Page 22 of Mac Meyers Needs Me

Brody messed around with one Enid’s friends back in high school, and now he thinks he can never have Enid, and she apparently thinks the same. No amount of friend encouragement seems to push them together. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force them to hydrate.

“It’s more about his reputation,” I explain.

“Ah, fair.” Fee sighs. “My sister being a Terror coach is cool, but also, when she was married to the goalie mid-season, everyone had something to say about it.”

“Whether you want their opinion or not.”

“Mmm. Usually I did not.” Fee smiles, but there’s strain behind it.

I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for Fee. She lost her parents, moved to a new city, and her sister became her guardian and promptly ended up as media fodder.

Gage returns to the group, red-faced.

“Everything okay?” Chase asks.

“Yeah. Everything is fine. Let’s get popcorn and snacks.” He leads the way to the concession stand.

Several girls say hi, so I use it as an excuse to wrap my arm around Fee.

She stuffs her toque and mitts into her bag, then unzips her jacket.

I grin. “You’re wearing my hoodie.”

“Seemed like a good girlfriend thing to do.” She half smiles. “But I can give it back to you. Maybe I should wash it first?”

I shake my head. “Don’t do that. I like it on you.” And I’d rather have it back after she’s worn it, so it smells like her, just like my pillow did after she slept in my bed.

“What are you craving?” I ask as we get closer to the front of the line.

“Huh?” Fee’s eyes go wide and her cheeks flush.

“Snacks,” I clarify.

“Oh, right!”

“What’d you think I meant?”

She shrugs and sucks her bottom lip between her teeth while she peruses the menu. “I’m all about popcorn and Smarties.”

“Do you mix them together?” I ask.

She widens her eyes and grabs my arm. “How did you know?”

“The salty and sweet are where it’s at.” I order a large, buttered popcorn, Smarties, and two sodas, then hand over my bank card.

“I can go halves,” Fee whispers.

I shake my head. “Let me treat you.” It almost feels like a real date.

We have to split up into two rows to accommodate our group. Enid passes out hand wipes for the arms of the chairs, and Tally tosses out mini packs of tissues as we settle in.

“Dude, check it out.” Gage’s head appears between us and he points to the seat in front of me. “Isn’t that from the same artist who posts stuff around campus.”

“Shit. Yeah. I don’t think I have that sticker yet. I wonder if I can peel it off without ruining it.” I pick at the edge with my nail, but it’s trimmed short.

“Do you collect those?” Fee asks softly.

“I started last semester. The artist puts up new stuff every month. I’ve been waiting for the next one to pop up,” I explain.