“Okay. I’m picking up what you’re putting down…cauliflower crust?” He questioned.
“It’s actually pretty good.” Fletcher began to pull the ingredients out of the fridge and put them on the counter. “I’m technically not supposed to consume gluten, so Cauliflower crust is my go-to.”
“Really? I didn’t know that. I feel like I’ve seen you eat stuff with gluten in it, though.”
Fletcher shrugged. “Yeah, I still like to indulge. I guess I’m a whore for gluten.”
He quickly prepared the pizzas and slid them into the oven. Taylor didn’t want any green peppers on his. “I’m more of a meat-lovers kinda guy,” he said before snorting at his own pun.
While they waited for the pizzas to cook, they took a seat on Fletcher’s couch on opposite ends. Fletcher reached for the remote. “I’m not really into video games,” he told Taylor. Well, he did like to play the occasional game on his iPad, but he wasn’t going to tell Taylor that. “Do you wannawatch TV or something?”
“I’d kinda just rather we sit here and scroll on our phones. I don’t really have the brain capacity to watch TV right now,” he answered truthfully. Fletcher had to hand it to him; the guy always spoke his mind. Sometimes that was a good thing but sometimes it wasn’t. Hence being the player in the league with the third longest amount of time in the penalty box.
“Sounds perfect,” Fletcher told him. Taylor pulled his phone out and began scrolling away on his Instagram probably. Fletcher grabbed his big iPad from the coffee table and opened it up on his lap. He rested his legs on the coffee table as he opened the ESPN app and read through the newest NHL updates.
Once the pizzas finished cooling off, he and Taylor took a seat at the kitchen island and chowed down. “Okay this cauliflower stuff is pretty good,” Taylor confessed after taking his first bite.
Fletcher looked at him and smiled as he chewed.
Taylor’s phone screen lit up with a text, which he immediately went to answer. Fletcher was a nosy guy. Nosy when it came to Taylor. He shamelessly leaned over the phone. “Who is it?” he asked.
“Emogen,” Taylor replied. “She’s gonna meet us in Boston next week to catch the game. I’m guessing she wants to go out after.”
The mention of Emogen had struck a nerve with Fletcher for some reason. “Are you and her,” Fletcher gulped, afraid to speak things into existence. He didn’t really like the idea of Taylor being with her. “Are you seeing her?”
Taylor didn’t look up from his phone. “In Boston, probably.” He said it like it wasn’t a big deal. “She just moved there for a job doing social media for the Red Sox.” Fletcher couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing, her moving across the country. Taylor seemed completely indifferent about it. So whythe hell was he a little bothered by it?
Finally finishing up his texting conversation, Taylor put his phone down and looked at him. “How’s it going with… Molly?” he asked as he took another bite of his pizza.
“Maude,” he corrected. “Good, I guess. It’s weird being with the same person for so long,” he admitted. Fletcher suddenly realized he was supposed to meet her for dinner the night before they left for Boston. Honestly, Maude was nice, but she was too boring for Fletcher’s taste.
He was pretty picky about the kinds of women he kept around, which was exactly why he didn’t really keep any woman around for longer than a week or so. Even a week was pushing it for him. These days, the only things he cared for was hockey and hanging out with his friends. Girls were an afterthought.
Taylor snorted. “It hasn’t even been two months, Romeo.”
Fletcher looked at him and shrugged. “She says she really likes you guys. I guess I should start bringing her around more if we’re in Seattle.” Maude actually had a lot to say about his friends based off the handful of interactions she’d had with them. Taylor mostly. Fletcher had a feeling she didn’t really like him, which kind of got on his nerves. What got on his nerves even more was the fact that she and Taylor would teasingly flirt with each other as if they got under each other’s skin.
“Who’s her favorite?” Taylor was digging his own grave asking a question like that.
Fletcher pondered for a minute. “Sánchez, but that’s only because he flirts with her the most.”
“Sánchez flirts with anything that breathes. That’s why Katherine dumped his sorry ass.”
They both laughed at their friend’s stupidity and finished their food in comfortable silence. Taylor helped Fletcher load thedishwasher and start it before returning to the couch. Fletcher took his same spot as earlier, but Taylor decided to move closer to him. “Jesus, Fletch. That is the biggest iPad I have ever seen.”
Fletcher snorted, but Taylor was right. The thing was comically large. He unwrapped it as a gift from his parents two Christmases ago and couldn’t help but laugh at the size of it.
“I watch my hockey on it. I don’t ever use my TV unless I have people over,” he confessed. Not that he ever had many people over.
“So you only watch hockey?”
“I guess so.” Wow, Fletcher was really lame.
Taylor leaned in closer to see whatever game Fletcher had pulled up, turning the iPad so he could see it a little better. They watched it together, throwing out the occasional comments about their opponents.
“So, who’s your favorite?” Taylor asked him.
“Team?” Fletcher asked him, confused. He didn’t understand what Taylor was referring to since the question came out of nowhere.
