Page 92 of Ice Me Out

“It’s no problem,” she smiles. “I was already taking some for myself.”

I accept the plate she offers me and move to go sit in the recliner, but she stops me. “Why don’t you sit on the couch with us? You can’t really see the TV that well from the chair. There’s enough room for all of us here.”

She’s right. And I was looking forward to watching the game.

“Sure. Do you follow the NHL?” I ask, lowering myself on her other side, so that she’s sitting between me and Jamie.

Bex giggles, rolling her eyes. “As if my brother wouldn’t have made a hockey fan out of me. Besides, hockey players are hot and we both had crushes on our favorite players.”

“Really?” Jamie chuckles. “And tell me, who are your current crushes?”

He doesn’t sound jealous, like a lot of boyfriends would be.

Bex doesn’t look like she needs to think about the answer. “Luca Leighton Rossi is a total babe.” She gushes. “But I also love Cash Hanbury. He’s so big, and he looks so intimidating in his crease. But not in a scary way. He’s like one of those ancient warriors.”

“That’s fitting,” Jamie agrees. “Since he plays for the Bridgeport Warriors.”

“I also love Blaze Dunn. He’s so fierce, and he’s gorgeous.”

Jamie smirks at his girlfriend. “Really? Did you know that Luke, Connor, and I used to play with them?”

“Well fuck,” I snort. “That’s a little bit of a stretch. We were freshmen the last year they played college hockey. We were their third, if not fourth strings. There was no chance Coach would have ever put one of us in their same line.”

Jamie agrees, his tone amenable. “True. But we scrimmaged with them. And Luca and I puked in the same trash can that time Coach bag skated us. Remember?”

“How could I forget?” I wince. “But let’s not talk about puking while we eat dinner.”

The game begins and we eat in silence for the first part of first period.

Each team fights for puck possession and both defenses are blocking every attempt of the opponents to get even close to their goals.

But in hockey, things can change on a dime.

One of Washington’s defensemen smashes Luca Leighton Rossi against the boards after an open ice hit.

Blaze Dunn, the team’s enforcer, drops his gloves and yanks the opponent off of his teammate by the back of his jersey.

Fists fly and referees and teammates intervene to separate the two fighters.

“Oh.” Bex is watching the action with her hands cupped over her mouth.

On TV, the Jumbotron moves away from the ice rink for a second to show a gorgeous blonde woman watching the fight with Bex’s same body language.

“That’s Lakyn Woods.” Jamie says. “Or I should say Princess Lakyn Rossi now that they’re married. Do you remember the stir they caused when they were here and Lakyn was dating all three of Bex’s crushes?”

The question is directed at me. “Yeah. Didn’t she marry all three of them?”

Jamie nods. “Yeah. The King of Montebello, Luca’s father, changed the law to allow it. I think it’s cool. Love is love and, as long as it’s between consenting adults, the law should protect any kind of family.”

I don’t disagree with the sentiment, but I can’t help but expressing my doubts. “Yeah. But I don’t know if I could ever share my woman like that.”

Jamie shrugs, looking at his girlfriend for a brief moment. “I don’t know. With the right people, I think something like they have could work. As long as there are no favorites, I don’t see any reason to be jealous. It could even be fun if they like to share.”

I haven’t really ever given something like that much thought. “Yeah, I guess. If they all agree to share, there’s no cheating. Cheating fucking sucks.”

My teammate nods. “I agree. If you can’t be faithful, don’t be in a relationship. Stay single and have as much fun as you want without hurting anyone.”

I’m sure he’s speaking from personal experience.