“I don’t know about all that,” I say, just to give the guys a hard time.
Jamie rolls his eyes at me.
“It’s an advantage we have over other teams.” Preston sounds like our team captain. He loves bossing all of us around. “Coaches have a hard enough time getting all the egos to play together,” he adds.
“We fight all the time,” Tucker says.
“True,” Preston counters. “But we don’t stay mad at each other for long.”
I can’t help but laugh, seeing this as the perfect opportunity for another stupid remark. Anything to annoy Preston. “I just beat the bitchassness out of you.”
“You wish.” Preston moves his finger toward his chest, staring me down. “Come at me, bro. Let’s see how tough you are.”
I shake my head, entertained by his proposal. Preston knows I would kick his ass. Built like my dad, I’m close to seven feet tall. Well over five inches taller than everyone at the table, my arms and legs are thick and corded with muscle. None of them could take me, even if they tried. But I wouldn’t mind seeing them attempt it.
Trent holds out his hand to silence me. “I’m hungry. Would you two stop measuring dicks until after we eat?”
“Are you planning to make this a regular thing?” Tucker asks Shannon with a mouth full of food. “I could get used to this.”
“Me, too,” the rest of us mutter in unison.
I hope Jamie doesn’t fuck this up with Shannon. This is the best food I’ve eaten in a long time. We could use a woman’s touch. Jamie and Preston do most of the cleaning in the house, so they have that covered. But neither of them can make more than macaroni and cheese.
“Wanna play Mage Wars after we eat?” Preston asks Jamie. “I’m finally out of level twenty-five. That one was such a bitch.”
I’m one of the few people alive who’s not obsessed with the video game world Jamie’s dad created. Jamie’s the son of a tech billionaire. Yep, that’s billion with a ‘b.’ His family has more money than all of us put together. And somehow, he’s the most down-to-earth.
“Oh, I love that game,” Shannon says, shocking everyone at the table.
Few girls like video games. I wonder if she’s full of shit and only trying to impress Jamie.
We stare at her as if she’s a freak of nature.
“My younger brother loves it,” she explains. “I still live at home with my parents. At least for now. My brother makes me play with him. It’s the only way I can get him to bed on time. We play Mage Wars for an hour and then bedtime. Seems to work.”
“My dad created The Fallen Universe,” Jamie tells her.
They talk about video games and boring shit, so I tune out until Jamie hooks his arm around Shannon’s back and kisses her. My stomach turns at their inappropriate affection at the dinner table. I thought I was over that after I moved out of my parent’s house.
My parents are that couple, the ones who are still madly in love and never stop touching each other, even during meals. I constantly had to yell at them while I lived in their house. And I’m not dealing with that shit in this one.
My mom is known for taboo and dirty books that would make a sailor blush. Sometimes, I hear her talking to my dad about scenes she’s writing in her books, and I want to throw up at the thought of them re-enacting them. The thing about my mom is she’s very open. Like way too open with her words and actions.
She says it’s part of her creative process. Maybe that’s where I get it from. My dad is more of the shy and silent type, where Mom doesn’t give a shit and just puts it all out there. Sort of like me with my dick pics, I guess. I’m a weird mixture of them both.
Luckily, Jamie and Shannon take that shit upstairs, and now the vibe in the room goes back to normal.
“You ready for the game?” Tucker says.
Preston drops his fork onto his plate. “Yeah, I guess. I think this will be my best year.”
“Best year for the team, too.” Trent bites into a slice of garlic bread. “We’re winning again this year.”
Last year, we won the Frozen Four, the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship. We’re hoping to do it again. Next year, if we’re lucky, we’ll be playing on different teams in the NHL, so this season is important to us.
“I wish the announcers would stop comparing us to our dads,” Tucker says.
His words hit me hard. Having famous fathers doesn’t help any of us. Our stats and abilities are constantly being compared, making stepping out of our father’s shadows impossible.
