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A wadded-up paper ball bounced off my face, and I blinked at Coach, silently cursing myself for letting my mind wander. Again. I’d been damn near useless the last few weeks as the semester started because I couldn’t go more than five minutes without wondering about Kay and her cute little pink panties. The ones I’d confiscated after she took off with the key to Deacon’s room tucked in her shorts.

Sellers snickered next to me, and I kicked the side of his ankle where Coach couldn’t see. He coughed mid-laugh and shifted his legs farther away.

“As I was saying, the captain position is no joke. We’ve been fortunate the last few years to have Gavin filling the role, but with him gone, I need someone with a strong hand to step up.” Coach kept talking about the importance of leadership, but Sellers made a jacking off motion below the level of the desk with a completely straight face.

I pressed my lips together and nodded along, willing Sellers to stop with the antics, no matter how funny I found them. This bullshit was why Coach hadn’t named a captain yet. Without Gavin’s serious dad vibe, the locker room had descended into chaos.

We’d promised Gavin a repeat of the Frozen Four again this year, but my former roommate wasn’t here. He’d moved to Dallas with Eva and Henry, leaving the rest of us to take up the slack.

Nothing had changed in here over the summer, but everything felt different.

Another ball hit me in the shoulder and Coach sighed. “I’m running out of paper here.”

“Sorry, Coach. I was thinking about the dynamic in the locker room without Gavin around.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. “I’m not sure you’re suited to keeping this group of hooligans in line. This is your last year?—”

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “That’s why I want this.”

“You have to more than want it, Tanner. Being captain means the needs of the team come before anything else.” He raised a bushy brow at me. “Including girls.”

I huffed and leaned back again. “I’m not about that life anymore.” Sellers snorted beside me, but I ignored him. “I haven’t been to a party in weeks. I’ve been running extra practices with Cole and Mase, and?—”

He shook his head. “I want to believe it, but I have serious doubts after watching you plow your way through the female population of TU. The semester just started. We have time. Why not give it a few more weeks, and we’ll see where we stand?”

Sellers raised his hand like a dumbass. “Is it cool if I continue to plow my way through the female population?”

Coach rubbed his temple. “Why are you even in here?”

“Moral support for my boy here.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “You should give him a chance. The worst he can do is organize an orgy in the locker room. Might be good for morale.”

“Out.” Coach pulled a thick file from his desk drawer and proceeded to ignore us.

Coach’s office connected to the locker room, and this long after practice, Sellers and I were alone in the space. I’d showered before invading Coach’s office with my request to be considered for captain, but I felt dirty again.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as Sellers followed me to my cubby.

“Anytime, man. Hey, there’s a party tonight at Chi Omega…” He trailed off and waggled his eyebrows.

“Pass.” I didn’t want to see his pleading face, so I took my time gathering my gear. “You heard Coach. If I want to be captain, I need to prove I’m not just looking for a good time.”

Sellers propped his shoulder against Cole’s locker next to mine and tipped forward until he met my eyes. “Is being captain really worth giving up fun for your entire senior year?”

I zipped my bag shut and straightened. “Yes. I need to do something to show Boston I don’t belong on the farm team.”

His face scrunched up. “Isn’t winning the Frozen Four enough? Besides, the farm team is where it’s at. You get all the hockey glory with half the work.”

I shouldered my duffel and stared at him. Sellers was how everyone saw me. Two peas in a pod. The dude was one of my closest friends, but I didn’t want to be him. Too much like my dad. Too much like what my grandmother expected of me.

Cushy job in the family business with all the benefits and none of the actual work. Except I wanted to work. I wanted to excel at something I knew I was good at—not pharmaceuticals, dear god, never—but hockey. With Gavin and Cole next to me, we’d become a powerhouse. I wanted to show I wasn’t skating on their coattails.

“What?” Sellers asked, his brows drawing together.

“Nothing. I can’t tonight anyway. I promised Mase I’d watch Sunny.”

Sellers rolled his eyes. “Again, with the duck. Can’t Cole do it?”

“Cole and Avery are studying tonight.”

He snickered, much like he had in Coach’s office. “At least one of you is getting some pussy.”

I glanced toward Coach’s open door. “Don’t talk about Avery like that.”

“He can’t hear us from there.”

“It’s not about him hearing us. It’s about respect.” I shook my head. “I don’t know how you convince any ladies to spend time with you when you treat them like trash. Do you talk about your sister that way?”

He gripped his chest in mock affront. “Hey, I’m an equal opportunity pig. She knows what she gets with me. At least I don’t make stupid rules for my hookups. One and done? Seriously? I’ll never understand you.”

I shrugged, apathetic to his plight. “Let’s go. If I wait too long, Sunny will try to eat the throw pillows Eva keeps sending. I think she’s fucking with us with all the tassels.”

“She’s definitely fucking with you.” He pushed away from the wall and grabbed his own bag.

I waited for him at the big double doors, and we walked through the echoing hallways each lost in our thoughts. As much as Sellers wanted me to be his party buddy, he’d still come with me to Coach’s office.

We separated in the parking lot, and I stopped before we got too far apart. “Thanks for staying.”

“Anytime.” Sellers waved as he got into his rusted ass car, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I could shut out the world in my BMW. I tried not to act like a rich asshole most of the time, but my car was one of my indulgences. If Gavin ever sold the house out from under us, I could probably live here fairly comfortably.

Though I’d never be able to bring a girl home.

I chuckled at the thought of Sellers trying to take girls back to his Honda. One and done, indeed. I’d never explained my rule to him, but in fairness, he’d never asked. Like everyone else, Sellers saw me as a shallow playboy. The difference was he preferred me that way. He was right—he’d never understand my reasons.

In my family, relationships were business arrangements. Gram wanted me to pair up with an heiress to forge a connection between the companies. I had obscene amounts of money floating around in various trusts, so I saw no need to sacrifice my personal life on the altar of a business deal.

I could theoretically never work a day in my life and still be richer than everyone I knew combined. It was almost insulting.

And it created the perfect opportunity for someone as merciless as my grandmother.

I flipped open the glove compartment and stared at the pink panties I’d stuffed in there. The night with Kay could have been merciless. She was definitely using me to purge some demons, but something about the way she’d panicked afterward told me she didn’t usually go that route.

Too bad I didn’t know anything about her besides her taste and her understated choice in underwear.

With a sigh, I closed the glove box and drove home. One and done meant I never had to deal with a relationship. I never had to question a girl’s motivation. Never had to guess if she wanted me or my money, or worse, a connection to my grandmother.

I shuddered. Sex and my grandmother should never be in the same thought.

All the lights were blazing when I pulled up to the house. Cole had lost the monthly draw for driveway parking, so I parked in my spot with a grin despite my depressing thoughts. I’d lived in the same suburban house for the entirety of my college years. Gavin owned the place, but it felt more like home than anywhere else I’d ever lived.

Or at least, it had, until Gavin left and took his girlfriend and her damn duck with him. My chest ached as I pulled my gear out of the trunk. I’d never admit it, but I missed all three of them fiercely.

We had Sunny, the second generation of duck terror, but with Cole spending half his time at Avery’s house and Mase holed up in his basement lair, the house felt empty. Felt like I was being left behind while everyone else grew the hell up.

Despite my sour mood, the sight of Sunny running to the door when I opened it made me smile. We’d sort of accidentally hatched her by not doing laundry nearly enough, and Mase had named the baby duck Sunshine after her bright yellow color. Her yellow fluff had quickly grown out into sleek white feathers, but the name stuck.

“Hey there Sunny girl. Where’s your daddy?”

“I told you not to call me that.” The gruff response came from the kitchen, though I didn’t see Mase anywhere.

The duck quacked and ran for the pantry with her little feet slapping the tile. “You don’t like duck daddy? How about fowl father?”

Mase backed out of the pantry with bread, peanut butter, and a banana, nearly tripping on his ward. “How about I tape your mouth shut the next time?”

I held up my hands in surrender. “No need, big man. I can take a hint.”

“I really think you can’t,” he muttered, slapping his sandwich together with no concern for the proper peanut butter to jelly ratio.

“I thought you were running some mysterious errand tonight.” I leaned against the counter next to him and tried not to correct him.

“Got cancelled,” Mase grunted at me, collecting his plate and heading for the basement stairs. Sunny waddled after him staring at his sandwich.

I propped my hands on my hips. “Were you going to tell me?”

“Just did.” He didn’t spare me a glance as he whistled for Sunny to follow him down the stairs. Not that he needed to. Sunny was very food motivated, and she thought she should be able to eat like her human roommates.

“You used to speak in full sentences. Should I be worried you’re regressing?” I shouted my question at the stairs, but as expected, I got no response.

Fine. I didn’t need my grumpy roommate—or his duck—to keep me company. Cole wasn’t supposed to leave for his study sesh yet. I could probably guilt him into spending it here instead. He couldn’t resist his inner Captain America when he sensed someone in need.

In this case, I needed him to take my mind off the conversation with Coach. Avery could share him for one night.

I eyed the kitchen, debating if I should grab a snack first, but I didn’t want to miss my window. Best case scenario, I could convince him to let me pay for pizza. Worst case scenario, I made peanut butter sandwiches for three.

Feeling a little more like myself, I burst through his door without knocking. Experience had taught me the juiciest moments happened when people didn’t have warning. Cole sat cross-legged on his bed propped against his pillows with a half-smile on his face.

He didn’t even jump, which was a tad disappointing, and I tried not to feel offended when his eyes stayed glued to the laptop in front of him. I’d bet my grandmother’s fancy dishes Avery was on the other side of that computer screen.

I could fix that problem.

“I need you to look at my balls.” Not my most original line, but it was a classic for a reason.

Cole coughed and pinched the bridge of his nose just like Coach had earlier. “What do you want, Reece? And I’m not looking at your balls, psycho.”

I scooted into his room and flipped through the textbook on his desk. “I thought we could hang tonight.”

As expected, Cole shook his head. “I’ve got plans with Avery.”

“She’s invited too. It’s been a while since I graced Coach’s daughter with my presence.”

“Because you hit on her every time she’s around.”

To be fair, Avery was tall, beautiful, and confident, favoring kickass boots and dark red lipstick. She was one hundred percent the type of girl I looked for at parties, and she was a thousand percent in love with Cole.

I abandoned the textbook to spread my arms. “It’s how we communicate.”

The annoyed look on his face told me I was taking this conversation in the wrong direction. Time to change tactics. “I’ll pay for pizza, and I’ll be on my best behavior. No inappropriate comments at all. Promise.” I crossed my finger over my heart, but Cole rolled his eyes.

“Pass.”

Frustration bit into me, and I conceded I’d have to give him more than free pizza. “I talked to Coach about my interest in being captain.”

Cole closed his laptop with a soft click and set it aside. “You were serious about that?”

I buried the flare of hurt where he wouldn’t be able to see it. “Yeah, I was serious— am serious.”

“What did Coach say?”

I opened my mouth intending to make a joke—I wasn’t here to bare my soul, I wanted a distraction from what Coach said—but Cole’s eyes narrowed. He knew me too well.

“Let me guess. You’re not captain material because you hit on his daughter in front of him?”

I winced. Not my finest hour, but I thought we’d moved past that. “Maybe. He said he was doubtful about my lifestyle, and we should give it a few more weeks.”

“That’s cutting it close.”

“No shit, and Sellers told me Kane talked to Coach too. Claimed his experience as captain of his last team would be ‘useful’.” I threw up some hand quotes because we all knew how he’d abandoned his last team the second he thought he could get a better gig here.

Cole scoffed. “I’m sure as hell not voting for that asshole.”

“You know our votes are only symbolic. Coach has the last say.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Are you sure you even want to be captain? Could this maybe be your way of dealing with Gavin leaving.”

My jaw tightened, but I tried to maintain my carefree facade. “You don’t think I can do it?”

He glanced at his phone, then tossed it on the bed. “I think you can do anything you put your mind to, but what happens when you get bored with the responsibility? It’s not just about you. The team needs a strong leader.”

He might as well have slapped me. Talk about betrayal. Cole was supposed to be the boy scout, the one who only saw the good in people, and even he couldn’t see me as captain. Suddenly, I was way less interested in using him as a distraction.

Why put in the effort when it didn’t make a difference? If my best friends didn’t believe in me, I was doomed to fail.

“You know what? Nevermind. I just remembered I promised Sellers I’d wingman for him at the Chi Omega party. Have fun with Coach’s daughter.”

I managed not to slam Cole’s door or mine, but I did kick a wad of laundry across the room as soon as I was safely in my own space.

Me: Count me in for Chi Omega.

Sellers: Be ready in 15.