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“Must be nice having all that trust fund money,” Michaela said, elbowing him with a cheeky grin on her face.
“Oh, as if your family is broke,” Tate shot back. “Didn’t your dad get in trouble for accepting millions in dark money for his Super PAC a few years ago?”
As the two of them jokingly sparred, I kept an amiable smile pasted on my face so they wouldn’t realize how much I was spiraling. This stuff wasn’t their problem—it was all mine. I had to move on and stop being so damn weak-willed. Had to stop myself from falling apart when someone suggested something as simple as a local sports event.
The game started at seven, so the three of us ate at the dining hall before traipsing north across the campus.
“The new arena looks awesome,” Tate said as we huddled together against the sudden cold wind blowing through the area. “Apparently it took five years to construct it all.”
“So this new team has been planned for a while?” I asked, glancing at him.
“Yeah, there weren’t any NCAA teams in DC before this. So it was in the works for a long time.”
“I’m just trying to picture a giant new arena amongst all these old buildings,” I said, making a sweeping gesture at the towering Gothic buildings surrounding us. “Doesn’t it look out of place?”
“Nope. It’s in the new section on the other side of 23rd Street. Where the old treasury building used to be.”
I groaned. “You mean there’s even more to explore?”
“Yup. Sorry. We really should’ve taken you there earlier.”
It felt like we’d already wandered around Worthington for hours today. I had no idea there was another section of the campus on top of all that. It honestly blew my mind how they managed to pack so much into such a small pocket of Foggy Bottom.
Michaela shrugged one shoulder. “I doubt any of your classes will be in the new buildings,” she said. “It’s mostly for sciences over there.”
“Including sports science, presumably?”
Tate nodded. “Yup. I have a friend studying physical therapy. He gets to do prac stuff with the Blades.” He paused and pointed ahead of us. “There it is.”
Even from across the street, the grandeur of the arena was impossible to ignore. It was huge and imposing, fashioned with sleek modern lines of glass and steel that embodied power and athleticism. Towering banners, emblazoned with the Blades’ red, black, and white team colors and logo fluttered in the wind, signaling the arena’s allegiance.
“Let’s go.” Tate grinned and motioned for us to cross the street after a car cruised past us. “Don’t worry about the tickets. They’re on my phone.”
I tucked my hands in my jacket pocket and took a deep breath as we stepped through the entrance to join the hordes of fans making their way to their seats. Excited energy thrummed throughout the arena as upbeat music pounded through the speakers, and several groups of fans unfurled banners to hold up once the game started. Every so often, someone set off an air horn, which would always be followed by a rousing cheer.
We located our seats in the ticket-holder section—Tate was right, they were good spots in the lower rows close to the rink—and settled in. I looked around, taking in the bright lights, enthusiastic fans, and pumping music. This place was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I felt totally fine. Even a little excited.
A crowd of people in black and orange attire sat on the other side of the ice, holding matching banners and tassels. “Is that the other team?” I asked, nudging Tate. “Their supporters, I mean.”
“Yup. From Princeton.” He cocked his head and gave me a side-eyed glance. “I should’ve asked earlier. How much do you actually know about hockey?”
“Well, you’ve talked about it almost every day since we were kids, so let’s see…” I jokingly tapped the side of my head. “Somehow I’ve managed to retain zero information.”
He let out an amused snort. “Really? None of my obsessive ranting and raving got through?”
“Sorry.” I grinned. “You know I’ve never been sporty. I did try to listen, though! I swear.”
“I know. Just like I’ve always listened to your nutty fan theories about Supernatural.” He returned my smile and ruffled my hair. “Don’t worry, it’s easy to understand, so you can pick it up as they play. But I’ll give you one tip to enjoy it better.”
“Yeah?”
He dipped his chin toward the rink. “When it gets started, don’t always follow the puck. A lot of the action takes place away from it.”
“Uh… how so?”
He laughed and shook his head. “You’ll see.”
Michaela leaned over from the seat on my other side. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay with this?” she asked in a low voice.
