𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 | 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞

¹⁵ | Three words

Orion dumps an entire bin of garbage onto the ice in front of us, the stench wafting into our faces immediately. Yeah, blue-collar hockey and I were not going to be friends at all.

Averman picks up a half-eaten bagel and turns to Goldberg. "Have any cream cheese, Mr. Philly?"

We went in short shifts, two or three of us at a time trying to clear as much of the trash out of Julie's way as possible while Orion continued to fling more right back at us.

"Who's there? Who's there?" He yells. "Julie the Cat, nice save!"

It's a lot harder than I expected it to be. My calves burned beyond belief. Panting, I skated back into line, paying no attention to the person in front of me. "Well, this stinks."

The long brown, braided hair turns her neck slightly to angle her voice the right way, laughing. "This has to go against some sort of code, right?"

I was surprised for multiple reasons. She was talking to me. Connie Moreau was not just having a conversation with me, but she was cracking jokes, too. Cleaning up garbage brings people together, I guess.

Orion takes us outside, too, scattering garbage across the street and sidewalks on campus. In our rollerblades, we clear every single one. My arms ache by the end of it, though.

Back on the ice, the place is starting to look pretty clean. We barely let any of Orion's shooting trash get to Julie. I thought we were doing well, but maybe Orion didn't agree.

"Let's go! Get over here!" he shouts. "You guys are not skating like Warriors!"

I set my gaze on Russ. He looks at me, completely bewildered. He's about to open his mouth when Orion continues.

"You look like Ducks."

He opens a large cardboard box, pulling out the familiar creamy-white embroidered in dark purple and turquoise. He throws the one on top to Dwayne while the rest of us rush to collect our own. I find mine and smile at it, holding all the memories from the times I had worn it. Winning the Junior World Championship. Being with Jesse. Coming home. Everything leading up to this moment. All the bad working its way in and out of our lives, can maybe, turn to good. 

Averman grins next to me. "Quack, Quack, Quack, Maeve."

"Quack, Quack, Quack, to you, too."

☆∵☆∵☆∵☆∵☆∵☆∵☆∵☆∵☆∵☆∵☆

𝐆𝐔𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 against the wall outside of the locker room when Adam and I leave. He asks if we can talk. Adam grins, shaking his head as he laughs under his breath. "I'll see you at home."

I glare at him, scrunching my nose to hide a smile. I turn back to face Guy. His hair is damp as it falls into his eyes, strands getting caught and tangling in his eyebrows. There's something about his middle part that's been driving me crazy ever since I came home. There's always been something about him that drives me a little crazy, I think.

"I've been thinking a lot, you know," he starts. "About us."

I stare at him, my heart dropping into the stomach of my body. He's been thinking about us. There is still an us to be thinking about.

"And the other day, when it was just you and me."

"Yeah?" I say, practically begging--shaking--for him to let it all out. Either break my heart fast and easy or hold it like glass in your hands. Just get it all out, please.

"That's how I always want things to be, Mae. I want to be with you like that, all the time."

This has to be too good to be true. We have never been able to just talk like this. Talking has never seemed to help us--to fix us. Is it different now? Can we maybe put an end to these last six, hard, years?