I wince a bit. I’m starting to hate that title. “Unfortunately.”
“It’s not a bad thing,” she says quickly, reaching up to squeeze my arm. “Sorry, I’m just surprised. Oscar and I were convinced that he was making it all up. We didn’t think that you were real.”
Alarm rings through me, but I force myself to maintain a neutral expression. I knew it was bad, but I didn’t realize howdesperately Carter needed me as his front. His own teammates were talking about it? They assumed he was lying? This agreement was more necessary than I thought.
“Arden,” Penny says, waving me over. I scurry past Shay and am introduced to Morgan, Emma, and Tyla. Penny shoots me a look as Morgan and Emma reach out their hands. Naughty list, those two. But still, I smile and feign pleasantries before hiding at the end of the row the second it’s over. I fall into my seat, and Penny glances at me. “Hanging in there?”
“Four girls are manageable.”
“There are usually more. They’re typically worse when Wyatt comes with me, desperate for a piece of him, but he’s got too much work to do, so he bowed out. Consider yourself lucky.”
Wyatt. Penny and Declan’s friend, who moved to Pittsburgh. I remember that name, too.
“Great,” I grumble. For some reason, I don’t think that’s going to stop them from being on top of us all night.
The girls beside us are chatting away now, so Penny leans in to whisper information while their attention is elsewhere.
“Shay is with Oscar. Morgan is with Tom. High school sweethearts, so she thinks she’s superior to everyone else. Emma is her little mini me, on and off with Luka. Those two are best friends, but their partners hate each other. It’s weird.”
I nod along, already feeling overwhelmed. This is too much information about people that I don’t know. People I’m going to have to lie to.
“Tyla is an angel,” she continues, “married to Mik. He’s also an angel. She never misses a game.”
Then there is me. Arden Doll. Faux girlfriend extraordinaire. Extremely in over her head. Sitting next to a bunch of girls who have a hierarchy based on who their boyfriends are,or how long they’ve been around, or if they have a ring or not. I don’t evenactuallyhave a boyfriend in their ranks, and I’ve been here for three whole seconds. I’m the bottom of the barrel.
Penny pats my leg a few times, flashes me a smile. “I had to endure this alone. At least we have each other now.”
We make small talk with the other girls before the game starts. I feel Morgan’s eyes burning into my face more often than not. When Shay leans over to ask me questions, she goes on her phone like I’m the least interesting person in the building. The moment the conversation diverts elsewhere, she’s back to participating.
In those moments, when she smiles a bit coldly at me, makes a one-off comment, or blatantly ignores my existence, Penny reaches over and pats my knee a few times. She’ll smile or roll her eyes, and manages to make this feel less like we’re back in high school and more like Morgan’s the only one who hasn’t left it.
Then, the game starts. We’re up on our feet as the music blares through the speakers and the players slide onto the ice. Penny, who must have a better eye for spotting players after years of doing this, points to sixty-one for me. Right next to number thirty-three.
There’s that big, blinding smile. He skates by Declan’s side, nudging him with his elbow every few seconds. Declan seems very much in the zone, but doesn’t make Carter stop his antics, either. He just keeps his eyes glued to the ice, mouthguard hanging out of his mouth, nodding every once in a while when Carter speaks.
“Have you ever been to a game?” Penny asks me, clapping along with the crowd.
I shake my head, watching the boys as Boston Black slides in next to them.
“Oh, just you wait.” She smiles, shaking her head a bit. “Keep your eye on thirty-three, sixty-one, and twenty-nine.”
I glance at her. “Why?”
She flashes a glossy smile, shrugging a shoulder. “Magic.”
Boy, was she right.
I don’t even particularly enjoy hockey, but watching Declan, Carter, and Boston work as a unit is a different kind of high. You know how you can appreciate a good dance routine, despite not knowing shit about dance? You don’t know a single technical thing about what they just did, but you’re still in awe? That’s what it’s like watching these three do what they love to do.
Carter only gets thrown in the box once, and he does it with a smile on his face, taunting the opposing team the whole time that he’s in his little detention. Penny nudges me when she catches me laughing at his behaviour. He’s something else. Totally out of his mind.
Declan scores twice, Oscar Messer once, and Reno Rossi brings in the fourth goal, making it a four-two game.
There are smiles all around since Pittsburgh beat Dallas. The girls and I get to our feet, following the crowd back out to the hall. Penny guides me through the arena like it’s her second home. When we get to a small, quiet corridor, I get the feeling we’re in an area that you need permission to enter.
I don’t say my name or anything, and there isn’t some guy with a clipboard guarding a velvet rope, but it just has that energy. Shay stands with us, asking me questions and engaging in conversation with Penny. I try to stay present, but I keep catching the way Morgan’s eyes burn into the side of my face.
I don’t know why she makes me so uneasy, but there’s something particularly unnerving about those big, bulgy eyes.
