Wilder Ranslavic:I’ll kill you. And no one will be able to find the body.
Billy Callahan:I’m feeling threatened.
Wilder Ranslavic:Good.
Connor Grieves:Congrats on the win, Patty!
Theo Cramer:I knew those kids could do it. Just needed a kick in the ass.
Billy Callahan:Hell yeah. Congrats, buddy.
Jamie Patterson:Thanks guys.
Connor Grieves:I bet the boys were hyped.
Jamie Patterson:Yeah, they were. Logan and Jacob more than anyone. They busted their asses out there.
An incoming call distracts me from the chat. Billy’s name flashes across my screen. It’s almost midnight, why the fuck is he calling me?
“Why are you calling me?” I ask as soon as I answer the phone. I’m honestly not in the mood to talk right now. I want to wallow in whatever the feeling is in my chest.
“Well hello to you too, Patterson,” Callahan replies, chuckling to himself. “I just wanted to congratulate you on the W tonight.”
Rolling my eyes, I turn onto my side, my phone on speaker. “You already did. Why are you actually calling?”
I can see him rolling his eyes through the phone. “Fine. I’m nosy as fuck and I want to know what’s happening between you and the chick.”
I pause, my heart stuttering at the slightest mention of Ellie.
“What chick?” I ask, playing dumb. I mean, he obviously knows we fuck, considering I fucked her in my room the night the guys were here. There’s no way they didn’t hear Ellie screaming for me while she came on my cock.
“Come on, Patterson. The roommate, the girl you were fucking while we tried to ignore all the sounds coming from upstairs. Rude, by the way.”
I clear my throat. “Right. Uh, well first of all, she’s not some chick. Her name is Ellie,” I start, tryingto determine whether or not I want to dive into this with him right now.
“She’s hot, man. I don’t blame you for—”
“Shut the fuck up before I rip your head from your body, Callahan,” I growl, and I hear him laugh immediately on the other end. He loves his wife and would never disrespect her. Kelly’s a great girl. She’s pretty, she’s sweet, and she puts up with Callahan’s shit. They’ve been together for years now.
“There it is,” he says through laughter. “You like her. You wouldn’t get that possessive over someone you’re only fucking. So, are you guys like, dating? Is she your girlfriend? And if so, why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
Fucker. He was testing me, and I did exactly what he wanted. Guess we’re doing this.
Rubbing a frustrated hand down my face, I sigh. “She’s… well… I don’t know what she is, man. We dated in high school, and after my dad died, I threw myself into hockey. I don’t know why I did it, but I left. I left her, Billy,” I explain, feeling completely deflated.
“Okay, so you broke up with her, and now she’s there?” he asks.
“I didn’t just break up with her, Calli. I abandoned her. I fucking left without saying a word. No explanation, just poof. Gone. I went to a hockey camp for a bit and then came to the Storm. Hockey was my focus, and I didn’t think about how it would affect her.”
There’s a long pause before Callahan speaks.
“Shit,” he exhales sharply. “Damn, Patty. That’s like, fucked up.”
Rolling my eyes, I pull myself into a sitting position, the covers falling off and leaving me exposed in just my boxers.
“Yeah, thanks.I know I fucked up. But seeing her again, being with her… I think I love her, Calli.”
“You think?”
