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And I nodded back.
We both knew I was going to go out to whatever hockey event her company helped plan.
Chapter Three
ATLAS
Thedressing roomfelt like a cleaned up broom closet.
Or maybe I was just that big.
I stared forward at the fancy gold hook that held the tuxedo.
I folded my arms.
I chomped on a piece of gum that had lost its flavor thirty minutes ago.
The door opened behind me.
“Still staring at it?”
I looked over my shoulder at Henry.
Being a hockey player like me -the guy who traveled from team to team as a career- I played with a lot of guys. But of all the guys I played with and sort of knew, Henry was probably closest as a friend.
We played together in the minors for a little while.
We even shared a shithole apartment at one point.
He got called up way before I did.
A big, mean, and really fast right winger, the second he had the chance to prove himself, he went for it.
Henry was also a dreamer.
That’s what put him on the worst team in the league, thinking he could carry it all on his back. Wanting to be the hero.
“I’m not fucking putting that thing on,” I said to Henry. “I’m not going to look like a penguin.”
Henry chuckled. “We’re all suited up here, man.”
“That’s a tux. Not a suit. And fuck the rules. Fuck anything that suggests tradition. Why aren’t we talking strategy? Why aren’t we on the ice right now working on all the issues this fucking team has?”
“Didn’t think you cared enough about that, Atlas.”
I turned, pushed by Henry and looked around.
The backstage area of the large catering hall was in full swing.
People running around with food, coats, barking orders at each other.
I spotted Ellen at one point, wearing a gold, glittery dress.
She had her arm hooked through her husband’s.
She smiled at me.
Her husband didn’t.
