“I don’t want to blast any player. Locker room stuff is sacred, and I’m sorry if that sounds shitty, but I believe it. Teammates have moments in there, good and bad, and part of the strength of the team is keeping those private.” I ran a hand over my face now, tensing when Coach Simpson looked up and met my gaze from the bench.
His dark bushy eyebrows were set in a firm line, and he narrowed his eyes. My stomach about bottomed out, but I nodded at him. Naomi lifted a hand in a wave which he didn’t return.
“Oof, he looks pissed.”
“Yeah. Yeah, he does,” I said.
“Should we say our goodbyes now? I don’t want to drag it out, but I feel like a quick hug would be okay? You’re definitely gone after today,” she said, teasing me.
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. I nudged my arms against hers, making her laugh in response, and just like that, the nervous ball ofoh shitdissipated. “Well done. I needed that.”
“My dad is a reasonable guy. If you called out shitty behavior, then shame on him for not doing it himself. I don’t think you’ll be fired from a job where you earn no money, but not many people stand up to him. He’s an intimidating human and very few cross him. There are pros and cons to that.”
“For sure, but what I’m having a hard time with is the fact he has to see this shit is going on, yet he’s not dealing with it.” My knee bounced again. “He’s been a coach forever. He knows his stuff and has his methods, but instead of trusting them, I took matters into my own hands. That’s not being a good teammate.”
“Talk to him. He’ll listen.”
“Are you sure? No offense, Fletcher, but I’m sensing you have some unresolved issues there that you haven’t brought up with him either.”
Naomi groaned, and the lightness in her eyes disappeared. Great. Now I pissed her off. I was just going through the Fletcher-Simpson family tree, making them all angry. Was Cami around so I could annoy her next? At the reminder of her sister, I made a fist.
“Hey, hold up,” I said, turning to her so my thigh pressed all the way against hers. “Real talk, did you ever speak with your sister? I wanted to ask you all week but couldn’t get ahold of you. I did search for you online, but there are like four Naomi Fletchers on social media, and two of them were a picture of a goat.”
Her lips twitched, and she ran her teeth over her bottom lip. “Maybe one of those is mine.”
“Okay, then I need an explanation why your picture is a goat. They were both very cute and pretty. Gorgeous goats.”
She swatted my arm just as the horn blasted to announce the starting line-ups. We paused conversation as we stood for the anthem. The rival team, the Woodhens, didn’t have an empty seat in the house, and I took a small step closer to Naomi to get away from a very large man to my right.
The movement had our hands touching, and I didn’t pull away. That contact of her small hands against mine sent a zing of electricity up my arm, all the way to my chest. Huh.
I was suddenly reminded how long it’d been since I hooked up with someone. At least a month. A long time for me. I used my other hand to adjust the hem of my hoodie and held my breath when Naomi perched on her tiptoes.
“Oh my gosh, look at their goalie,” she whispered, her lips almost touching my ear. “He’s picking his nose during the anthem.”
“How un-American,” I said, my tight voice surely giving away my reaction to her proximity. She smelled like fresh spring and lemons, and she even gripped my bicep for support as she stood. I swallowed hard. “I think guys forget we can see them all.”
She snorted and went back to her normal height, moving her mouth away from my neck. My entire body was on high alert from the locker room incident, and after adding in this insane awareness of Naomi, it was going to be a long night.
The best distraction for all of my problems? Hockey. I focused on Coach Simpson, how he watched the guys with his signature intense stare. Was he looking for signs of weakness or lack of focus? Or did he notice how Cal stood just a bit too far away from the other four on the ice?
Did he see Helsing and Erikson have an angry discussion while they warmed up? A part of me felt like it was about Cal, about what I said in the locker room, and my face heated,again.
We sat back down, and I angled myself closer to Naomi, and she did the same. There was a group of older women to her left who clearly had some drinks, and it was like slow motion when the woman waved her hand in the air, the very full beer sloshing around, andsplat.
“Shit!” Naomi gasped. Beer covered her hat, face, and sweatshirt. Annoyance prickled down my spine.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” The woman paled and wobbled a bit. “You’re covered in beer. It’s shitty beer too. I didn’t want to pay for the good stuff.”
Naomi stared at her hands, her eyes wide as beer dripped off her face onto her shoulders. “Am I in a movie?”
“Here. Here. Take this!” The woman shoved a hundred dollar bill at Naomi. “I never thought I’d be this sloppy, but Marge and Linda insisted on the shots. The shots! What am I? In college again? No. I’m old now. Go buy a new sweatshirt and clean up, hon. Have that handsome man of yours help you.”
“Bud Light?” Naomi said after an awkward silence.
“Yes.”
“It tastes horrible.”
