“I guess the only problem left,” I said, “is that I’ll be stuck here while Kayden is off god knows where.”
“I know that’ll definitely be tough.”
I turned to my teammate who sounded like he knew something. He must’ve noticed a stern look on my face because he appeared to fumble for just the right words.
“You know, because you’re in love with him, right?” he asked.
“Um, excuse me?”
Instead of fumbling for words, a huge stupid grin appeared on his face.
“Come on, dude,” he said. “I thought you would know what I’m talking about.”
He made a circle with his thumb and forefinger and then slid the index finger of his free hand in and out of it. He smiled hugely like he’d thought up the most original concept on earth. Then he erupted with laughter, making me feel tense until I finally snapped.
I snatched his hand, clamping down and squeezing, then slammed it onto the table. His mouth dropped wide open and he bent over, wincing with pain.
“Owwww!” he said. “Jesus Christ, let go of me, will you?”
I didn’t care that everyone in the restaurant was now staring at us. I wanted answers and wouldn’t let go until I got them.
“Who told you that?”
“No one!”
“That’s bullshit, Detenbeck. I know better. Now, spill the tea, would you? Who told you that?”
“No one!”
I squeezed even harder, and he grunted like he couldn’t bear the pain a second longer.
“I’m not even close to kidding, pal. I want to know who told you that, and I want to know it right now!”
“I’m dead serious, bro. No one told me anything. It was just a stupid joke!”
I let go of his hand. Detenbeck pulled it back and cradled it like a baby instead of acting like a rough and tough hockey player. Maybe my actions sound a little too much like a Kayden Preston move for my liking, but my teammate had pushed me to it.
Normally, I would’ve apologized profusely for a reaction like that one but wouldn’t now. Ryan Detenbeck and his big, fat mouth totally deserved it.
“Jesus Christ, bro, did you really have to do that?” he asked.
“Did you really have to make the suggestion you just did?”
“I already told you I was kidding. No need to turn into a maniac on me.”
“Maybe I do need to be a maniac. It’s the only way you’ll ever learn some manners.”
“God, you’re worse about this than Kayden was.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him, but he said nothing. I didn’t really want to hear anything from him anyway.
So, he had probably made a similar really dumb comment about this to Kayden too. That figured. And it also stood to reason that Kayden would hate it. But it also meant that people were figuring us out, which I could take as good or bad. On one hand, we could finally be ourselves. That was all I really wanted. We could finally be free. On the other hand, we could become a punchline for the team’s jokes, which didn’t sound so appealing.
This also reminded me that, sooner or later, a decision would need to be made. Kayden wouldn’t like it, but others could wind up making the decision for us. For now, I wouldn’t draw any more of Ryan’s attention to it than I already had.
“Go ahead and put a band-aid on that,” I said. “I’m not gonna kiss it and make it better.”
And just like that, Ryan slinked out of our booth and headed for the bathroom. I’m sure he hoped like hell that I wouldn’t tell another living soul that I’d damn near made him cry. I could promise him nothing. His best bet to ensure it never happened again was to behave.
