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It’s one of those things I’ve wanted to just keep close to my chest for a little bit, letting myself get used to it before I speak it out loud and invite other people’s perspectives.
But Kayla’s my best friend, and I can’t keep it from her any longer.
“Liam, from Halloween night, he’s … he’s one of the players my dad coaches.”
Kayla furrows her brow for a moment, taking in what I’ve just said. Then, suddenly, her eyebrows shoot up and her mouth drops open.
“Holy shit! Halloween Liam isHockey Liam?”
“Shhh!” I snap, whipping my head around to make sure no one’s heard us.
Not that anyone else would be likely to piece together what we’re talking about; still, this is something I want to keep top-secret. The last thing I need is for the hot new rumor around campus to be how one of the top Hot Shots players slept with the coach’s daughter.
“Girl, Icannotbelieve this,” she says, fanning herself. “Did it suddenly become summer out here, or is it just me? Because it just gothot.”
“There’s nothing hot about this,” I deadpan, leveling my over-eager best friend with a gaze that I hope is chilly enough to get her to stop fanning herself. Then, I lean in and hiss accusingly, “Why didn’t you tell me Liam was the name of one of the star hockey players?”
She shrugs. “I didn’t think it could possibly be him. Everyone knows the Hot Shots guys always throw their own Halloween party at that big off-campus party house they have.”
“Well, they picked a hell of a year to break that tradition,” I sigh. “Sorry, it’s not your fault. It’s just, this whole situation is so …”
“Hot?” Kayla cuts in.
“No,” I answer, narrowing my gaze. “Embarrassing. Awkward. Anxiety-inducing.”
“It’s not like you have to spend too much time around Liam, right?”
“I guess,” I answer.
I mean, it really was a freak occurrence to find myself alone with both my dad and Liam at the same time, in that enclosed space of the arena hallway. Dad will want me to go to more home games this year, I know that, and I’d feel bad turning him down. But hopefully I should be able to keep away from any interaction with the players.
I set off walking in the direction of my next class again, Kayla keeping pace with me. It’s a class I really don’t want to be late for: the first session of Social Media Management with Dr. Hoover.
“Well, my point still stands,” Kayla says. “You need to get laid. You’re a ball of anxiety lately.”
“I’m a ball of anxiety latelybecauseI took your advice the last time you said the same thing.”
“No, the last time you took my advice your anxiety and hang-ups over that worthless ex of yours melted away instantly. Remember?”
She does have a point.
One thing’s for sure: getting railed by Liam on Halloween totally got me over Will, once and for all.
Kayla presses on. “The fact that the guy you did it with happened to be one of your dad’s players turned out to be, let’s say, a complicating coincidence. But the basic concept was still a success. We just need to find you a new guy to get Liam out of your system. We’ll find him somewhere where people aren’t dressed up in costumes, so we can be sure he’s not on the hockey team. Or any sports team, just to be safe.”
Even though I’m not exactly excited at her proposal right now, there is a logic to what she’s saying.
“I’ll think about it,” I concede.
Kayla squeals in delight, latching onto my shoulder and jostling me excitedly. “I know that means yes!” A big chunk of our friendship involves me reluctantly agreeing to let her push me out of my comfort zone. “I could do with a new fling, myself, so we can both go hunk-hunting together.”
Things between Kayla and Bryan, the guy she was talking to last Halloween, sort of just tapered off, according to her.
“It’s a date,” I say, shaking my head with a smile. “But for now, this is my class. See you back home this afternoon.”
The classroom is small but full. This is an upper-level course in the business department; since the point of the course is to provide a lot of autonomy and initiative to the students and throw them into something close to a sink-or-swim environment, it’s restricted to students who have done most of the required coursework in the Business, Marketing, or Public Relations majors. Luckily, all my major-related credits from Georgia transferred over.
The classroom chatter dies down and heads snap to the front of the room when the professor, Dr. Marian Hoover, walks into the room.
