“Seriously, though,” Detenbeck said, “if you ever see that guy or any one of those assholes again, you’ve got to lay them out flat. Fuck the consequences.”
“I wish I could be as carefree as you, bro. I just don’t want this to turn into something.”
“It alreadyissomething.”
I couldn’t deny that but giving into pressure to punch Zane when I didn’t actually want to would only worsen the problem. After all, I wanted the Larkin Lions to contend for a National Title. I wasn’t on the team that won the big one like Ryan Detenbeck was, and I experienced the hunger of any young player that hadn’t yet hoisted the National Title trophy.
“Is his face still seriously messed up?” the goalie asked. “Wait, his face is always a little messed up. I’m talking about the swelling from that little love tap you gave him.”
“It was still there, just not as bad as it was the next day at the game.”
Detenbeck flashed a satisfied smile like that made everything worth it.
That made me stop and think about it, though. Part of me truly felt bad about the punch because fighting wasn’t in my nature. I also felt shitty for what my fist did to his face, even if the damage was only temporary. It seemed like even more of a shame since Zane had such a handsome face.
Wait a minute, hold the phone. Had I really entertained a thought like the one that’d floated through my mind? I mean, Zane Hirst did have a nice face. Anyone could see that he had strong cheekbones and piercing eyes. Actually caring about that was another thing. My problem was that I considered it a shame to mess it up. No, no, worse than just a shame. I compared it to vandals throwing paint at the Mona Lisa.
Okay, now this was getting seriously out of hand. Pretty soon, Ryan Detenbeck would be urging me to snap out of it.
“The fact that he’d come back for more really surprises me,” the goalie said. “You’d think your fist would’ve taught him not to mess with you.”
“Yeah, you would think, but some people never learn.”
“And to think, he’s not even the biggest idiot on that team. That title will forever belong to Jax Echlin.”
“Yeah, but Jax Echlin doesn’t have an amazing face.”
I wanted to clap my hand over my mouth to stop myself from saying anything more but didn’t. Thank God because that would’ve dashed any hope I would’ve had of covering up my comment. Detenbeck paused and furrowed his brow like heexpected me to correct myself. Back-pedaling would’ve given me away the same as a hand over my mouth, so I played it cool.
“I mean, Jax Echlin has a face like an elephant’s ass,” I said. “Sorry, Freudian slip.”
Detenbeck cracked up laughing because he thrived on dumb comments like that. The whole team did, really. If that distracted him from the dumbass comment that’d slipped out of my mouth, then that was fine by me.
When we headed off the ice, Detenbeck said, “You remember what I told you, okay?”
“That Jax Echlin is the biggest hothead on the Remington Riptides?”
“No, that Hardison can lay down rules, but he’ll have a hell of a time enforcing them.”
“Dude—”
“No, don’t dude me. The next time that shit, Zane, challenges you, I want you to pop him one. Don’t come to me with a story about him approaching you that doesn’t involve giving him a knuckle sandwich. Trust me, Hardison won’t be able to do shit, especially if that dick provokes you.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I am. The only thing as important as bringing home another National Title is winning this war with the Riptides once and for all.”
In the locker room, Detenbeck opened his locker and stripped out of his gear, as did I. Soon, I would find the escape hatch from this conversation I’d wanted since the moment I’d commented on Zane Hirst’s face. Thank God Detenbeck was far too concerned with texting to care about continuing this conversation.
On the way out, he pointed to me, saying, “Don’t forget what I told you, okay?”
“Uh huh.”
I sucked in a deep breath the moment he was gone. Sure, I could pretend like what I’d said had been nothing. What I’d said wasn’t my real problem. Thethoughthaunted me. I couldn’t banish from my mind the thought of his face, mostly because I really did find it incredible. Even scratched up and slightly swollen, I still saw its exceeding beauty.
There I go again…
The worse part of it was that those thoughts had to mean something… but what?
