Page 16 of Puck Love
I beamed, propping my head on a pillow in Denny and Hank’s guest room. “Pretty good, eh?”
“Yes. Keep pr-pr-practicing. Now, I have to go. G-good-bye, Mason. Oh, wait. H-how was the parade? Did you like it?” he asked, pushing the fringe of his light-brown hair from his eyes.
“Yeah, it was fun. It would have been more fun if you’d been there. Maybe next year?”
“No, thank you. I’m…I’m too sh-shy,” Eddie stuttered, quickly adding, “What are you doing tomorrow?”
The kid was a master of deflection. If he didn’t want to do something, he diverted conversation like a pro.
“I’m going camping for two days.”
“Th-that will be fun.”
I smiled at his polite commentary. “Maybe. I dunno. I’ll be with strangers and a guy who doesn’t like me very much.”
Eddie frowned. “Why doesn’t he like you?”
“Well…sometimes I kid around, and he doesn’t like my jokes.”
“Oh. Could you be nicer?”
Yuck,no, was my first thought. Or maybeFuck, no. But the mature big brother in me surfaced in the nick of time. “Yeah, I’ll try.”
Eddie grinned proudly. “Good job, Mr. Cool.”
“Mr. Cool?” I snorted at his teasing nickname for me.
“Yes, Mr. Cool.”
“Gee, thanks, buddy. Hey, I’ll see you soon. Seven more days, and I’ll be home for a whole month. Love you, Eddie.”
Eddie rolled his eyes. “You are mushy.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Maybe a little.”
He signed “I love you,” smiling his approval at my correct reciprocal hand signal. Then, as per tradition, Eddie added, “To the farthest star in the galaxy and beyond,” and disconnected the call.
I closed my laptop, staring into space for a moment as a sweet wave of good juju swept over me. Eddie was good for me. He reminded me that there were beautiful things and genuine people in the world.
And I had to admit, it was nice to know that if I forgot how to play hockey tomorrow, there’d be at least one person out there who’d still think I was a winner.
That person was notJake Milligan.
“Where’s your hat?”
I gave him the WTF look he deserved and waggled my sunglasses. “I don’t need a hat. I’ve got shades, and what do you care if I have a hat?”
Okay, that was testy and not exactly…nice, but Christ, this guy got on my nerves.
We’d arrived at Elmwood Rink bright and early this morning for a meet and greet with our campers before we set out in vans to Lake Norman for day one on the trail. And by early, I mean really fucking early. I’d done myself a solid by grabbing an extra-large latte on the way…and by not showing up hungover.
The post-parade parties had been epic yesterday. There’d been a town barbecue in the park with wholesome activities like face-painting and ring tosses, and the diner had hosted a burger and shake bash. Later that night, there’d been a private get-together at Smitty and Bryson Milligan’s house for Denny’s family, close friends, and any Denver teammates who’d happened to be in town. Like me.
Bryson was Jake’s dad and that might have been enough to make me think twice about attending, but fuck that. In spite of the fact that he’d spawned an ass bucket, Bryson was a great guyand his husband, Smitty, was too. They regularly opened their home for pre-camp celebrations, so I’d been invited dozens of times.
It was always a good time with great food, good laughs, and lots of kids and dogs running amok. And of course, Jake and I avoided each other. Easy to do in big party situations. The only instance where I’d been forced to acknowledge the dreaded weekend ahead was when Smitty had brought it up.
“Two days in the forest on a camping expedition with teens. You’re braver than me,” he’d singsonged.