So, if someone fucked up, it must be either Connor or Keene.
“Thank you for being here,” Luke says, clasping my shoulder. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your party?”
I shake my head. “Nah, not at all. You actually helped me get rid of a potential clinger. I really don’t get some women. They agree that it’s a one and done deal and then they look offended when you say thank you and excuse yourself.”
“That’s typical,” Keene snorts. “Women are fickle creatures. They’re mentally unstable, incapable of keeping a promise. Whether it’s about not fucking someone else in your own bed, or where they want to have dinner, they change their minds more often than I change my fucking underwear. You’d be better off getting a cat.”
I chuckle at his eye roll.
If I thought Connor was jaded after he was cheated on, Keene brings his distrust of women to a completely different level.
“Anyhoo,” Luke keeps fidgeting with the label of his beer bottle, like he always does when he’s nervous. Before a game, that translates into obsessively taping his stick. “Thank you for interrupting your party to talk to me. There’s something I need to run by you guys.”
“Shoot.” Keene says. “Let’s make this quick. I was about to split.”
“So soon?” Luke frowns. “You literally just got here.”
Keene sighs. “Look cap, no disrespect but I made an appearance at this party because you and Coach Harrison keep going on about building team spirit. But this is the last long weekend before the season starts. With no classes on Monday, that means another party I have to show my face at tomorrow night. I’m reaching my limit real fast.”
Luke rips the label off his beer bottle, folding it into a cone shape. We’re probably testing his patience, but he keeps his cool.
I swear the man is a fucking saint. He puts up with all our antics and he does a damn good job trying to keep us in line without being a pain in everyone’s asses. Which is something, considering how strict Coach Harrison is, and how hard he rides Luke’s own butt if one of us fucks up.
“Ok, I’ll make this quick. You’ve all met my twin sister, Bex, right?”
Connor and I nod, Keene snarls. “We did.”
Luke ignores Keene’s less than enthusiastic reaction and continues. “I don’t know if you guys noticed that last night she showed up in her wedding dress. Well, long story short, she fled her wedding. Something went down with her fiancé and…” he grits his teeth, clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles turn white. “He hit her.”
“Fuck.” It’s my turn to clench my fists.
That could explain Bex’s reaction after that brawl outside Joe’s Shack.
“I’m not going to go into the specifics of her situation, but she left with literally the clothes on her back. She doesn’t have a penny and nowhere to go. I’m her only family. I was wondering if she could stay with us until I find her something more permanent.”
I don’t even have the chance to think about it.
“No.” Keene says.
“Excuse me?” Luke’s head rears back as if he had been slapped.
“You heard me.” Keene challenges him. “Absolutely not.”
Our captain looks hurt. “Can I at least explain?”
Keene glares at him. “There’s nothing to explain. If I wanted to live with a fucking woman, I would have taken my ex back when she begged for a second chance.”
“She has nowhere to go,” Luke pleads. “I wouldn’t ask unless it was a life or death situation. If I had money to rent her even just a room anywhere else, I would do it. But my NHL bonus isn’t triggered until I show up for summer training next year.”
Our new teammate doesn’t budge. “Sounds like a personal problem to me. There must be someone else you can ask.”
Luke’s eyes are shiny, as if he was trying not to cry. That green gaze reminds me of his sister. “I swear there isn’t. Guys,” he begs, turning to look at me and Connor. “Please help me. If you don’t want to do it for me, do it for the team.”
“The team?” I ask. “What does helping Bex have to do with the team?”
A flicker of hope lights up in Luke’s eyes. “It does, indirectly. If I’m worried about my sister being homeless, how can I concentrate on hockey? Helping me, helps the team.”
Keene barks out a laugh. “Nice try, dude. The answer’s still no. Even if I wanted to say yes—and I don’t—where would she stay? We each have a room. She can’t crash on the couch. First off, because Poonani hates her, secondly?—”
