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Big Papa: Sorry I’m missing this one, kiddo! Give it hell. Don’t drop that shoulder and remember that a walk is not the end of the world. The guys at the station said good luck! Love ya Saffron Sauce!
Swiping my thumb over the message I close my phone before the tears I feel pricking have the chance to fall. “Hey, you okay? You’re quiet.” Maeve asks, concern marring her face.
“I’m good. Just nervous about the game. It’s been a while.” It’s a lie and the truth all at once.
“You got this girl. This is our year.” She beams. “I’ve seen you in action, I’m not worried.”
“How are you related to Sexy? You’re too nice to be blood.” It’s not the first time I’ve wondered.
Maeve laughs “Levi isn’t so bad once you get to know him. A player? Yes. But not a bad guy. He’s actually pretty fantastic. Just don’t tell him I said so. It’ll go right to his head, and he doesn’t need the ego boost.” We both nod in agreement over that statement. Levi has confidence in spades.
“I’ll have to take your word for it. I don’t plan on getting to know him well enough to find out.” I want one thing, and one thing only from her brother and that’s help passing my class. Nora and the rest of the chicks on campus can fight over him all they want. I won’t be a “hockey hoochie,” as Millie put it. Not for Levi “Sexy” Sexton, or his damn dimples.
Chapter 11
Levi
My duffel in my hand, I close my bedroom door and head down the hall, banging on doors as I go. Once I hit the landing, Benny and Murph are both thundering down the stairs shoving each other and nearly toppling all three of us down the rest of the way.
Safely at the bottom, I turn laughing. “You fucking animals.”
“Sorry, Sexy. It’s a two-hour ride. I don’t want to be stuck in the back seat of your truck the whole way and you know first one down gets shotgun,” Murph says, a victorious smile splitting his face.
Benny grins slyly and turns to me. “We picking up Raegan, or is she meeting us here?” He knows he just won this battle. No way is Murphy going to let Benny ride in the back with Raegan, whether he’s with my sister or not. That’s two hours he can spend not flirting with her. I’ve never seen a guy with so much game have absolutely no game at all when it comes to Rae. It’s comical, actually.
“Fucker. Why didn’t you tell me Raegan was coming?”
“My bad, bro. She texted me a little while ago to see if we were going. Told her she could ride with us.” I decide to fuck with him a little bit. “Should I tell her we don’t have room?”
He looks at me like I’m an idiot. “Do it, and I’ll invite Nora to ride with us.”
After our little talk the other day, he knows I’m trying to keep her at a distance. I’m not trying to catch a case right now. And while she’s usually just down for a good time, she sees Briggsy as a threat and has been putting the heat on me. Texting and popping up more often and shit. Not what I need.
“Why you gotta be so mean, bro?”
“You two done?” Benny calls from the open door, the cold air filling the entryway.
“Let’s roll. We won’t be able to meet up with them tonight. They have curfew, and my dad won’t hesitate to kick our asses if we mess with that.” None of us want that, especially me. He’s still giving me shit over the Benny thing.
Since we rolled up after curfew last night, we didn’t get to talk to anybody. We got to the hotel and, after making sure Rae was alone in the roll out cot we had them bring up for her, we were all asleep within minutes. Now after taking turns in the shower and hitting the free breakfast, we’re on our way to the new enclosed dome the Cougars just finished building. They’re one of our biggest rivals for hockey as well as softball, so this dome is a sore spot for us as well as my dad. I don’t doubt for a minute that he’ll be working the board over to get one for Fulton real soon.
“Holy shit, will you look at this thing.” Murphy whistles in disbelief. “It’s fucking huge!”
“It’s a bit much for softball isn’t it?” Rae asks. Softball rolling off her tongue with a note of disgust. Spoken like a true hockey player.
“Right? Wonder if they’ll get a new rink now?” Benny cranes his neck to get a look through the window at the giant bubble-looking stadium.
“Whatever. They still won’t be able to beat us on their home ice, even if they do get a new one,” Murphy chirps from the back seat.
“Got that right,” I reply as I whip my truck into a parking spot. The game doesn’t start for another forty minutes, but they wanted to get here early to see if we can peep the girls before they hit the field.
Murphy helps Rae down from the back seat as Benny and I round the front of the truck. His beanie is pulled low, matching mine and making us look like freaking twins. The only difference is he’s got a black eye that is turning a nice green and yellow. Hate to admit it, but it kind of makes him look like a badass. Fucker. As we turn to go into the stadium, I realize we’re all wearing FU hoodies and sweats. The Cougar fans are gonna love us. I might get a black eye to match Benny’s, after all.
“Do they even know we’re here?” Rae asks once we’re inside. “I wasn’t sure if Benny was trying to surprise Maeve, so I didn’t say anything to my cousin.”
“I told my dad that we might be coming up but didn’t let him know that we actually did.”
“I didn’t say shit about shit.” Murphy shrugs, knowing he doesn’t have anyone on the team to really tell anyway.
