Page 58 of Lovefool

I clap when the plane lands.

LAKE

Dear God, it’s worse than I thought.

SUTTON

I’m on my way with chow mein, egg rolls, and orange chicken. Do you need me to pick up anything else?

LAKE

No, I just need you.

SUTTON

Lake, do you…miss…me?

LAKE

What? No! Pish, you wish.

SUTTON

Holy shit. You so do.

LAKE

If you tell anyone, I’ll crush your nutsack like a walnut.

SUTTON

You’re so violent. It’s adorable.

LAKE

I hate you.

SUTTON

Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, baby.

21

THICK AS THIEVES

LAKE

“So, would you say that your captain is putting a lot of pressure on you guys this season?” I ask Knox, who seems to be impervious to interview-related nerves as he leans back in the interrogation chair and throws his feet up on the table.

“Hmm? Oh, Crew? Nah, he’s usually this hysterical. I don’t doubt that he can take us all the way to the Frozen Four, but we’re up against some pretty tight competition,” he answers nonchalantly, popping his gum rather loudly in the small space that was reserved for my amateur examinations.

The room is definitely…interesting. Windowless, constructed of sound-dampened concrete walls, probably previously used as some walk-in janitor’s closet or an unlawful holding cell for delinquents.

From the limited time I’ve spent with Knox, he’s not the kind of person to fold under pressure, which means whatever intel I gather from him during our session won’t be newsworthy in the slightest. But I agreed to interview everyone on the Mustangs, and it’s in the team’s best interest if every player is on their best behavior.

I mean, I don’t think anyone would want to sabotage the Mustangs’ public image. Well, maybe aside from one skidmark of a dickless nobody, but I’m making waves in my therapy. Instead of praying on my enemies’ downfalls, I just practice my hand-eye coordination by throwing darts at their blurrily magnified faces taped to a red target.

“Would you say it’s easy to cooperate with other players on the team?” I follow up, squinting my eyes as if I can dissect the athlete in front of me with a simple question.