“I’ve gotta say, the days you cook are the best, dude.” I give him a thumbs up.
Cameron chuckles, running his fingers through his hair to tame the tousled brown locks before fitting his hat on his head.
“You always say that,” he points out.
“Truth,” Noah chimes in, equally chilled out.
Our resident beach boy is even more laid-back than usual, long, muscled limbs sprawled in his seat.
“If you ever stop playing hockey, you can cook for a living,” Madden says.
Cameron jerks his head with a smile that’s slightly tense. “Well, we’ll see. For now I’m all in on hockey.” He kicks out at Madden’s folding chair, jostling it. “Maybe you lazy shits could learn how to cook. It’s not hard.”
Madden shoots out his legs to stabilize himself with a moody frown. “Everything I try to cook burns. It’s pointless.”
A few of us groan in agreement. He’s one of the few team members we’ve restricted from our cooking rotation, keeping him on cleaning duty in exchange.
“Wait, is McKinley asleep over there?” Noah gestures with his chin. “Graves, check for signs of life.”
Madden grunts, stretching a leg to nudge him with his toe without getting up. McKinley doesn’t budge, stretched out on the picnic table with his arms folded as a makeshift pillow. His hoodie is pulled over his head.
“Bro, seriously, how can he sleep like that?” Theo gets up to poke at him.
“Beats me,” I say. “I’m jealous he can go out like a light anywhere.”
Cameron, Brody, and Noah join him, doing a shit job smothering their snickering while they take photos of him. It doesn’t matter. He snores through it all. Even when Brody pulls Jack’s hood off to lift his head, throwing up a peace sign while Noah purses his lips to keep it together.
The back door opens and three more of our teammates poke their heads out. Eric Holland, our backup goalie, along with Daniel Hutchinson and Nick Briggs are three of the biggest guys on the team. Hutch is a senior and Briggs is a sophomore that sticks close to him.
“I was wondering where you all wound up,” Holland muses. “What’s going on?”
I lift a hand in greeting. “We’re just chilling.”
“Me and Briggs are going to hit the gym,” Hutch says.
“Where’s Manning?” Theo asks.
Hutch shrugs. “Haven’t seen him since we got back from that farm earlier.”
“Probably banging that sorority chick he brings around.” Brody mimes an O-face, grabbing imaginary hips and thrusting the air suggestively.
Madden rolls his eyes and folds his arms, tucking his chin close to his chest, thick dark brows flattening. He gets extra grumpy whenever the guys flaunt their hookups.
“You joining us?” I ask Holland.
The other two are in sweats, but he’s overdressed for a night around the fire pit. He’s fresh-shaven, no longer rocking his scruffy dark beard and he’s wearing a nice sweater instead of his usual graphic tee. He shakes his head, gesturing to the guys.
“Hutch is giving me a ride. I’ve got a movie date with my girlfriend.”
The guys outside all coo in sync. “Aww.”
“Sweet.” I smirk. “Is that why you shaved the ecosystem?”
“You look so weird without the beard, bro.” Noah squints at him on his way back to his seat. “But in a good way.”
Holland rubs his cleaned up jaw. “She likes it when I’m smooth.”
“I bet.” Noah waggles his brows with a raunchy chuckle. He strokes the light blond stubble he’s grown over the last few days. “I’ve never gotten any complaints for providing a rougher ride.”
