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"I'm going to try," Sam told him. "She's been texting me for the past fifteen minutes complaining about those jackets Penn wants the girlfriends and wives to wear. She doesn't want to make one. She says it's stupid, and keeps going on about it. I told her not to do it, but she won't stop complaining."
"She's talking shit about Penn?" West asked, bristling. "She better not be."
"Truth," Eli replied. "Holly and Penn are best friends, and you know Holly has a razor-sharp tongue. She'll destroy Shay. Unleash the flying monkeys and all that," Eli said with a grin.
"No, she's not talking about Penn," he assured them. "Just the jackets." Sam ran a hand down over his face. "Not that she gets along with any of the girls anyway. Who couldn't get along with Penn or Zoe? Or Hannah and Nic?"
"I'm surprised Nic hasn't gone off on her," Fally told Sam. "I know she hasn't been happy with some of the stuff Shay's pulled lately."
"That makes two of us," Sam replied. "I'm trying to keep her reined in, but it's like trying to hold back an avalanche."
"Deal with her as little as possible," Fally advised. "I know it's easier said than done. But if it gets to be too much, Sam, ditch her. You can stay with one of us instead of your condo until the playoffs are over if you need to. And you can always block her ass or change your number."
"Exactly. And on that note, let's finish this amazing dinner and fire up the Xbox. Blow off some steam and shit," Shaw told them. "You definitely sound like you need to blow off steam, Londs. We're ready for this series, guys. We've got this."
"Fucking right." Eli nodded. "We've got it and then some. I can't wait until tomorrow."
Ryder grinned. "One game at a time guys. But yeah, we're fucking ready."
9
"It's here! Game day is finally here!" Penn squealed, grabbing Holly's hands and doing a crazy little dance.
Holly bit back a laugh while Penn shimmied and waved her hands as they walked toward the Nevada Arena from the parking lot of one of the nearby hotels.
"Babe, are you dancing or swatting at bees? I'm not sure if I should be alarmed."
"Ha-ha." Penn brushed a lock of curly blonde hair away from her face, then playfully stuck her tongue out at Holly. "I'm just excited. And nervous. I want this so bad for West, Hol. I don't know what I'll do if they don't win this series."
"Penn, it's game one." She slung an arm around her bestie's shoulders as they followed a crowd thick with Kingsnakes jerseys down the street. "Why get yourself all riled up? Enjoy this. Have some faith in the team. And in your man."
Penn moved away from the crowd and paused to adjust the strap on her sandal. "I know everything you're saying is true. It's just different when you're in a relationship with a player. It's personal. I go home with West, and I want to see him happy."
"Yeah, true."
"You might not be in a romantic relationship with Eli, but since you're staying with him, you'll eventually understand. You'll see the mood swings. It's a total roller coaster. Or maybe West is just moodier than the other guys."
"Oh, joy," Holly said, lifting her gaze skyward. "Just what I want, to babysit Eli's gigantic ego after a loss."
Penn elbowed her. "Come on, Hol, cut the guy some slack. This is a big deal in the course of his life and his career. They live for this. The playoffs are everything. These games are important, especially after losing the Western Conference finals last season. And then there's the arena curse..."
"You don't really believe that, do you?" Holly asked, making a face.
"No, but it doesn't matter if I believe it. They struggle to win in that arena. If they think it's cursed, even jokingly, it's going to loom in the back of their minds. And that's not good. Hockey players are a superstitious bunch."
"Which reminds me, I'm going to make a note to ask Eli if he has any superstitions or rituals he does before games," Holly said, typing a reminder into her phone.
Penn shrugged into her customized “Keller” jacket as they approached the arena. "I'm going to melt for the next five minutes, but I'm sick of carrying it."
"It turned out super cute," Holly admitted. "The jackets were a good idea."
"Wives and girlfriends around the league started doing this a few seasons ago for the playoffs, and it kind of took off. It's a cute way to show support instead of just wearing jerseys. Speaking of, I can't believe you aren't wearing any Kingsnakes gear. Not even a hat, Holly? Really?"
She glanced down at her jeans and plain orange t-shirt. "My outfit is blue and orange. These are Kingsnakes colors."
Penn wrinkled her nose. "That's all we get?"
"I don't have any Kingsnakes swag. When I was shopping for clothes after the apartment fire, hockey stuff wasn't exactly a priority over bras and underwear."
