Page 136 of Goal Line

“Oh my god, Morgs,” Lauren says. “Only you!”

“I have the most shit luck of any person on the planet.” Morgan shakes her head.

“So what did you guys do?” I ask, trying to imagine navigating that shitstorm of awkwardness.

“Swore it would never happen again, and then tried to avoid each other as much as possible.”

“Sodidit never happen again?” Jules asks in a voice tinged with curiosity.

“Uhhhh...” Morgan’s tongue darts out as she licks her lips and looks away. “There may have been a slip-up, but it’s fine. I’ll probably never see him again. I doubt this marriage will last any longer than my mom’s three other marriages after she left my dad.”

“Your mom has been married five times?” I ask.

Morgan nods and says, “Yep.”

“But what if theydostay married?” Lauren asks.

“You know my mom,” she says, waving off that idea. “They won’t. The weird thing, though, is this guy—my stepbrother—it’s like he doesn’t exist. I Googled him on the flighthome and couldn’t find anyone with his name that looked anything like him.”

“That’s odd,” Audrey says, and asks for his name as she reaches for her phone.

“Believe me,” Morgan says, “if he existed, I would’ve found him. Social media is literally my job.”

“Why don’t you just ask your mom for more info?” Jules asks.

“And make her wonder why I’m asking? No, thanks. Plus, he’ll be easier to forget if I can’t stalk him online.”

“Wouldyou stalk him online?” I ask.

“I mean...I might be curious and go looking, which would be bad. It might have been the best sex of my life, but he’s my stepbrother. And to be honest, he was kind of an asshole anyway.”

“Why’d you sleep with him if he was an asshole?” Jules asks. But from what I’ve learned over the past couple of months, it seems like assholes are Morgan’s default.

“Did I mention how hot he was?” Morgan says. “And he wasn’t really an asshole until our parents showed up. Just bossy as hell, which, to be honest, kind of worked in the bedroom.”

I chuckle, thinking how much I like it when Luke gets bossy like that. Not that I’ll know what that’s like for a while. I start imagining what other things we can do that don’t involve him actually being inside me, until I notice that all the girls have turned and are staring at me.

“Something you’d like to share?” Morgan asks.

“Uh, no.”

“Oh, come on,” Jules says. “You’re still newlyweds. You should be having good sex all the time. The rest of us are.”

“Except me,” Morgan chimes in.

“You just said you had the best sex of your life in Bermuda,” Audrey reminds her.

“Which is why it sucks that it can’t happen again,” Morgan says, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ears. “Not that I even know how to find this mystery man.”

We start throwing out suggestions, and Morgan just laughs. “You think I didn’t already think of all those things? Honestly, it’s best if I just put him out of my mind.”

“Put who out of your mind?” Luke’s voice comes from behind Morgan, and we all look over to see him standing in the entryway, his sweaty workout clothes clinging to his muscles. I hate that I feel so out of shape while he’s maintaining his all-too-excellent physique in anticipation of training camp, which starts soon. I know my body needs time to recover, but as an athlete myself, it’s hard to convince my brain that I shouldn’t be doing some sort of exercise to get back into top condition.

“No one,” Morgan says quickly, and Lauren shifts the conversation to the start of the hockey season. Since she and Morgan both work for the team, I’m married to Luke who plays for them, and Jules and Audrey are both engaged to players, everyone in this room is part of the Rebels family.

And that’s when it hits me, we’re not just united through hockey—these women are quickly becoming my closest friends. I’ve gotten together with my high school friends here and there, but it always feels forced, like we’re trying to hold on to something that’s past its expiration date.

But with these women, the friendship flows naturally. Despite our different ages, backgrounds, and currentsituations, when they’re around, it feels like being with family—the kind that loves you no matter what.