She performed the whole “Oh, who?” farce fairly well, to her credit.
“Good luck this weekend,” Casey said. “We’re pullin’ for you, bud.”
“Thanks.” Logan nodded and continued on his way, setting the ice cream in the cart.
“You get that a lot?” I asked once we’d turned into the snack aisle.
“Some. It’s Calgary. People are nice about it.”
“Still weird, though, right?” Maddie pulled a bag of Doritos from the shelf.
Logan shrugged. “Not that different from Douglas.”
Chase laughed and nodded. “Campus celebrities.”
That was true. The guys on the Outlaws team couldn’t go anywhere after a big win without people trying to be buddy-buddy with them, dig up insider info, or get in their pants.
“It’s kind of different.” I grabbed a box of chocolate Teddy Grahams and added it to the cart. “But I’m sure there are benefits, right?”
Maddie gave me a look. I was being a brat, but couldn’t quite stop it. She read the signs and looped her arm in mine, then strode up the aisle. “Hey, friend. How are you?”
“So good.”
She stopped, staring up at the cookies. “You invited him, remember?”
“I was trying to be nice.”
“And now you decided to . . . not?”
I blew out a breath, checking to make sure he and Chase weren’t listening. They were chatting across the cart. “It’s just weird. He’s barely talked with Rob. Hasn’t reached out to the team. Like, why do all this when you’re not even willing to put forth effort with those guys?”
“Uh, it makes perfect sense. The team was pissed about everything. He’s probably nervous to talk to them again, and this is something he can do without seeing them face to face.”
Oh. Yeah. There was that.
“It’s a nice gesture. Even if he’s trying to buy his way back into their good graces, at least he’s trying,” she finished.
“Should’vetriednot to snog other girls at Juniors.”
Maddie leaned closer. “How guilty do you think he feels? Do you think we can get him to pay half?”
I snorted. “Whatever, your boyfriend has an actual job. You don’t even have to pay for gas anymore.”
She pulled her arm free with a scoff. “Uh, I filled uphistruck today.”
“Because you drive it more than he does! Don’t you have a car?”
“It’s going to snow soon.” Maddie grinned and pulled me back to the cart where we caught Logan saying, “Your winger, McTavish—kid’s got wheels.”
Chase chuckled. “Yeah, he and Leduc are dynamite until they forget they’re not shooting for solo careers. Every line change is a soap opera.” He turned to Maddie, his face lighting up at the mere sight of her.
Maddie grinned. “Crystal, how about you go and help Logan with the diapers? We’ll grab the rest of the snacks and meet you at the front?”
If I thought “grab the rest of the snacks” was a euphemism for “Make out behind the water jugs on the next aisle down,” I might not have argued.
I started, “How about?—”
“Hey, don’t talk back to your mom.” Logan smirked and put out an arm like he expected me to take it. As if.
