Despite swearing off athletes for good, Freya Pfieffer can't help but fall for the sweet and perfectly endearing defenseman who meets her gaze at a Montreal Canadiens game. Freya is left spinning-wondering if she should make an exception for Cole Ca...
Freya is scary when she's pissed. Cole already knew that—but his friends clearly did not. They're all crowded together on the couches, eyes glazed over like they've just been scolded by a parent. No one looks up except for Cole, who watches Tate take a few steps closer to the rest of them. She picks nervously at her fingernails, refusing to lift her gaze from the floor.
"Tate?" Jess prompts from beside Cole. "Are you actually sleeping with one of them?"
Cole sees her gulp before she finally picks up her chin. She looks at Freya. "How did you know?" she asks quietly.
Freya holds her phone out between them, and Tate takes it, staring at the screen for several seconds before sighing.
Alex is the next one to speak. "So?" he presses. "Who is it?"
Cole looks around at his friends, most of whom are still staring hard at the floor—except for Brady and Josh, who exchange a glance that tells Cole everything he needs to know. Freya must see it, too. "No fucking way," she mutters, jaw dropped.
Now everyone looks up. After another pause, Brady blurts, "So can I get a redo on pong now where I can actually try? Because I swear I don't suck that much."
"Dude!" Josh shouts back at him.
"Oh my god," Trevor exhales. "There's no way."
There is no prying a single eye off of Josh Norris; Cole thinks he has to be dreaming. Trevor's right: there's no way. I mean—Josh? Harmless, ever non-confrontational, and annoyingly friendly. That Josh? With Tate? A sarcastic, man-eating dancer at a strip-club. It's so preposterous that Cole lets out a laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Tate snaps at him, her cheeks flushed.
"He's probably laughing at the fact that it's Norris," Trevor chimes in, chuckling. "I didn't even know the guy had spoken to a girl before."
Josh rolls his eyes. "Okay, cool it," he groans.
Freya is stammering. "How?" she demands. "When?"
Brady answers for them. "You remember that night we met you guys in Tampa?" he remarks. "Norris went down in the night to check on them, and he never came back."
"Okay, hold on!" Tate interjects. "That was just him being nice—nothing happened that night. I just sat outside with him after Freya and Riles fell asleep and we talked. That was it."
"Oh yeah," Brady counters sarcastically, "and then nothing ever happened after that."
"Do you ever shut the fuck up?" Josh snaps at him, which prompts Brady to throw his head back in laughter.
"Oh my god!" Cole yells to Josh in disbelief. "That's why you had condoms on you when you came to play us."
Riley's eyes are wide as she asks, "You guys had sex that night after we all hung out?"
"Oh, they had sex plenty of times before that," Brady corrects, and he's met with screams to shut up from both Tate and Josh. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," he chides.
"Well now you have to tell us everything," Jess concludes.
Tate, groaning, storms across the living room to squeeze in beside Josh. Cole has to admit it's sweet when Josh sets a hand down on Tate's thigh in silent reassurance. Honestly, it makes him feel a little guilty. "You guys don't have to tell us," Cole begins, but a roar from the rest of the group sends him back into silence.
"I mean, there isn't much to tell," Tate murmurs. "After Freya left to go back to Montreal from Florida, I stayed another night at the hotel, and they were there still, too." She gestures between Brady and Josh. "Josh and I spent that night together, and then we just kept talking after that."
She falls quiet, and Brady is quick to jump in. "Oh come on!" he exclaims. "Don't pretend Norris hasn't been driving two and a half hours every night you're off work and staying with you in Montreal."
"What?" Freya shouts, eyes wide.
"I mean—you were at Cole's," explains Tate.
Josh adds, "I was worried about Frey's ex, too. I didn't want T to be alone."
"Boo!" Brady cuts in. "Stop acting like that was the only reason you two kept seeing each other!"
"Why are you still talking?" Josh snaps back at him, which just makes Brady grin.
He observes, "Come on, she's put a little fire in you—even on the ice."
Cole has to admit—Josh has been playing crazy good hockey lately, and it did start right around the time he and Brady were in Florida.
When no one speaks for a moment, Brady continues to Tate, "Seriously, this guy has driven me nuts for the past month and a half talking about you, and now you're both just gonna be silent?" He shakes his head. "Go ahead—tell everybody who else knows."
Cole glances over at Freya, whose gaze has narrowed. Under her stare, Tate murmurs, "Nick knows."
Now it's Jess that screams incredulously, "What?"
Freya chimes in next: "So what—are you guys, like, dating?" She raises her eyebrows at them.
Everyone turns to look, too.
At this, Tate seems to sink a little further into the couch at the question, but after a beat she replies slowly, "Yeah."
That's all it takes to send the group into frantic celebration, all of them pouncing as Josh puts his arm across Tate to keep her from getting squished by the pile-up. Even Freya's anger dissipates, and she joins the others. Fortunately, Tate and Josh just laugh, even as the group collapses on them.
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joshnorris10: at least now i get to brag about having the most beautiful girlfriend in the world :)
tagged: tate_oconnor
♥ Liked by tate_oconnor and 8,946 others.
Comments:
tate_oconor: our friends are ACTUALLY insane. genuinely wouldn't survive them without you :)
↪↪n_suzuki37: all right now hold on i better not be included in that
↪↪↪bradytkachuk: yeah me either, ive been so good
trevorzegras: norris has gotta be packing
↪kandre.miller: brooo 💀
freya.elise.x: might never forgive y'all for keeping it from us, but gotta admit you're the perfect pair ❤️
↪tate_oconnor: i love you
_quinnhughes: TWO?!? COUPLES ?!?! IN THE FRIEND GROUP?!
↪joshnorris10: all bets are off at this point, could be another secret one
jackhughes: turc punching the air right now
↪_alexturcotte: the one that got away 😩
↪↪tate_oconnor: yeah, yeah, now get out of my room so i can finally sleep with my boyfriend
