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I hate that I’m checking her out, but since that near kiss last night and Bain telling me there’s no bro code, I’m looking at her more and more as a woman and not the widow of my dead teammate.
Even though I got a little drunk last night after she left the party, I had a hard time falling asleep when I got home. I kept playing in my head how fucking inconvenient this is… having an interest in someone with whom I have no business being anything more than friends. I might not have gotten much sleep but at least I didn’t have any planes dropping on my head.
“Camden,” Travis exclaims as he reaches me. “Mom said you’d be here.”
“I was happy she invited me.” I put my hand on his shoulder and bend at the waist. “Wanted to see you do all those snazzy moves you showed me when we practiced.”
Travis blushes but I’m pleased to see he doesn’t self-deprecate. Perhaps he’s already built up some confidence over the last two weeks.
Danica reaches us and I see she’s carrying Travis’s gear bag and his stick. I take them from her and hand them off to Travis. “Little man… why is your mom carrying all this for you? Show me them muscles.”
Travis grins. “Sorry… I normally do. I was just excited to see you.”
My eyes cut to Danica who I’m relieved to see is amused and not offended, judging by the wink she gives me. I’m not sure if she’s the type of mom who enjoys catering to her kid, and far be it from me to change things, but if not, then he needs to be a little more cognizant of those things. If he wants to play hockey, he needs to lug his own gear around.
Another mom and kid approach the building, apparently known to Danica and Travis. The women hug and Travis turns his friend to me. “This is Camden Poe.”
The other boy’s eyes go round as saucers. “Oh wow.”
“Hi,” I say, holding out my hand for the kid to shake. “And you are?”
“Gabe,” he says, gaping up at me.
“Hi, Gabe. Any buddy of Travis’s is a buddy of mine.”
“Wow,” the kid mumbles, looking over to his mom who’s watching, then back to me. “Can I like… get a picture with you or something?”
“Sure.”
Gabe’s mom pulls her phone out and takes photos of me and Gabe, then Travis gets in on it. I’m surprised to see Danica has her phone out and takes one of me and her son together. Then the boys rush inside to get changed in the locker room and Gabe’s mom heads back to her car where she waits during practice.
Danica’s eyes narrow, pinning on my face. “You don’t look too hungover.”
Grinning, I open the door and motion for her to precede me. “Nothing a couple Tylenol couldn’t cure.”
I follow her through the facility to the practice rink his team has booked for the hour. They only get half the ice, the other half taken by another team. Bleachers are set up and we choose seats near the top, away from all the other parents congregating close to the ice. Some look over their shoulders at me and I know I’ve been recognized.
I prop my feet on the metal bench below me and rest my forearms on my knees as I watch the kids skating around to warm up. Travis isn’t out yet, and practice starts in about ten minutes.
Twisting my neck, I look at Danica on my left. “Does anyone know who Travis’s dad is?”
“Not directly from me,” she says, putting her feet on the bench beside mine. She leans forward to mimic my position, forearms on her thighs. “I didn’t want any unrealistic expectations on Travis. Some people know because he goes to school with a few kids on the team but I’m not sure he’s really said who his dad was.”
I look back out to the ice. “He seemed a little unsure of himself when I took him to the rink but I think that’s merely him getting back into the groove. I was wondering, though, if the coach knew because, yeah… he might be expecting something of Travis he can’t give yet.”
She doesn’t answer but instead leans over and bumps her shoulder against mine. “I’m grateful you’re here. I can do a lot of things for my kid, but I’m a little out of my element with hockey. You’re a good friend, Camden.”
Angling my head, I bring my eyes to her. “I imagine you’d do just fine if I weren’t here but you know I’m really glad to help. You’re a good friend too.”
She snorts. “I haven’t done anything much to warrant that title. You’re the one swooping in to help me.”
I’m not able to hold her gaze so once again, I divert my attention to the players on the ice. “You’ve done something no one else has been able to do. You got me to open up about the crash.”
Danica slips her arm through mine, hooking us together at the elbows. She gives an affectionate squeeze and fuck if it doesn’t feel natural.
Us sitting here like this.
Her tone is teasing. “You didn’t open up very much and specifically said you didn’t want to talk about the crash.”
