Hockey Book

Chapter 2: Icy No

Parker

I'm laying on my back on my cushy bed when Ashley gets home. It's late, too late for her to have been doing anything other than what I think she's been doing. I throw my feet in the air and let them hover above my hips as I gaze up at my green fuzzy socks.

"Hey, Kit." Ashley greets me as she slams the door shut and throws her purse down.

I roll my eyes but don't look away from my feet. "Finally, you're home."

"Hey," she scolds, "you're supposed to say Kat."

A stupid tradition we've had since forever. "I will when you tell me what took you so long and if you brought home dinner."

She smiles at me and whips her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Chris and I were having some alone time, and yes, I brought you some Chinese food."

"Ugh, you suck. We just had that." I groan.

She sighs and gets busy de-glamorizing herself in our tiny apartment bathroom. "Well I'm sorry, Kit. But you still owe me your share of the rent." She raises her voice and her words echo off the bathroom walls and greet me like a slap to the face.

I let my feet drop on the bed with a thump and sit up, fingering the silver necklace dangling from my neck. "Don't worry about it, David sent me some money. I'll send it your way."

She reappears outside the bathroom with half her makeup smeared, a makeup wipe in her hand, a scowl on her face. "Why is that asshole sending you money?"

"Because he– he wants me to stay here, you know, out of the way, which I can't do if I'm too broke to pay for it." I tell her with a frown.

She ducks back into the bathroom to finish her night routine and yells back to me, "Have you told your mom, or anyone, that you didn't sign up for classes this year?"

"No," I admit glumly. "Too afraid of what they'll say."

She mocks a fake laugh. "You? Afraid?"

"Well, you know my brothers, I just–"

"Oh, I do, I really do." she taunts in a flirty voice.

"Ash, your boyfriend?" I remind her. I pull myself off my bed and head to the kitchen in search of the food.

"I know, I was just joking. Geez."

"I just don't want David rubbing salt in the wound. I don't need him knowing how bad it really is, and I don't need my siblings knowing it either. It's only for a semester, anyway. I've already got a full-time job so I can pay for next semester's classes with the money I make during this one."

She reappears for a second time in the doorway and looks at me as I pull out a spring roll and take a crunchy bite. "But you can still cover your share of the rent, right? I mean I know living so close to the campus is tough, but it's better than having to buy a car and living far away."

"Yeah, I know. It'll be fine." I hear my phone buzz on the bed and make my way back over to it as Ashley slinks back into the bathroom. It's a text from my older brother, Kayce, saying he'll be in town in a couple weeks. I don't bother announcing the good news to Ashley. She'll probably just start drooling over how gorgeous she thinks he is. Instead I tuck my phone away and flop back down on the bed. "Besides, not having to worry about college for an entire semester thrills me just thinking about it."

She gasps. "Does that mean you're up for some fun?"

I hesitate and give my necklace a light tug. "What kind of fun? I'm telling you, Ash, if it involves me stripping naked and running through campus again I'm not doing it."

"Oh, relax, not that kind of fun. I'm talking about hanging out with some new people, maybe finding a guy... maybe having some sex." She wanders back into the bedroom with a naked face, her hair brushed to silky perfection.

I throw a pillow at her as she approaches the bed with a taunting smile. "That sounds like your kind of fun, not mine."

"Oh, come on, Kit–"

"Kat, you're my friend, my only friend, and I like it that way. And you're a liability as it is so don't push it. I don't need a guy, and I don't need a fuck buddy, or whatever it is you're trying to get me into."

She sighs and her eyes trail over my face as she studies me. Then she flops down on her own bed and props her head up with her arm. "Okay, but what about a distraction– a cute distraction."

"Go on," I prompt with a hint of hesitance in my voice.

Her face lights up at my prompt and she flashes her dazzling teeth, her blue eyes sparkling with interest. "Okay, so you know how Chris plays hockey? Well I want to bring you to a game this weekend. And before you say no, just know that it'll be so much fun and there's gonna be cute hockey guys there that Chris can hook you up with." she baits.

"I didn't know hockey was that big in South Carolina." I admit.

"Well, Chris says it's getting more popular. I really want to go to this specific game on Saturday. Apparently, they're playing their rivals. It should be a lot of fun." She sings the last sentence in a tempting sort of tone.

I suck in a breath and run a finger across the charm on my necklace in thought. She should know by now that she doesn't need to beg me to do something as trivial as this, but I like that she still does. Makes me feel wanted– no, needed which is something I need reassurance of sometimes. "Alright, I'll go with you. But you better not force any kind of connection with any of these hockey guys you keep mentioning. If it happens, it happens."

"Okay, deal." She shrieks in excitement. Then her eyes fall down to my hand that's resting on my chest. "You should really get rid of that necklace, Parker. It's doing you nothing but harm."

I bite my lip nervously. I expected that sooner or later she'd say something about it, but I'm just not ready to part with it. Instead I go for a change of subject. "My mom wants me to go home for fall break."

"Oh," she says glumly. She shuffles into her covers and rests her head on her plush pillows as she looks at me. "Are you gonna–"

"No. Fuck that, and fuck David, too. All that asshole wanted to do was run me away since the first day I met him and my mom did nothing to stop him. I'm not rewarding her by going back."

"Yeah, I don't blame you." We let some silence stretch between us for a moment, and I realize how tired I am as the air starts to burn my eyes. "Well, Kit."

"Yeah, it's time for bed, Kat." I shimmy under the covers and turn over. I'm asleep before she even says goodnight.