Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
COOPER
“Why are we doing this again?” I ask Damon, who hijacked me after practice.
“Because it’s fun,” Miles says from the other side of me.
The three of us are in the back of the smallest Uber in the world since the driver said he didn’t want anyone sitting in the front with him. We sit shoulder to shoulder with no need for seat belts because there’s no way any of us will shift around if we get in an accident.
“Next time get an Uber XL, man,” I say to Damon.
“I forgot, okay? It’s not that long of a ride.” Damon types away on his phone.
“How did I get stuck in the middle?” I grumble.
“Jesus, stop complaining already. You owe us. Your temper got you suspended, which means we might lose on Sunday, so you just need to sit there and look pretty.” Damon taps my knee.
“I’m assuming Elle will be there?” We had all talked about trying curling before, so if they think they’re surprising me with her being there and keeping me locked in the middle seat, they worried for nothing.
“Of course, those are the couples,” Damon says, not looking away from his phone.
“I’m not part of a couple.” I shift in my seat, what little I can.
“You never minded before,” Miles says. “In fact, you were more of a couple with Ellery than any of us at one point.”
“That’s changed.” I’m purposely being an asshole because she’s still mad at me. Granted, I haven’t reached out to her. But I don’t think I have to. I did nothing wrong.
“Don’t we all know it. It’s like we’re the kids caught in the middle of Mommy and Daddy’s divorce.” Damon shakes his head at me, finally looking up from his phone.
We pull up to the big building, and I’m thankful to be here. The sooner we get inside, the sooner I can get this over with.
Heading into the building, I’ll admit I’m a little excited to try something I’ve only ever seen on television during the Olympics.
Damon takes charge, heading over to the desk to get us registered.
The women come out from the bar. Elle sips her drink, giving me a fake smile around her straw, while Bryce and Adeline both greet me with a hug.
Damon comes back over and joins the group. “Okay, so it’s groups of four, so we’re paired up with another couple. They said we could go down to the curling lane. They’re already there.”
“Great.” I fake excitement.
Miles puts his hand on my neck and squeezes, detouring us away from the others toward the curling lanes. “Get a grip, Cooper. We’re here for fun, and if you sour this for all of us, I’m going to punch you in the face.”
“And get suspended? That would be irresponsible.”
He rolls his eyes before he walks over to Bryce, smacking her on the ass. She squeals, and he wraps her arms around him.
I sit on the bench as Damon introduces us to the cute couple waiting there, Kit and Kevin. Apparently, they’re newly married. They both have blond hair and blue eyes and look oddly alike.
“We have to split up, and we cannot give that happy couple Elle and Coop,” Bryce says, looking at me and Ellery, who is on the opposite side of the bench and sucking the last drop of her drink through her straw.
“Not on call tonight?” I ask.
“Nope.” She goes back to sucking.
“You’re going to blow a blood vessel, get another drink.”
She scowls at me. “I will when I’m ready.” She picks up the straw and moves it around the ice.
“Seriously, want me to buy one for you?”
“Maybe I don’t want another one?”
“Whatever,” I mumble. All of our friends are staring at us when I look up. “What?”
They shake their heads.
“We’ll couple up with Kit and Kevin,” Damon says.
“Hell no, we’re flipping for it,” Bryce says.
“I don’t think they’re flipping, hoping they get us,” I say to Ellery, who shrugs.
“I wouldn’t want to be on your team anyway,” she says to me.
What the hell? That hurts more than it probably should.
They flip a coin, and Miles and Bryce end up on Kit and Kevin’s team.
“We’re trading if they don’t snap out of it,” Damon says to Miles.
“Are you guys…” Kevin gets his broom. “Football players?”
I sigh.
The woman points at me. “You’re Cooper Rice, right?”
A sound comes from Ellery, and I turn to her. “What?”
“Just not surprising that she knows you, Mister Endorsement.”
I arch an eyebrow at her. “Meaning?”
“Ever heard of the word no? You wonder why you’re everywhere? You put yourself there.”
“Fucking hell,” Damon grumbles and looks at Kit and Kevin. “Excuse the bickering duo over there.”
“Is it because of the video?” Kit asks in an unsure voice.
I strip my gaze off Ellery to look at Kit.
Ellery laughs. “Why, yes, it is.” Ellery smiles and gets up, going over to talk to Adeline about what roles each of us should have on the team.
“I’m just gonna assign ours,” Damon says. “Adeline and Ellery, you two sweep, I guide the rock, and Cooper is the captain telling us what to do.”
Both of the girls put their hands on their hips and stare him down.
“Um… no,” Adeline says.
“Why would Cooper be the captain?” Ellery asks.
Damon looks at me with an expression that says he thinks coming here was a big mistake. “He’s the captain of the team. He’s used to being a leader.”
“I work in the chaos of the ER,” Ellery says.
“I run a classroom of middle schoolers,” Adeline says.
“Fine.” Damon holds up his hands in obvious defeat.
“We’ll draw for the positions.” Adeline grabs a piece of paper and a pen from her purse.
We pull the spots and lucky us, Ellery and I are the sweepers, Adeline will be captain, and Damon gets to guide the rock.
This should be fun.
We manage to finish curling without fighting anymore. Occasionally, Ellery wanted her broom first and started overpowering me, but I didn’t fight her too much.
We say goodbye to Kit and Kevin, exchanging numbers so we can get them tickets to a home game, and head to the restaurant at the curling place. It isn’t fancy, but it’s quiet because there’s hardly anyone here, and they only play curling on the television, not sports or entertainment news.
Ellery and I sit across from one another, with each couple on our sides. I feel like the damn mom and dad of the crew. We order our meals, and the table is unusually quiet. I hate the fact I’m not talking with Elle unless we’re arguing.
“So, Adeline and I have an announcement!” Damon interrupts the awkward silence and stands.
I can only imagine what he has to say. Another baby, maybe? Which would mean he’s got two and I’ve got none. Not even a wife.
I used to think I didn’t want a relationship while I was in the league.
The hell it put my mother through, I never wanted that for anyone.
But as I grew up and saw what being in the league was like, I figured out quickly that I’m not my dad.
And a lot of the guys aren’t like my dad’s old school buddies.
The problem is there’s only one person I want a life with if I’m honest with myself, and that woman currently doesn’t want anything to do with me.
“Our bye week is coming, and originally, I wanted to take my girl away, but we’ve decided we want all of us to go up to a cabin.
We’re going to leave Clover with her grandparents.
I found the perfect cabin where we can ski, downhill or cross country, or we can ice skate and do all kinds of outdoor activities. ”
“First of all, we can’t ski during football season,” I say. The fact we played curling might not be great, but it’s not high-risk like skiing.
“Okay, buzzkill, well, there’s a lot we can do up there in Wisconsin, and it’ll be so much fun. A getaway I think we all need.”
“I love the thought, but I’m out,” Ellery says.
Damon looks at Adeline as if she needs to do something. Adeline stares back at him as though he’s suggesting she kidnap Ellery.
“Okay, I’m gonna be honest,” Damon says. “This whole situation between you two blows. You’re sucking the fun out of everything for all of us. Grow up, talk about the problem.” He sits down and crosses his arms.
“Grow up? I’m being a grown-up. I’m here, aren’t I?” Ellery says. “I could have canceled on all of this, but you’re asking me to go away with him when he’s not even apologetic for what he did.”
“Why should I be? I did it for your honor.”
“Oh please, my honor.” She shakes her head.
“Forget this shit.” I stand.
Miles quickly rises to his feet and presses me back down with his hand on my shoulder. “Listen. We didn’t want to tell anyone this, but this trip needs to be now, even if you guys aren’t getting along.”
“Miles?” Bryce shakes her head.
“We have to,” he says, turning to all of us. “Bryce and I want to have a baby, and this is a great opportunity for her to have some fun before we really start trying.”
Ellery’s head whips in her friend’s direction. “Seriously?” There’s a look on her face that resembles yearning, as if she wants a family too.
Bryce nods. “I’m asking for one last trip before, you know.”
Ellery looks across the table at me, and our gazes hold. We can’t be the two holdouts because of our bickering.
Bryce’s head volleys between Ellery and me. “Please, you two. Can you put these differences aside this one time?”
“The four of you can go. We won’t be much fun anyway,” I answer. “We’ll ruin it.”
Bryce shakes her head. “It’s not the same. You guys have been with me since college, and I want you both there.” She gives Ellery her pouty look that works every time.
“I’ll go,” Ellery says.
“Figures.” I sigh.
“And now you? Please, Cooper?”
I think about it for a moment. “How many bedrooms are there?”
“Four beds, four baths so it’s perfect.” Damon smiles and looks at Miles as though they did good.
“Fine, but we’re all driving up together?”
“Yeah, for sure,” Miles says.
“Yay! Let’s have a shot to celebrate.” Bryce goes over to the bar and talks to the bartender.
Glad at least one of us is happy.