“I should have something. Are we tailgating with Vi and Phoenix?” Sadie asks.
“As long as Phoenix isn’t a weirdo again, yeah.” I comment. I know Sadie had a logical answer about the way he behaved, I just can’t quite figure out why it bothered me so much.
Sadie and I say our goodbyes and head to our respective homes for the evening. We’ll see each other in less than twenty-four hours for the game.
Chapter 23
Archer
Iwalk into our regular home game hotel, my suitcase trailing behind me. Staying late had me relying on Jason more than I like to, thank God he’s amazing and I make a mental note to give him a pay raise. He got my suit picked up from the dry cleaner’s and he even managed to order me a new pair of funny socks, as part of my pregame ritual. Some guys like to treat pregame arrivals like fashion shows. Ty comes to mind in that aspect, but I’ve never been one for fashion. Hell, Cassie picked out most of my clothes until recently. The only thing I’ve ever been really into is socks. I like to wear goofy socks with my suits. It started all the way back in high school when we had to wear suits for game day and the only thing I could control was the socks I wore.
I’m pretty sure Jason makes a game out of it now when I ask him to find me socks. He finds the most outrageous ones, and buys two pairs, one for me and one for him. He says it’s team morale, us and our matching socks. Tomorrow’s socks consist of Coach’s face in his shark costume from last year’s Trunk or Treat.
Once I’m in the hotel room, I hang up my suit, lay out my socks and shoes, and head down to the team dinner. I ultimately decided to leave my phone in my room to charge since I forgot to last night.
“Okay,” Cameron begins as we’re all seated and eating. “I know you have a girlfriend.” Cameron says, looking at me. “But what are the rest of you dressing up as for Trunk or Treat?”
“What does me having a girlfriend have anything to do with what I’m wearing?” I ask.
“I just assumed that you would be matching with Ellie.”
I blink in response to that. “We didn’t discuss matching costumes.”
“Oh! Well then, I guess you can be included in this conversation as well.” Cameron continues.
“I already have a Mandalorian costume picked out and ready to go.” Ty responds.
“I have a Ron Burgundy suit. I plan on shaving my beard into his mustache. Mack is going to be Brian Fontana.” Deej explains.
Truth be told, I didn’t even think of a costume. “I was just planning on wearing a Tucker Cade Thundersnow jersey and blacking out a few of my teeth. You know a stereotypical hockey player look.” I answer. “But now I feel like I should check with Ellie. I really wish I wouldn’t have left my phone upstairs now.” I mutter.
“You have a few days, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” Deej assures me. “And if not, I’m sure it will be fine.”
The conversation veers away from Halloween costumes and remains away as the night goes on. When we finally finish our meals and our mandatory team meetings, we part ways and head to our rooms.
I grab my phone off the charger to see a message from Ellie. I open it to be greeted with the topless pumpkin picture I requested earlier. Grinning, I type out a response. Only to be met with a phone call.
“Hey.” I smile, turning the call on facetime. Ellie’s hair is wet and she’s wearing a pink fluffy bathrobe. She’s propped up against her headboard, and I think she might have been reading a book.
“How was dinner?”
“Uhm, it would have been a thousand times better if I had taken my phone with me.” I smirk. She grins sheepishly. Not wanting to run the risk of not getting any more photos like that I change the topic. “We talked about costumes. Cameron was looking for ideas.”
“Oh, what are you planning on being?” She asks.
“Well, I guess that depends, are we matching?”
Ellie smiles brightly at that. “We can! Sadie ditched me and said she’s going as princess Leia. Since when has she been into Star Wars? But whatever. Any ideas?”
I shake my head.
“Oh! I have a great idea!”
“Yeah?”
“It’s going to be a surprise. Text me Jason’s number.”
“I don’t know if I like this…”
