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“Do you like the house?” I ask her, wondering if there’s something I can use to impress this girl if it isn’t hockey.
“It’s nice,” she says plainly, then turns her back to me. “Excuse me, but may I get a coke instead?” she asks Gia.
“That’s all you want?” Gia questions, giving Violet a hard once over, something I think all the puck bunnies do to new girls who visit the house.
“Yeah, is that okay?”
I give Gia a cursory warning glare, reminding her to act accordingly. I get that she’s possessive, but just because she sucked a few of us off over the last few years doesn’t mean she gets to be a bitch to guests of the house.
“Of course it’s okay,” she says with a saccharin smile. “I was just making sure that’s all she wanted, Neo,” she adds.
Kennedy rolls her eyes at Gia as she silently mixes her drink with the candy cane stick used as a garnish. The two have a history because of Shane. Actually, half of the house has history with Gia.
“This is a pretty fancy drink for an ice house kickback,” Kennedy says, giving me the side eye as she takes a sip.
“I go all out for Christmas.”
“I didn’t realize your grumpy ass had a favorite holiday,” she quips, tipping the glass in Mia’s direction to see if she wants a sip, but Violet shakes her head no.
“Who doesn’t like Christmas?” I say, remembering all the great Christmas mornings that my brother and I shared when we were young.
Violet wipes the top of the coke can with the edge of her t-shirt to clean it, pops the can open, then says, “I don’t.”
Just when I’m getting ready with a line of questioning to discover why this little book nerd is also a Christmas Grinch, Shane walks toward us with purpose, worry etched on his face.
“What?” I question him. Shane is rarely worried about much.
“I’m going to walk the girls over to the snacks,” he tells me.
“Why?” Wondering why he’s suddenly cock blocking me.
“It’s Bender.”
neo
I don’t havemany weaknesses, but Bender Price is one of them. Bender is a forward from the Vegas Chiefs, a rival college team, who has been overheard talking shit about me and my brother more than once. I wouldn’t give a shit if it was just about me. People talk about me all the time. It’s the fact that he always has my brother’s name in his mouth too.
He talks about Jake’s career, his character, and his death as if he knew him personally. He didn’t. I think part of his problem is that he’s jealous of my success and using Jake to get inside of my head. Getting inside a man’s head during a game is pretty simple, but being calculated about it and getting into it beforehand is diabolical.
“What about Bender?” My hand twitches.
“He’s here.”
“He actually had the balls to step inside this house?”
My house?
Shane somehow convinces Kennedy and Violet to head over to the taco table while I figure out what I’m going to say once I approach this interloper. I haven’t seen him in months since we rarely play their team during the regular season, but one thing the two of us aren’t is friendly. If he’s here, he must want an ass whipping. I might just oblige him.
“Who the fuck invited you?” I approach, not mincing words.
“Neo, old friend.”
“Who let you in, Bender?”
“You should put a lock on your little house here if you want to regulate who comes and goes.”
Shane and Bass make their way over to us, flanking both my left and right sides.
