“Colt,” I objected.
“What size?” the employee asked with a knowing smile.
Colt put out a hand. “Yeah, what size, Violet? We’re all waiting.”
I shot him a glare that covered my grin. “You’re gonna pay for this.”
Colt pulled out his wallet and held it up. “Yeah, that’s the idea.”
I rolled my eyes and stomped my foot, and Colton laughed.
I sighed. I wasn’t winning this one. “Biggest size you’ve got. It looks comfy for sleep.”
Colt quirked a brow. “I thought you slept in your bedclothes?”
My mouth gaped. “You remember that?”
I tended to sleep naked, and I’ve always justified it that sheets are called “bedclothes” for a reason.
Colt leaned in to speak in my ear. “I had a hot girlfriend during my formative years who liked to sleep naked, Violet. Of course I remember.”
The cashier announced the total, a number I’d never let myself spend at the bookstore. Colt tapped his card and leaned an elbow on the counter.
“By the way, you’re pretty.” He winked at me.
I shot him a quizzical look and he gestured to one of our tote bags, now full of books. “You know. The shirt. I bought you books and told you you’re pretty.”
EIGHTEEN
COLTON
OCTOBER | COLUMBUS, OHIO
“Alright.Let’s air it all out. We can’t be a competitive team this year if we’re still picking at each other. I want us to have a united front against other teams and stop with the infighting. Everybody who was here last year, name one thing you want to improve for this year, and make one suggestion for someone else in the room. New guys, name one skill you want to improve, and one thing you want to learn from someone else on the team.”
Mixed emotions lit the faces of my teammates, everybody sitting in their lockers. It was the last practice before we left for our first preseason road game, and we still had plenty of old beefs from the year before to put behind us.
“I’ll go first,” Yevgeny Dotsenko, “Dottie,” said.
“Go on.”
“I want to improve our power play strategy,” he started, “and I want Sorrento to not be such a little bitch this year.”
I let out a heavy sigh and rubbed my forehead while Coach barked at him. “This is exactly what we’re trying to get away from.”
“It was just a joke, Cap. It’s better if Sorrento’s still a little bitch. We have a good thing going.” Dottie stood and walked over to wrap Sorrento in an over-the-top hug. “Love you, Pickles.”
“Love you too, bud.”
“Oh my god,” I groaned. “Well. I guess it’s an improvement. Okay, somebody else go.”
Our newest rookie raised his hand. I fought a laugh and called on him. “Owen.”
He cleared his throat and stood. “My name is Owen?—”
“We know, kid,” Leroy said. “This isn’t freshman orientation.”
My head sagged back on my shoulders. “Leroy, fuck off. Let him talk.”
