she starts to stir, I speak quietly into her ear. “Baby, I have to go to morning skate. I need to get up.”
Like a leech, she clings to me, refusing to let go. “Nooo, stay with me. I’m unwell, I swear I’m dying.” She’s so dramatic.
“You’re definitely not dying. I’ll be back this afternoon, ok?”
She begrudgingly lets me go and snuggles back under the covers, Bella right next to her. “Oh, Jake? I like it when you call me baby.” Beaming from ear to ear at her admission, I lean down and kiss her sweet lips before getting ready to leave.
When I arrive at the players’ parking lot, I scan my surroundings to see who’s already there.
So far, I’ve clocked Theo and Codey’s cars, but I see no sign of Louis’.
He’s never late or the last one to arrive, and we’ve been waiting a long time to dare him.
It looks like for once, lady luck could be on our side.
I head to the changing room, where it’s confirmed Louis is not here yet and everyone else is. “You know what this means boys?” The whoop and cheer in the locker room is almost as loud as when we’ve just won a hard-fought game. “Have we got the prop ready?"
“Yep, it’s all good to go. When are we going to do it? After training? Let him think we forgot?” Theo says with a slightly evil glint in his eye.
“Good idea, let's let him think he's got away with it,” Codey echoes.
Suddenly, Louis bursts into the room out of breath. Checking the room, he sees us all sitting waiting for him and, instantly, his face pales—I swear I hear him gulp.
“Shit, you’re all here,” he says, still puffing and panting while putting his gear on.
“If you’re out of breath already, it doesn't bode well for the season, Frenchie.” Codey shakes his head at Louis. “Let's get going guys, we need to be prepared for pre-season.”
We all collectively groan as we know Coach is going to be riding our asses hard during training camp, but it’s still weeks away.
However, Codey is like a drill sergeant, wanting to make sure we’re all as ready as we can be, and that means starting early.
As we head out onto the rink, Louis seems to relax slightly, like we’ve forgotten about his dare. Just you wait, my man.
We run drills until our legs can’t take it anymore, all of us determined to keep our places in the starting roster even if that means more practices like this.
As Codey and Theo leave the rink, I hold Louis back so the guys can get the dare ready.
Plus, I’m curious as to what made him late in the first place.
“What happened to you this morning, you’re never late?”
He runs his hand through his air and sighs. “Kayla’s car battery was flat, so I had to jump-start it, and as Kayla didn’t know how to do that, it turned into a full-blown tutorial.”
“Did you seriously think she’d know how to do that?” Honestly, I’d have been more shocked if she did.
“Well, I thought everyone knew how to. They should teach you when you take your drivers exam!”
“They should, but they don’t.” I jostle his shoulder. “And now, as you were the last one here, it’s time for your dare.”
He groans. “I actually thought you’d forgotten. I should have known better.”
Behind his back, I grimace, because I know what’s coming.
We’ve been waiting two years for this dare, and it’s about to come to fruition.
As we walk back into the locker room, Codey and Theo are standing beside a spinning wheel—you know, like the type you’d see on Wheel of Fortune—except we’ve put our own twist on this one.
Collectively, we all say, “Welcome to wheel of piercings!”
I can’t tell if Louis wants to laugh, cry, faint, or puke—maybe all of the above.
“Ok, my guy, all you've got to do is spin the wheel and, whatever body part you land on, is what you’re getting pierced. Today…like right now,” Theo says in his best game show presenter voice.
“Fuck, I can’t do this. You know how I feel about needles!”
“We’re coming with you; we’ll hold your hand,” I reassure him jokingly, seeing the genuine worry in his face.
“I’m not holding his hand. Fuck that,” Codey barks.
“Ok, ok, let’s get this show on the road,” Theo says, clapping.
“Spin the wheel. Spin the wheel,” we all start chanting.
Louis closes his eyes, and the wheel starts to spin. As it starts to slow, we all lean in to see what it lands on. Louis still can’t bear to look.
“Oh my god!”
“Holy shit!”
“Fuck. That!”
“What? What did it land on?” Louis asks.
“Your dick,” Theo explains.
“No. No way am I going through with that. I can’t—Kayla will kill me. Plus, how am I going to play with a half-healed dick?”
Shit, we didn’t think about that. I’m sure we can figure something out. “You know the rules, bud,” I say to him, my own junk shriveled up to nothing at the thought of a needle coming near it.
“Let’s not waste any more time, let’s get going. We’ll even buy you a beer afterwards,” Codey offers.
“I’m going to need more than one beer to face the wrath of my wife.”