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He’s definitely not, but I am getting tired. I’ll give him that.
I prove my point with a couple of haymakers. As soon as I drop him to the ice, I’m getting hauled back by the refs.
I try to lurch for him one more time but Sully grabs me.
“The fuck’s your deal tonight?” He shoves me toward the penalty box.
“Just trying to have some fun, baby.” Damn, that felt good.
The ref escorts me off the ice. They give me ten whole-ass minutes. I didn’t hit him that hard. Five would have been sufficient.
I look over at Ehlers, he’s getting his eyebrow stitched up. He has a black eye forming, and my lips curl into a smile. After squirting water in my mouth, I spit it back out, but it sprays red all over the mat under my skates.Perhaps I deserved the ten.I kept my head down for most of the fight, so it’s nice to see my hard work paid off. I still came out with a busted lip, and I know I’ll be sore tomorrow. But this was the wrong night for him to bring up Bridget. I’ve been chirped at before about the women I’ve been with, but they were always bunnies; no feelings were involved.
Texas scores on us while I sit in the sin bin. Now that the fury has died down, I feel like an asshole. Had I been in the game, I might have prevented that shot. Why not pile on more guilt to the steaming pile of self-hatred brewing inside me? When my time’s up, they bench me until the game ends.
“Look who’s riding the pine now?” Ehlers shouts as he skates by.What a dick.
“You want me to give you a matching set, motherfucker?” I say, referencing the deep purple lines under his left eye.
My hand hurts, so I’m thankful I can’t.
We lost that game, and it’s my fault.
When we get back into the locker room, Sully grabs my shoulder and spins me around.
“What the hell was that?”
“Dunno. He pissed me off.” I shrug.
Banks cuts in. “Bullshit. Guys chirp at you all the time, you hardly ever let it get to you. And I’ve never seen you throw punches like that. So what’s going on?”
“I proposed to Birdie.”
The last thing I want to do is tell Banks, but what do I care anymore? What’s he going to do? Make me feel worse? Impossible.
He shrugs. “Okay. Congratulations?”
“She said no.”
There’s a silence in the locker room. Nobody knows what to say. I don’t blame them, it’s rare to ever hear about a rejected marriage proposal, and it’s unheard of for athletes. Banks doesn’t give me shit, he just stares at me with pity. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that was sympathy in his eyes. Nothing like getting sad eyes from the biggest asshole on the team.
“That guy’s a prick,” Banks murmurs, not looking at me while he loosens his skates. “He had it coming.”
* * *
Me: Hey.
Me: Have you talked to Birdie?
Micky: Yeah. Dude, wtf? You proposed???
Me: I was trying to keep her here.
Micky: You do realize that she’s essentially been “kept” her entire life right?
Me: Kept?
Micky: Let me break it down for you. She’s been held hostage for like 20 years by a deranged garbage person that never showed her an ounce of compassion or love...
