And I know, with a certainty I can’t ignore, that lunch was just the beginning.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
HARRISON
The locker room smells like stick tape, hockey gear, and, if I’m being honest, ass. Guys are pulling on gear, chirping across benches, music thumping low in the background. It’s energized chaos and it’s always like this before a game. Today should feel routine.
But it doesn’t.
Because Harper and Connor are coming to the game tonight and that’s all new for me. I can’t make any sense out of what I’ve been feeling other than I’m just fucking excited for them to be here watching me play.
And dammit, I really want to kiss Harper.
I just have to figure out a way to do itnotin front of Connor.
The last thing I want to do is upset him or ruin the experience of coming to the game, but part of me is ready to let Harper know how I feel.
Or at least show her.
I’m halfway through taping my stick when Oliver flops down beside me, elbows braced on his knees, grin already loaded like a weapon. Whatever’s about to come out of his mouth, it can’t be good.
“So,” he says casually, “I hear we’ve got special guests tonight.”
I don’t look up. “Yep.”
Ledger snorts from across the room. “That’s not the denial I expected.”
Griffin swivels in front of his stall. “Connor and Harper, right?”
Barrett looks up from adjusting his pads. “Wait, for real?Your girl is coming tonight? And she’s bringing the kid?”
“TheHarper,” Bodhi says, eyes lighting up like Christmas. “The one who makes Meers weak in the knees. The one who makes his jock strap super uncomfortable.”
“Shut up,” I mutter, but I’m smiling despite myself because he’s not wrong.
August—ever the instigator—leans back against his locker, arms crossed. “Alright, important question.”
Oh, here it comes.
“Have you kissed her yet?”
The room goes dead quiet.
Six sets of eyes swing to me.
I clear my throat. “No.”
Barrett drops his helmet onto the bench. “You’re telling me the woman you’ve been quietly losing your mind over for weeks?—”
“Uh, make that years, Bear,” Ledger corrects him, raising his hand like he’s in a fucking classroom.
“Right. Years.” Bear nods. “She’s coming to the game with your kid and you haven’t kissed her yet?”
“It hasn’t—” I stop and try to reframe my thought. “I just haven’t found the right moment.”
Ledger squints. “Buddy. If this isn’t the moment tonight, I don’t know what is. We’re going to win this game and you’ve got to kiss your girl.”
Bodhi grins. “You planning on kissing her on the jumbotron? Because I’d pay money to see that.”
