At the end of the first game, we pause to grab a pitcher of beer and shoot the shit.
I stretch out my legs in front of me and rub at my left quad. 揅oach is gonna kill us if he keeps running us like he has the past two weeks.?
揚ractice is still that bad??Gavin asks as he fills our glasses. Liam waves him off in favor of his water.
揑t抯 pretty bad. Coach doesn抰 know whether to keep yelling or give us the world抯 longest pep talk,?I say.
We lost another game last weekend. There is nothing worse than losing at home.
揥hat抯 the problem? Are the rookies struggling that much to mesh with the rest of the team??Gavin抯 question is innocent enough, but I feel the prickle of discomfort wash over my buddy.
揑抦 going to get some air.?Liam starts toward the doors without pausing for our response.
Gavin waits until he抯 out of earshot. 揇id I say something wrong??
揘ah. It isn抰 you. He抯 feeling the pressure.?Coach made Liam captain this year, and ever since, his game on the ice has gone downhill.
揑s it just hockey, or does he have other distractions??
揕ike??
揑 don抰 know. A tough class schedule??
I shake my head. 揌e has straight A抯。？
揘ew girlfriend??
揘o.?Another shake.
揋ood,?he says. 揘othing like a new chick to make a guy lose focus. Trust me on that. New girlfriends are the worst kind of distraction. Women weaken the legs.?
揥hat??I bust a laugh at his last words.
揑t抯 from Rocky.?
I keep staring at him.
He jumps up and hops from leg to leg, tossing punches like a boxer. 揟he movie. Rocky??
揙h, I understood the first time, but don抰 stop making an ass out of yourself on my account.?
He stops and flips me off.
The next afternoon, Liam shows up late for practice. His face is red, and his shoulders are stiff.
揝orry, Coach,?he says as he skates onto the ice.
He抯 never been late for practice or a workout. Never.
I fall into line behind him for drills. 揑s everything okay??
揧eah.?He stares straight ahead, jaw set.
I stop him with a glove to his bicep before he can skate forward. 揂re you sick??
揑抦 fine. I overslept. No big deal.?
I let him go, but now I抦 more worried than before. He wasn抰 in his room when I left. I know because I checked. I needed a clean pair of shorts. But why the hell would he lie?
At the end of practice, Coach stops him.
揚rice. Do you want to tell me why you were late today??Instead of waiting for his answer, he continues. 揧ou抮e late, you抮e missing passes, you抮e slow on your feet. If you keep it up, you抮e going to find yourself next to me during games.?
揑t was my fault.?My chest heaves as I struggle to catch my breath. 揑 shut off his alarm before I left. I thought he was up.?
Coach抯 mouth falls into a hard line.
揑t won抰 happen again,?Liam promises.
揋ood.?Coach motions with his head toward the locker room. 揋et out of here.?
When we sit in our stalls, my buddy finally speaks. 揟hanks.?
揥here were you??
揑 told you. I overslept.?
揑 know you weren抰 in your room.?
His brows pull up toward the blond, matted hair on his forehead. 揅hecking up on me??
揑 forgot to do laundry again,?I admit. I pull the band of my hockey pants down to show him the shorts I borrowed.
He chuckles lightly. 揑 was in the library. I passed out with my head on the desk trying to look over econ notes.?
揑 should have known.?
Despite the lousy practice, Liam seems to be in a better mood when we get back to the dorms. I抦 playing video games, and he brings his laptop out to the living room to work on an assignment.
揑抦 thinking of asking out our lab partner,?he says without looking up from the screen.
揥ho??
揇aisy. The girl in our physics lab.?
揜ight.?I ponder that, not liking how it sits with me. 揜eally??
揝he抯 nice.?
I pause the game. Liam hasn抰 really dated in the three years I've known him. He hooks up so infrequently it still surprises me when I wake up to find him walking a girl out. But something tells me him asking out Daisy wouldn抰 be like that. It抎 be real. They抎 go on actual dates and shit.
揥on抰 that be weird if shit goes south, and we have to team up with her twice a week for class??
揕ook at you all glass half empty.?
揑抦 just saying, maybe now isn抰 the best time to start something.?
The insinuation is clear, and he pulls his bottom lip behind his teeth and bobs his head. 揧eah. You might be right about that. I抦 one screw up away from Coach benching me.?
揙f course, I抦 right. When have I ever steered you wrong??
He cocks a brow.
揙kay, yeah. Don抰 answer that, but dating is distracting. You can trust me on that.?
揂nd partying and hooking up four or five nights a week isn抰？？
揧ou抮e not me. You have to ease into being as awesome as me. Maybe try getting a polite hand job at a party or something first.?
Thursday, during our physics lab, Daisy joins our table again. She and Liam fall into easy conversation, and I take my usual role, reading through the steps and calling them out. It抯 how Liam and I always worked. I learn better by writing things down, and he抯 a hands-on guy.
A pit forms in my stomach as I watch my lab partners interact.
Liam would never intentionally sabotage the team. He抯 too good of a guy for that, but the way Daisy is looking at him with hearts in her eyes sends warning bells off in my head. She isn抰 the kind of girl you take out once, hook up, and then maybe call for a repeat a few times in the future when your schedule is clear.
Daisy is the kind of girl that would have someone like Liam wrapped around her little pinky finger. She抯 the perfect sweet, smart, na飗e catnip for him.
We抮e doing a projectile motion lab that involves launching a ball onto carbon paper. It抯 an easy lab, and as Liam loads up the ball in the launcher, Daisy smiles and moves the carbon paper a few feet away, which brings her closer to me.
揑t抯 probably easier if I sit in the middle,?I say.
She hesitates, then looks between Liam and me.
揑 can walk around to the other side of the table,?she says.
I fight a smile. She wants to be near him. How cute.
揧ou know what.?I drop my pencil. 揋ive me a turn on that thing.?
On my feet, I step toward Liam and the launcher.
揧eah??he asks with an apprehensive smirk.
揕ooks fun.?It absolutely doesn抰。
He tosses the silver ball at me and takes my seat.
Since I抳e read the handout, I抦 already adjusting the angle to thirty degrees and preparing to fire when Liam gives me the instruction.
揜eady??I ask Daisy.
Her blue eyes flit over me through the safety goggles, and she pushes them up higher on her nose.
The ball shoots out and bounces onto the paper, then directly at her. She tries to catch it, misses, and a series of metallic pings ring out as it bounces along the floor.
Her cheeks are pink as she circles, trying to capture it. Liam and I both move to action. He gets there first, snatching it up and holding it out for her. He winks. On anyone else, it would seem like a skeevy move, but he pulls it off, and Daisy swoons at his feet.
揥hy don抰 you have a turn??I motion toward the launcher.
She nods and moves into position behind it. I stand near the paper, ready to catch the ball after it lands.
Her blonde hair falls forward like a curtain blocking half of her face as she leans down to set the ball in place. She glances up at me, or in my general direction anyway, before she fires. I nod, giving her the go-ahead. As the ball comes my way, I抦 temporarily distracted as her shirt gapes hinting at a little cleavage. The daisy charm around her neck dangles seductively. Her boobs are small, but the cleavage is still nice.