Page 87 of Mac Meyers Needs Me

“Nice goal tonight,” I praise.

“Thanks for passing it to me.”

The mood is buoyant as we change out of our gear and head for the showers.

“Shit, Stiles, did you get hit with a puck?” Lovett asks.

Stiles frowns and looks down, running his hand over his pec. “Oh, no. I was shooting the puck in the driveway and it ricocheted.”

“Good thing it didn’t hit your pretty face,” Steele comments.

“Yeah, my dad paid a lot of money for my straight teeth.”

We shower, change into our dress clothes, and leave the locker room.

Fee is waiting in the lobby, along with Cammie and Tally. Roman is close by, with Callie at his side, talking to one of the scouts.

Chase scoops Cammie up, and Fee rushes over and throws her arms around me. “You were great tonight!” She kisses my neck.

“I play better when you're watching me.” I give her a squeeze but avoid putting my lips on her because Roman might be nice, but he still scares the shit out of me.

“Mac!” Callie rushes over to greet me with a hug.

“Hey, Calls, thanks for coming to my game.”

Fee rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling.

“Lexi is on an away series, and Hammer and Hollis are taking care of Ariel, Roman said he was coming, and that I could have all the best snacks, plus I might want to come to Tilton because they have an amazing girls’ hockey team.”

“You’re not even in high school yet,” Fee points out.

“It’s never too early to start planning for your future. Plus, Mac has come to see me play, and I’ve never seen him play, so I wanted us to be even.” She beams up at me.

Fee links our arms. “It was a good game, wasn’t it?”

“It really was! I had so much fun. Dred and Connor had some kind of dinner thing with Connor’s family tonight, which he said he would have missed if he could because I’m more fun to hang out with than his dad. But he couldn’t get out of it.” Callie shrugs. “So I ended up coming to the game and I’m glad I did. You had two great assists! Roman says you have a lot of talent.”

“That’s because he does.” Roman settles his hands on Callie’s shoulders. “You were great out there tonight, Mac. You knew when to pass and when to play. It’s clear you spend a lot of time with your teammates on and off the ice.”

“Thank you, sir, it was a real honor to learn from you last week.”

“You can just call me Roman.” He winks at Fee. “And honestly, it was my pleasure. The summer program at the Hockey Academy could be a good bridge for you. Have you considered submitting an application?”

“Yes, yeah.” I try to keep my voice steady. “I’m proofing my essay this week.”

“Great. Happy to hear that.”

Roman introduces me, Chase, Gage, and Brody to the scouts. They show interest in all of us, but it’s no surprise when they have the most questions for Brody. I don’t know what I feel more for him: empathy or envy. He’s wildly talented with Kodiak Bowman-level skills. But his brother has such an illustrious career, and a past that doesn’t always stay where it should. It would be impossible not to feel like he’s in his brother’s shadow all the time, or face the pressure people might put on him to be as good, or better.

We head back to the house with the rest of our teammates to celebrate. I get pulled into a conversation with a few of the older guys on the team, and Fee kisses me on the cheek and tells me she’s going to check on Enid and Tally, and she’ll find me in a bit.

“Dude, how cool that your girlfriend’s stepdad came to our game.” Beans is the fourth person to mention this.

“Roman is her brother-in-law, but yeah, it’s nice that he came out to spend some time with her,” I say pointedly.

“Right. Yeah. It must be nice for you and Brody to have an in with these guys.” His jealousy is written all over his face. I don’t blame Fee for making a quick exit. Getting dragged into hockey conversations about future prospects, especially when her sister is a coach, must get annoying. And it’s wildly transparent when one of the guys who barely talks to me off the ice is suddenly my best friend.

Eventually I extract myself from the conversation and go in search of Fee. I find her in the kitchen—it’s often where she hangs out at these parties, standing with our friends. Brody is tucked into the corner with Cammie and Chase on one side and Tally and Enid on the other, like his bodyguards. Fee’s back is to me, but she extends her hand toward me without turning around, like she already knows I’m there.