S MELANIE FLICKED THROUGH THE TV ON HER DAY OFF, she had to listen to Abigail go on and on about the hockey game she went to last night. Melanie tried to hide her lack of interest by nodding with every exclamation that came out of her friend's mouth. There was just something about hockey that bored her to death, and nothing would change her mind on that, not even the fact that her own students were playing.
"It was amazing, Mel," Abi said as she bounced up and down on Melanie's couch, and Melanie silently cried for the dents that would soon be in her cushions. "You should have been there. They were just gliding across the ice, and the puck was going here and there, and the game was so close. But your boy came across the ice and slammed that puck right into the goal, and it was over. You should have seen him on the ice, Mel. Noah Walker is something special, man. No one can touch him."
"Now you know that I don't like hockey," Melanie told her friend as she finally settled on the National Geographic channel that would surely bore Abigail, but would entertain her. And surely, the moment Melanie placed her remote down, Abigail picked it up and began to flick through the channels. This was why she didn't like it when her friend came over. Sometimes, Abigail forgot they didn't live together anymore, and Melanie was the only one paying the bills.
As Abigail continued to flip through the channels, she said, "You should really come. At least so you can see Noah play. I know you want to see your favorite student play."
Favorite student? Since when had Noah become her favorite student. Yes, she was able to get along with him now, and, sometimes, was able to joke with him, but Noah was just that, her student. Nothing more and nothing less. Besides, she didn't play favoritism when it came down to her students. That was totally unethical and unfair.
But when Melanie thought about how passionate Noah was about playing hockey, she thought to herself that maybe she wouldn't mind seeing him play once. If not only just to see what all the fuss was about.
"I'll think about it," Melanie said as she wrestled with the idea of sending Noah a text and telling him congratulations on his win. But when she thought about how she got Noah's number because he took her phone while they were eating Subway on campus, and he programmed his number there, it seemed just as unprofessional as how he placed his number in her phone. It had nothing to do with school work, which any corresponding outside of school with a student should be about. She would tell him congratulations when she saw him for tutoring on Monday.
Melanie stood on her feet, taking the remote from Abigail's hand and ignoring her friend's indignation as she turned her TV off.
"Didn't you say you had a date with someone you met on Tinder, and you didn't want to meet him too late?"
"Oh, shit! Thanks for reminding me," Abigail said as she stood up. "I totally forgot."
Abigail bounced over to the mirror on Melanie's wall and fixed her clothes as she made sure every hair was in place in her ponytail.
"You should try Tinder too, Mel," Abigail told her, and Melanie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. There was no way in hell she was getting on Tinder to meet a guy. She could just feel the mortification at the idea of introducing her boyfriend and telling the story about how they met through a swipe. Nope. She wouldn't bother with it.
But it seemed that Abigail had different plans. Before Melanie could reach her cell phone, Abigail bounced across the room and grabbed it instead.
"What are you doing?" Melanie asked, exasperated by her over hyperactive friend's actions. When Abigail passed back her phone a minute later, there was a newly downloaded app on there. Tinder.
Melanie immediately went to delete it.
"No," Abigail whined. "Don't waste all of my efforts. At least try it. I know you still haven't checked off marriage on your list. So maybe this will be the best opportunity for you to find the man you're going to marry."
She wished she would have never shown Abigail her check-off list. Now, whenever her friend got the chance, she was always trying to hook her up with someone. But if Melanie ever found love, it wouldn't be on some app. She would like to think that meeting her partner would be more romantic than that.
"Whatever," Melanie said, tossing her phone in her purse without deleting the app. She'll remind herself to do it later after she finished grocery shopping. By then, Abigail would already be on her date, and if it went like any of her other Tinder dates went, she would be in bed with someone by then, forgetting all about the app that she put on her best friend's phone.
"Let's go," Melanie said as she ushered Abigail out of her apartment so she could walk over to the grocery store and place much-needed food in her refrigerator.
CHAPTER
15
NOAH
W
HEN NOAH WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING AFTER THE GAME, OR, MAYBE, it was more accurate to say the next afternoon, his limbs ached, and his body was hammered. He wasn't quite sure if it was from the elbows he had taken during the game, or from all the alcohol he had drunk last night in celebration of their first win of the season, but either way even with the slight pain, nothing could take him down from his high.
He hoped this would be the first of many wins, and they would keep up with this winning streak all the way to the finals.
"The game was a monster last night," Dale said as he scratched his neck, a slight rasp in his voice from all the partying they had done last night. After the game, they had to celebrate, and so everyone came downtown to their friend's house, who always had the best parties. Noah had been so fucked up that there was no way possible he was going to make it home, so he had stayed along with some of his other teammates, Dale being one of them.
"You guys killed it," Noah's friend and old teammate, Adam said. This was his house, along with two other friends he split the rent with. Noah thought it was a terrible idea to move forty minutes away from campus, but Adam thought it was worth it because of how nice the area was. If Noah moved off campus, it damn sure wouldn't be this far away.
"Let me use your shower," Noah said, feeling dirty as he stood off the couch he had slept on. There were people shrouded across the floor, and as he walked towards the back, he felt his stomach growl.
"Yeah, go ahead. You can put on some of my clothes if you want," Adam told him.
Noah took a hot shower, getting rid of the fog in his head. When he finished, taking his friend's offer and borrowing one of his shirts, Noah came back into the living room feeling better again. This time everyone was up, and the few stragglers who had still been there were gone.
