Holland: There’s always a way to compromise.
Claire: I’m too pissed to compromise, and you know why? Because I miss him, dammit. I never liked him in the first place.
Holland: You mentioned how hot he was the first time we saw him.
Claire:I don’t need facts, Holl. I need sympathy. That jerk of a man made me fall for him, and now that I have, everything’s going to shit.
Holland: Right. What a total asshole for being charming and sweet and the exact vision from your every fantasy. And then to have the audacity to act like a man and be short-sighted and stubborn.
Claire:That’s more like it. Thank you.
Once the puck drops, I can’t help but watch the game. I might be mad as hell, but I still want the Wolves to win. And I want Pete to get the accolades he deserves.
But the thing I want most is to have him back in my life.
31
Pete
“This is our year!”
My battle cry has become the team’s new catch phrase, and someone starts chanting it nearly everywhere we go.
It’s been a week since we took home the national title, and we’re back on our home ice for the final event of the season. It’s basically a community skate where we get to show off a little and share the ice with our hometown crowd. It’s been called Bruce on Ice for as long as I’ve been here, and I think it was named for the first head coach of the Bainbridge Wolves. Regardless, it’s one of my favorite nights of the year.
Before we take the ice, though, we have our final team meeting in the locker room. Rosco whistles and we all gather round. Typically, captains sit toward the front, but Booker and I are standing tonight. The team has voted, and in just a minute, the two new leaders will take their rightful spots.
It’s a bittersweet moment, for sure, but I rememberhow I felt when I was voted in last year, and I’m excited for two of my teammates to have the same honor.
Coach strides out of his office and the guy all quiet down. “Your captains have counted the ballots, gentleman, and I’m not one to make a speech, so let’s get to it. Serving your team as an alternate captain will be…JT Norris.”
Cheers erupt as JT stands to shake Coach’s hand. A couple months ago, I wasn’t sure these two could even be in the same room together. Coach has been overprotective of his niece, and he didn’t take kindly to the news that JT was dating her behind his back. And when he found out Maggie was pregnant, well, Coach kinda lost his shit.
But JT’s a hell of a guy, and the best goalie we’ve ever had, so it’s an honor he deserves.
When the cheers die down, Coach clears his throat. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. While JT’s decision was unanimous, this one was won by a single vote.
“Next year’s captain is Will Franconetti.”
Cheers erupt again, but my eyes go straight to Ollie. He’s taking this hard, no doubt. He’s been a presence on this team since he was a freshman. He’s the one who brings us all together, the one who looks after us in his own special, weird-as-hell way. The fact that the margin was so close won’t make him feel any better. This has to hurt like hell, but the fact that he’s got Will wrapped in a bear hug speaks volumes about the kind of person he is.
It’s time to take the ice, but Rosco’s whistle has us all stopping in our tracks. “Booker has something he’d like to say.”
My co-captain is a quiet leader, but when he opens his mouth, everyone listens. “This isn’t a speech, because there’s no way for me to put into words what the last four years have meant to me, what you all mean to me. Soinstead of words, I thought I’d go with actions. You guys need a house. And I just so happen to have one.”
A few chuckles ripple through the room, because Booker doesn’t just have a house. He has a freaking mansion. His family owns the oldest building on campus, but it’s also the nicest one. He lives there with his closest friends, but they’re all graduating and moving on with their lives.
Wait. Is he about to do what I think he’s about to do?
Booker clears his throat. “As a way to show my thanks not only to the guys in this room, but to the hockey program as a whole, I’m designating The Chapel as the new hockey house. But there are two conditions. The first is that my sisters will each always have a room there if they need it. The second is that there will be a live-in house manager to ensure you guys don’t trash this place like you did the last one.”
Stunned silence falls over the room. And then everyone starts talking at once.
“Wait, are there really three separate hot tubs?”
“I heard there’s a TV in the family room that takes up an entire wall.”
“Dude. I was there last summer. There’s like eight showerheads in the shower at the pool house. The freaking pool house!”
