“Don’t get me wrong,” she says softly. “Hutch is always nice to the girls he goes out with, but he’s never gone out of his way for a girl before and I’veneverseen him feed a woman before he feeds himself.”
“That’s just rude.”
She laughs. “I agree but look at the mess around here. Not even Dylan made sure I had food first.”
“That’s on you. If you let him treat you like that, then he will. Then again, it’s probably just the way I was brought up. Backhome, boys are taught that you make sure your girl is first, not second. At least any guy worthwhile is like that.”
“Hmmm,” Jenny hums. “I never thought about it like that.”
“I’m going to take this upstairs and eat and then head to the store. I have a headache and all this noise is getting to me. I’m not being rude, but I’m exhausted.”
“No worries. You go on upstairs. We’ll make sure no one bothers you. The attic will be off limits during the parties.”
“Thanks.”
I give her a grateful smile and snake through the throng of people and up the stairs, making sure to close the door behind me at the top of the stairs.
Those people are loud.
I’ve been to louder parties, but I’m just not in the mood tonight. I want to eat, shop, take a shower, and then sleep like the dead.
And hopefully in the morning, the migraine will be gone.
CHAPTER 5
Hutch
Coach eyeballsme as I head out of the rink. I can’t blame him. A month of extra practices and I’m still playing like shit.
Dejected, I load my gear into my Jeep and shut the door. Coach keeps eyeballing me during every practice and I know he’s disappointed. Scouts are coming to tomorrow’s game and I still haven’t got this shit figured out.
I wave to several of the guys as they come out of the rink, but since I’m not in the mood to shoot the shit, I quickly get into my Jeep and drive off. What I want to do is go get a burger, fries, and milkshake to drown my sorrows in, but instead I head to the restaurants right outside of campus where they serve healthy food. Grilled chicken and steamed veggies for me tonight. Yum.
Our diet during the season pretty much sucks. I mean, when I go eat at my mom’s, her food is divine and it fits into my diet. How she gets her food to taste so good, I don’t know. I can’t cook for shit.
Sighing, I turn down the street toward one of my favorite restaurants, Bison’s Bar and Grill. They serve good food and willmake sure no one bothers me while I try to eat. They’re good people.
And who do I see walking down the sidewalk?
Fucking Daisy.
The girl I’ve basically been running from. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve talked to her. She’s been in class, but she sits near the front and I’m in the back. I’m usually up and gone before she turns to go out. Do I want to ignore her? No. But I have to get my game under control. I can’t figure out how or why I’ve lost seconds of my speed. It’s pissing me the fuck off.
She looks a little dejected and I don’t like it. I should keep driving, but instead, I find myself pulling over and rolling down the passenger side window.
“Daisy!” I shout to make sure she hears me.
She looks up and frowns. Not the usual reaction I get when I say a woman’s name. Hell, half the time I can’t remember names. Not because I’m a shitty person, but I simply meet so many people, people who think they know me, I can’t remember them all. I don’t try to remember those names because all they want is to say they know Hutch, captain of the hockey team and NHL hopeful. They don’t take the time to get to know the real me, so why should I waste my time on them?
“You good?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She walks over to the door. “Just out trying to find a job. The only places hiring are places I’m not comfortable working.”
“Like what?”
“Bars where the women are dressed to make sure they get hands put on them during their shift. No thank you.”
I’ve been in a few places like that. Never went back to the ones I ran across either. Women are to be treated with respect and not like property or goods for sale.
