Page 106 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 1

We were happy.

And the rest of our lives began.

BIG STICK ENERGY

Chapter One

CADEN

Son of a bitch.

My ears rang as horror rocked my entire body. The expectant smile that had decorated my face just ten seconds ago was still there, but frozen in disbelief.

Coach Murray was supposed to announce me as the captain. I had been Riley’s assistant captain for a year and the first in line to take over for two years after my exemplary performance on the ice in our first few games. But that nepotist fuck, that self-satisfied ass, that…douchebag!

I clenched my fists and forced some calm onto my face as rage boiled beneath the stony surface.

Coach Murray’s words echoed in my skull as the guys shifted uncomfortably in a collective shock. “After a lot of thinking, the assistant coaches and I came to the decision to name Beckett Partridge as the captain of the Arctic Titans for this year. I understand that this comes as a surprise to some of you, but I would like to remind everyone in this room that none of the staff encouraged any other expectations. Let me be perfectly clear: The decision to name the captain rests in our hands. As far as the assistant coaches and I are concerned, any expectations of a different outcome were nothing but wishful thinking.” His tone had turned a little less formal then, but he hadn’t even looked at me. “I expect you boys to follow Partridge like you followed Brooks.”

That goddamn thief, I growled internally, and my stomach turned whenever I pictured Beckett Partridge’s self-satisfied face growing more smug with each heartbeat. There would be no living with him after this, which was a great fucking mess considering we lived in the same house.

I could feel rage rippling beneath my skin.

It bubbled in my stomach, fueled by two years of putting up with Beckett Partridge as a teammate. To stare at another two with him as my captain, flaunting what was rightfully mine, was almost as bad as if Coach had simply taken me off the team.

Awkwardness settled in the locker room when Coach Murray nodded and left. There were words of congratulation directed at Beckett. I couldn’t blame the guys for that, but I had no ambition to participate. Instead, I sorted my things, hung my duffel over my shoulder, and stormed out.

It’s not fair, I snapped internally. I wanted to catch up with Coach Murray and tell him so myself, but he was nowhere to be found by the time I reached the end of the long hallway. His office door was shut and no voices were coming through. Even if there were, I couldn’t just barge in and spill all my anger at the man who had my fate in his hands. And I wasn’t going to meekly knock on his door either, then plead nicely. Being nice had gotten me here in the first place.

What had Beckett Partridge ever done to earn the captaincy? He’d been jerking off for two years while waiting for an opening, then called Nate Partridge for a special favor. I had no doubt about that. I’d seen Beckett do worse things in the two years of living a door away from him. I’d watched him lead a girl on until she fell in love with him, only to pretend he’d barely ever met her. I’d seen him spend more time preparing a cheat sheet for Introduction to Mass Communication our first year than actually studying. To plead with his famous winger uncle to boost his own career was something I would never put past Beckett Partridge.

That smug prick!

I reached the team house before anyone else, barged into it, stomped my way up the stairs, and slammed the door of my room closed so that the foundations of the old neocolonial house trembled. The room was bare, save for a few things of my own and the beanbag Riley had left behind when Cameron protested the idea of taking it. “I’ve got my beanbag right here,” Riley had said, poking Cameron in the ribs with his elbow.

I threw my duffel on the floor and nosedived into my bed.

The knock that pulled me out of the den of darkness where my mind had been cowering was meek enough that I didn’t have the heart to turn whoever it was away. Unless Beckett’s punchable face entered the room. In that case, I had a list of creative ways to send him on his way. Many involved ruining his perfect nose or splitting one of his full lips.

“What?” I asked. It was the absolute most polite tone I could find in myself.

A hinge creaked when Sawyer swaggered into my room. He shut the door behind his back and cocked his head. “Premeditating?”

I snorted. “I don’t see a shovel in your hands, so why on Earth are you here?”

Sawyer shrugged and walked over to Riley’s bed. Well, it’s not anymore. He sat down on the edge and I sat up so my back rested against the bare wall, feet dangling off my bed.

Our star goalie sighed. “I can’t help you murder a Partridge. They’ll raise hell to catch the culprits.”

“Right. Your life did just get better,” I pointed out softly. Sawyer, the chaotic bisexual menace, was settling into an unlikely relationship. His physics tutor, who was also the smartest guy on campus, received some dating lessons from Sawyer and turned out to be a quick learner as well as a talented teacher. The two had been dating for some four or five months now. “I can’t drag you into my plots, but we could have been a fun pair on the run.”

“I’m getting Thelma and Louise vibes, Caden.” Sawyer lifted one eyebrow and leaned back on his elbows.

I threw my hands up in surrender. “Fine. We’re not killing anyone.”

Sawyer nodded firmly as if we’d seriously considered it and I swore not to pursue that path. “As to why on Earth I’m here, I guess I figured you needed some company.”

I returned his nod. I wasn’t sure if I needed the company of solitude. While I’d been alone, I’d hoped to vent to someone. Hell, I’d missed Riley in these ten or twenty minutes more than I had thought I ever would. My ex-roommate and I had had a good relationship with earned mutual respect and similar views on many things, including Beckett’s unbearable smirks.