5. Forest
FOREST
We won.
Not that it was lost. It was just firmly locked in on Scott’s big hands as he handed me that drink and his warm smile and kind eyes and…
everything else about that man instead of on the game we had to play.
But in the end, we pulled it together and ended up at Slapstick’s for a few drinks.
We usually went there after playing because they had great burgers and cheap beer.
I was on my second beer and my third attempt to actually follow the conversation happening around me when Jake smacked my arm. “Am I right?”
“Facts.” I had no idea what I was agreeing with, but he just nodded and turned away, so I figured that was the right response.
"He just folded." Kowalski was talking loud enough that the table next to us looked over. "I said three words to their center at the face-off and he was done."
"What words?" Reynard was the kind of guy who always had follow-up questions that were rarely relevant. But in this case, I tuned in and waited for the answer.
Kowalski shrugged it off. "Doesn't matter what words."
Reynard cocked his head and grinned. "It might matter."
"It doesn’t." Kowalski gave him a pointed look and then turned back to the table. "Point is, mental warfare is a legit strategy that I’ve perfected."
"You told him his laces were untied," Briggs chimed in from the end of the table without looking up from his phone. "That's not mental warfare. That's kindergarten shit-talking."
"Call it what you want.” Kowalski chuckled. “It worked."
The conversation continued, and I tried to keep up. I commented on my burger between bites and listened to Briggs talk about the chick he was meeting up with later, but my mind was mostly fixated on Scott.
Was that guy for real or was I making him out to be better than he really was?
I kept turning the details of the morning over in my head.
Scott genuinely seemed worried about my ability to play after being upset and brought me electrolytes.
That was beyond thoughtful. And then he went out of his way to feed me without making it feel like charity.
The sandwich was incredible and the chips were a nice touch, but thinking ahead to what my body was gonna need before I went out and played was too much.
Nobody did that. Not for me, and definitely not without being asked.
"Yo, Forest." Reynard snapped his fingers in front of my face.
I blinked and turned to him. "Sorry, what?"
"You want another round?"
I looked down, and my glass was almost empty. "Yeah. Sure."
Kowalski was watching me closer than I wanted him to. "You've been somewhere else since warmups. What's going on?"
Fuck. I’d hoped I was covering well enough that no one noticed. "Nothing. Just tired."
"You're always tired." He leaned back in his chair and took a drink with his eyes still on me. "This is something else."
"There’s nothing." I held up my glass as evidence. “I'm just celebrating.”
"You're staring into your beer like it owes you money." He kicked my foot under the table and shook his head. "Is this about the late start? Drew really wasn't actually pissed, ya know. We already did those drills before you got there."
"It's not Drew." I chuckled and sighed.
The way I said it was apparently enough to give me away. "Ooh, it's not Drew, but it’s someone. Who is it?"
Fucking hell. This was what I was hoping to avoid. "There’s no one."
"There’s absolutely someone." He turned to Reynard for agreement. "There’s someone, right?"
Reynard held up both hands and leaned away from us. "I'm staying out of this."
"There's nothing to stay out of." I took a drink of my fresh beer and then inhaled. "I met someone this morning, but it was nothing. He was just nice to me, and I'm not used to it, apparently. It's a personal problem and I'm working through it."
The table went quiet for a second and then Kowalski nodded slowly, like he was processing what I’d said. "So this guy was nice to you, and that’s freaking you out?"
I laughed despite myself. "Pretty much."
Reynard, who had committed to staying out of it for all of ten seconds, was back in. "Where'd you meet him?"
"The laundromat. He owns it and had to help me figure out how to pay…and then he bought me a sandwich and a Gatorade before the game." I shook my head and tried to play it off as no big deal. "It sounds stupid when I say it out loud."
"It doesn't sound stupid." Reynard looked at me and gave me a supportive smile. "It sounds nice."
"That's the problem." I ran my fingertip through a line of condensation on the table and avoided eye contact with everyone. "Nice guys don’t usually pay attention to me. Guys want something from me and that’s it. But he didn’t want anything.
He just…gave without taking. I can't figure out what to do with that. "
Briggs finally put his phone down and was looking at me with an expression I hadn't seen in a while. "What’s he look like?"
I picked up my beer and took a drink. "Tall. Solid. Dark hair and a friendly face. Oh, and he smells like vanilla."
"Vanilla?" Kowalski cocked his head and grinned. “Like a candle?”
"He was frosting a cake when he saw me on his security camera and came downstairs to help." I tried to keep my face neutral, but it wasn’t easy.
"That’s cute. I hope it works out." Briggs went back to his phone, done contributing to the conversation.
Kowalski furrowed his brow, thinking it through. "So, did you get his number?"
I shook my head. "No, and he doesn't have mine either."
"Forest." Kowalski groaned while Briggs just shook his head without looking at me.
"I know." I took another drink and considered ordering some fries before I got buzzed. “But I doubt he’s interested.”
"He’s interested, dude. Just go back to his laundromat and make it clear that you are too."
They made it sound so easy. "What do I say when I go back? Hey, sorry, I forgot a sock…"
Kowalski spread his hands out like that was brilliant. "Yes. Exactly that. That's the whole plan right there."
"That's the worst plan I've ever heard." Although, he would believe that I left something behind by how scatterbrained I was.
"You walked into the man's business and didn’t know how to pay. I think you can get away with just about anything. You have no dignity left to maintain."
He wasn't wrong, but I pouted anyway. “Thanks.”
Reynard raised his glass. "To Forest's dignity. May it rest in peace."
"I hate you all." I chuckled and drank to it anyway.
The conversation moved on from my lack of love life and into a replay of the third period. I chimed in when I was supposed to and laughed when everyone else did, but I kept zoning out.
I thought about the way Scott wasn’t afraid to sit with me when I was clearly upset.
Most guys avoided emotion at all costs. But he didn’t.
He came right to me and made me feel better.
He didn’t even make me feel bad about not understanding the kiosk instructions.
Scott just settled in next to me like he had nowhere else to be.
Maybe he didn't, but he didn’t make me feel like an obligation.
It was almost like he wanted to be there for me.
Not only that, but he clocked that I was pale and shaky and needed some electrolytes before my game. Who did that? For me…no one. Ever.
A few of the guys got up to leave, and I took the opportunity to join them. It was getting late and I was beat. "I'm gonna head out too."
I followed Briggs in a round of fist bumps and shoulder grabs on my way around the table then pulled some cash out of my wallet. “See you guys on Wednesday.”
Kowalski stood up and gave me a hug before I stepped away. “I wanna hear how the sock plan goes.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Goodbye, Kowalski."
"It's a good plan." He was much more confident about that than I was.
I wasn’t sure it was good, but if I didn’t think of anything better, I’d probably go with it.
I walked out into the cold with my hands in my pockets and watched my breath fog in the air. The street was quiet except for the noise spilling out of Slapstick's behind me.
Scott was probably upstairs in his apartment, watching something on TV or digging into a delicious cake. I couldn’t help wondering if he'd thought about me at all after I left or if I was just another random customer who appeared and disappeared from his building.
On the drive home, I made a decision. As terrible as the sock plan was, I would do it. It was embarrassing and transparent, and Scott was absolutely gonna know I made up the excuse.
But as we’d already established, I had no dignity and was gonna do it anyway.