Antagonym

Chapter 33

"I don't think I've ever gone partying with another team after we beat them."

Being in an actual club was a good feeling. Compared to a frat party, clubs were much more tame and depending on what area you were in, you could actually hold a conversation. I hated raging clubs with music so loud you couldn't think, but this one was actually pretty nice. Remember what I had said about Beckett not wasting a second off the ice? It seems he was perfectly fine because that nasty gash in his side didn't stop him from playing hockey or going out after the game.

"Neither have I, Sunshine. But here we are, having the time of our lives," Beck's friend and right forward named Ben, mused. Despite scoring on me twice, he was a pretty cool guy. Beck had lived here for three years, so naturally he wanted to see his closest friends again. Though we all knew moving away meant a lot of your friends and you lost contact, it seems Ben and Elijah has stayed close with my best friend. Elijah was actually the one that Beck knocked on his ass. He ended up being alright, just a concussion scare. He was on the ice again by the end of the game.

"Sunshine?" Beck mused, returning to our table with two identical beers in hand. He sat next to me at the booth, handing me a dark bottle. "I believe I still owe you a good beer, if I remember correctly. Kentucky Breakfast Stout, straight from Grand Rapids. Right up your alley." I smiled, recalling how our first conversation was about having a nice deep beer.

The first thing I noticed was that my bottle was sealed and Beck's wasn't. Beckett offered me a reassuring smile, pulling his keys out of his pocket and handing them to me. I returned the grateful look and popped the top off. It was a small gesture, asking the bartender to keep once sealed, and I trusted Beck impeccably not to mess with my drink, but it still made me feel warm inside. He really did care about me. I took a sip of the chilled liquid, letting the coffee and vanilla notes run down my throat, a hint of bourbon in the undertone. "You definitely know how to make a girl happy," I laughed. "I like your taste."

"I knew you would," Beck offered me a cheeky wink. He leaned over, whispering in my ear with his deep voice, "I like your taste too." It didn't take a genius to get what he was insinuating, especially with his free hand on my thigh. I was wearing yet another pair of ripped jeans but this time I paired them with a sheer black top and a black bra with black heels. I looked hot as fuck and Beck was well aware.

"Beck, you get a girlfriend and didn't tell us?" Elijah asked with a raised eyebrow, drinking a Long Island iced tea.

"Nah. They casually flirt. You'll get used to it," Sebastian jumped in. Axel has stayed at the hotel, but I assume that had more to do with the fact that Coach was riding his ass after getting in a fight on the ice when he was checked without having the puck. I don't blame him. Besides, he was probably FaceTiming Ken anyway.

"Fuck off, Sebastian," I playfully punched his shoulder to my left.

"And no, Ben. That doesn't mean she wants your drunk ass to flirt with her," Beck laughed at his friend. Ben was an attractive Cambodian but I just wasn't feeling it. Probably because I was in love with my best friend, but that's beside the point.

"I'm not drunk," Ben pointed his finger at Beck from across the table, a dead serious look in his eyes.

"In the time it took for all of us to have one shot of tequila and even start thinking about a drink you've had three. You're well on your way to plastered, Buddy." Elijah joked, bumping shoulders with his companion. I'd only been with the two of them for an hour but I could already see their similarities to Sebastian, Axel, and I. Our sense of humor was almost identical; it was no wonder Beck fit in with us so well when he moved to Connecticut.

"And are you the poor guy that's roommates with his sorry ass?" I asked Elijah with a raised eyebrow.

"Sadly," the blonde muttered in response. "Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll drunk call his girlfriend then she'll let him stay at hers. I could do without the sound of him puking his guts out in a few hours."