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“Oh, right,” Brandon says, his voice thick with sarcasm. “The cup I just lost to you two months ago that I’m not even allowed to touch.”

“You can touch it.”

“No, he can’t,” my mom says, and I hear Ryan agreeing through the phone.

“Hey, Ryan,” I say. “You better not be backing out of our bet. Are you two getting here soon or what?”

“We’re en route,” Ryan says.

“Oh, okay. So you’re close.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” he says. “We just filled up in Milwaukee.”

“Milwaukee!” I exclaim, aghast. I knew they should have driven in yesterday. Or better yet, last week when I arrived. I don’t know why they insisted on coming up here so late.

“It’s fine, Ander,” Brandon says. “We’ll be there in plenty of time for your party.”

“Alright,” I grumble. “Just hurry up.” I slide my phone back into my pocket.

My mom tilts her head at me as she ushers Joe and his helpers through the back door to where my dad is waiting. When the door closes, she focuses her gaze on me. “Out with it,” she says. “You haven’t been yourself since you arrived here last week. What’s the issue?”

I shake my head and pull my lips up into a smile. “Nothing. Everything’s fine.”

“Bullshit it’s fine,” she says. Which does genuinely make me smile. She’s heard her fair share of foul language residing in a house full of hockey boys, but it’s rare to hear her be crude herself. At twenty-five, I still find it amusing.

She walks up to me and reaches to place her hands on my cheeks, forcing me to look down at her. “Where’s my usual goofy boy? Did you leave him in Buffalo?”

“No,” I say, my lips moving like a fish. “It’s just…”

“It’s just what, sweetie?”

“It’s just weird not having Brandon here. He’s always been here when I come home and now he’s not. He’s with Ryan, which is great, but like, why couldn’t they come here earlier?”

“Ahh.” She nods in understanding. “You miss your brother.”

I nod back at her. And I wish that was all it was. But it’s not. I miss everyone.

My mother lets go of my face, but she still keeps her eyes on me. “You know what I think you need?”

“What?”

“A girlfriend,” she says as she reaches for a cinnamon roll and places it on a plate, then hands it to me. “That’s what will do the trick.”

I point at the plate. “This is a cinnamon roll.”

“No shit, Ander.” She shoves the plate more forcefully at me. “Eat it. You’ll feel better.”

Smiling at her, I take a big bite. She’s right, and not just about the cinnamon roll. Brandon has Ryan now. Gavin has Connor. And now with Tavish getting hitched, everyone who’s important to me has paired off, and here I am, left behind. It’s time for me to get serious. Maybe I need to find a wife. The future Mrs. Ander Bouchard.

Maybe she’ll show up to this party. I know for sure she’s not anywhere I’ve been looking so far. Not that I ever took the hunt seriously. Until recently, I didn’t need a girlfriend. I always had the guys.

It’s fine. Brandon and Ryan said they were just leaving Milwaukee. That’s only an hour and a half away, and I know Ryan has a lead foot. They’ll get here quickly and I’ll be right back to chillin’ with my boys.

That’s the beauty of hockey. It breeds close friendships and a family-like bond. Well, Brandon is already my family, and Ryan is now too, so they’re a bad example. But Gavin and Connor, Tavish, the rest of my Blizzards teammates, we live and breathe for each other. It’s why I hate being away from them during the offseason. It’s three months of feeling something is missing.

It’s a shame I’m not gay. Brandon and Ryan, and Gavin and Connor have found the perfect solution to this dilemma. Just fall in love with a teammate. Problem solved.

I wish it was that easy.