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“Hey,” Zeke’s voice interrupts us. He’s drenched in sweat and fresh off the ice. The Ptarmigans won, but you’d never know by the way his brow furrows and his jaw tenses.
“Hey, man.” Freddy lets go of my shoulder and clasps Zeke’s in one of those bro-handshake hug things. “Two assists? That’s solid, brah.”
Zeke’s eyes flicker back and forth between me and Freddy and something twists in my stomach. I feel like I’ve done something wrong, like my suspicions were right and I shouldn’t be back here. It’s not me he wanted to see.
“You have fun with the girls?” Zeke asks, not responding to his friend’s praise.
“Oh, um,” I say, biting my bottom lip. “Yeah. You know Aly, she made sure she got her beer this time.”
“And then we ran into each other out in the concourse,” Freddy says, cracking a laugh. “You need to hang with me next game, Faye. I know how you feel about the ‘buffoonery’ of the game. Too many goons, right Faye?”
“I did not say that.” I laugh.
“But you don’t disagree,” he counters, and I nudge his shoulder.
“Huh,” Zeke says, his eyes narrowed.
“Uh, sorry,” I say with a shrug. “They were really good seats. Thanks for—”
“Bae!” I hear from my left, and a squealing flash of red and black launches onto Zeke’s back.
He swings around, stepping away from me and Freddy, and rights Megan so that she doesn’t fall.
“You were amazing,” she gushes, grabbing his face and planting a kiss on his lips.
I look away, right at Megan’s blonde friend whose eyes are fixed on me. Not in a cruel way. Assessing. Curious.
“You had fun, baby?” Zeke asks, giving her the wide smile—and the nickname—I’m used to receiving.
My stomach sinks as she kisses him. I need to get out of here.
As if he has a sixth sense, Freddy presses a hand into my back at that moment.
“I should get Faye back to her friends,” he says.
Megan whips around, her cheeks flushed. I think it’s fair to say that she had no idea I was standing right there.
“Oh, hey Faye,” she says as she coils her arm around his back and gives me an awkward wave.
“Good to see you again, Megan,” I say with a stupid nod.
Freddy starts moving down the hall and I find myself moving to keep up.
“Faye?” Zeke calls after me.
I look back and Megan is tucked under his arm. They look good together. Really good.
“Good game, Zeke,” I say.
“I’ll text later?”
“Sure,” I say, and walk through the door Freddy is holding for me before I can say anything else. We walk in silence to the main doors where I can see Caro working hard to contain a lively Aly.
“He’s an idiot, you know?” Freddy says suddenly.
“What?” I frown, trying to figure out what he means. My heart hammers in my chest as Freddy leans in and brushes a kiss against my cheek. It doesn’t feel romantic, just caring. He squeezes my shoulder once more as he backs away.
“Don’t give up on him yet, okay?”
