"Is babe coming tonight?" Bray teases, as him and Stan pile into my room. We won our game today so naturally we are throwing a party to celebrate.
"Bray," I smile sweetly. "We have 5 games left and then I am pushing you down the stairs and beating you with a hockey stick."
Both guys look equally horrified as I tug on a pair of sweatpants and fall into my bed. I am tired and sore and straight up not in the mood. We won today, which is of course great, but it was a brutal game, with me as public enemy number 1. The opposing team was throwing me around like I was the puck and the refs turned a blind eye to it the entire time. On top of being tossed around like a rag doll on the ice I slept a total of like 3 hours last night. I usually can prioritize hockey over anything but last night I could not stop worrying about Francesca. I knew she was safe and that her demon fears weren't real yet I kept checking my phone worried she'd need me.
"I told you that in confidence," I groan. Why would I tell them that and not expect them to bully me about it. My mistake for expecting anything else but this.
"Honestly, that was your second mistake," Stan tells me as he adjusts his shirt in the mirror.
"What was my first?"
"Correcting yourself," Bray interjects.
"What he said," Stan agrees.
"What was I supposed to do?"
"Tell her you like her!" they both yell. Someone hits me with a pillow but they're behind me so I can't tell which one it was.
"Oh yeah coming from you, who let Pman steal the girl you like and you, who can't even talk to any guys. Take your own advice ass fucks."
They are both about to argue with me when someone knocks on the door. "Come in," I call, not caring who it is. Anyone is welcome if it will shut these two up.
Francesca opens the door and walks in before kicking it closed behind her. "You look like crap Ry," she announces as she crawls up my bed to inspect the visible bruise on my arm. Even with all my pads it seems the other team managed to hit me in the few exposed places every time.
"Thanks butt, you really know how to make a guy feel better."
"I will be right back." Quickly she gets up and hurries out of my room leaving me alone again with dumb and dumber.
"You're great Ryder but Maya is probably here so I am going to go get rejected, yet again." Stan leaves and Bray follows, saying something about not wanting to be alone with me with no witnesses. I just lay in bed face down waiting for Francesca to return with god knows what.
"I flipped off one of the refs," Francesca says matter of factly when she returns.
"When?" I laugh rolling over onto my back to look at her. She is wearing a black low cut crop top and jeans with tall heels and her moon necklace, but my favorite part of her look is the backwards hat on her head, the one I left yesterday at her apartment. She looks, as always, breathtaking.
"In the parking lot after the game. Now what hurts?"
"Mostly my shoulder."
"Shirt off," she instructs while putting some stuff from a tube into her hand. I do as I am told and pull my shirt off while she crawls over to me and inspects my shoulder. "Did you see the trainer already?"
"Yes it is fine, just sore." She nods before spreading the stuff on my shoulder and gently massaging it in. "You don't have to take care of me, Beck."
"Nope," she replies, popping the p, "I don't. But you take care of me, I take care of you. We take care of each other, Ry. Besides, if you have a bum shoulder, who is going to dance with me?"
"Who says I am dancing with you again, butt? Who says that wasn't a one time deal?"
She scoots more in front of me and gives me the saddest look she can muster. She knows her sadness is my weakness which is dangerous, I can't even begin to imagine the lengths I will go for this girl. "Please?"
For a second I forget what we were saying as she straddles my one thigh, her small fingers still gently rubbing my shoulder. I have my one arm holding me up while the other is looped around her waist. Kissing her right now would be so easy. Pulling her against my chest, flipping us over so she is pinned beneath me, all of it would be so easy but my friendship with her means more than I am willing to sacrifice. "Okay, okay, you win," I sigh, coming back to reality.
"Yes, now get dressed, let's go, let's go!" Francesca crawls off me searching my closet for something she approves of. I could easily fight her and just wear my sweatpants and t-shirt downstairs but as she looks at shirts against my hats trying to match them, I let her win without a fight. If she is happy than the 30 seconds it will take me to change is worth it.
When we make it downstairs Francesca wastes no time fighting her way to the middle of the dance floor with all our friends. The little demon doesn't even let me get a drink first before she is dragging me onto the dance floor. Thankfully I have Tristian, Bray, Parker, and Stan to make me feel less awkward, and of course Francesca who grabbing my hand in hers.
After a full hour of dancing Tristian and Luna have vanished, Stan managed to get Maya alone, Parker and Bray are in what looks like a heated conversation and I am alone with Francesca. "Question?" I ask between songs.
"Answer," she replies.
"Are the heels because you don't like being so small or are they to fight off the demons."
"Demons, no way I would endure this pain for height. I accepted years ago I was a shortie"
I hate that she is in pain, I hate even more that I am the reason. "Lets go sit for a few Beck, I want a drink anyways."
I lead us both off the dance floor to the kitchen. Without asking I pick Francesca up and set her on the cleanest part of the counter so she can rest her feet, before grabbing us each a drink. "Can I get you anything?"
"New shoes," she whines as she kicks her heels off showing off a cute pair of turtle socks. I am starting to think she doesn't own a single pair of normal socks; they always have some sort of design on them.
"I can go to your apartment and get you new shoes if you want?"
Francesca laughs, wrapping her arms around me. "You once again are the sweetest Ry but it is ok, I will just call it quits for tonight."
"No more dancing," I ask hopefully.
"Nah we are done, you look like you're about to fall asleep anyways. Want to just go upstairs and hang with the ladies?"
This may suddenly be the best day of my life because I couldn't think of anything better to do right now. "You definitely don't have to ask me twice."
"Weirdo," she laughs as I grab her heels and hand them to her so we can go upstairs.
While she is putting them on Parker and Bray walk into the kitchen still arguing about whatever they were arguing about 10 minutes ago when we left the dance floor. "Sorry my date choices aren't up to your standards Bray!" Parker yells, throwing his hands up in defeat.
"It is like you purposely pick the ugliest guys. Like fuck Parker do you have a complex where you have to date an ugly guy because you're insecure?" Bray is beat red, the maddest I have ever seen my best friend. That's when it clicks, why Parker has always been under Bray's skin.
"Fuck you," Parker spits, slapping Bray painfully across the face. Francesca hops off the counter to try to run in between them but I grab her quickly. If she jumps in between their fight and gets hurt I will be going to jail for a double homicide. If things get out of control I will step in and break up their fight not her, but I have a gut feeling it won't.
"Tell me if my taste in guys is so fucking bad Bray who should I go out with then? Who will be worthy of your approval for me since every other guy I go out with doesn't seem to satisfy you. Explain to me Bray who will get you to stop fucking putting me down constantly! Because the constant ridicule is getting old!"
"Me!" Bray screams like his head is about to explode. "I am right fucking here Parker begging for your attention. Why can't you fucking see me? What do they have that I clearly don't."
Parker and Francesca both let out surprised gasps. "I have wanted you since the first day we spied on your team and then I thought I finally had my chance to talk to you and you were hung up on your ex. And then it was constantly a new guy, always a new fucking guy Parker. And you're right none of them are good enough for you, not when I am right here."
"Bray," Parker gasps, still in shock.
"I am right here," Bray says sadly. My heart breaks for Bray a little. I want to intervene, protect him from the rejection I think is coming, but it doesn't come. Instead Parker grabs either side of Bray's face and kisses him.
Bray is too stunned to move at first. Parker is kissing him but he isn't responding. Parker leans back so their lips are almost touching and looks at Bray. "This is the part when I should tell you I have liked you since the beginning and then you can kiss me back."
"So do it," Bray challenges, holding Parker against him tightly.
"I have liked you since that very first party, Bray. I got under your skin all that time because I thought it was the only way to get your attention. I stole your door because I wanted you to be the one to pick it up, not your roommates. All those dates I was trying to find someone who made me feel as alive as you do. Even fighting with you is more fun than all the time I spent with those other guys combined."
"I feel like we are intruding," Francesca whispers. I have my arm wrapped around her still and she's laid her head against my chest watching everything unfold in front of us. I agree this feels intimate and like we should leave but we can't escape upstairs because they just so happen to be blocking the stairs.
"I thought you hated me," Bray confesses.
"I thought you hated me," Parker laughs as a lone tear rolls down his cheek. Bray doesn't even hesitate as he kisses Parker's cheek to get rid of the tear.
"Not even for a second." And finally Bray closes the gap again and kisses Parker. Well, I guess he isn't scared to kiss cute boys after all.
Stan walks into the kitchen and stops dead in his tracks. "Best wingman ever," I mouth to him. He flips me off as he leaves. Don't worry Stanley my boy, you're next.
I grab Francesca's hand and guide her around the two passionately making out in the middle of the kitchen and up to my room. "Did you know?" she asks when we are alone.
"Yeah I figured it out."
"When?"
"About 30 seconds before Parker bitch slapped Bray across the face."
Francesca kicks her shoes off and climbs into my bed while I grab the rats and let them loose on the bed for her to play with. "Oh fuck you Ryder, that doesn't count."
"Does to," I tease. I waste no time putting my sweatpants back on so I can be comfortable. Francesca follows suit and switches from her jeans and crop top to one of my sweaters and a pair of shorts she has to roll 30 times to even sort of fit her.
"Whatever, put on BIG10 network I want to see if they're still playing highlights of your getting bodied on the ice."
"Bitch," I mutter. Lucky me they are playing highlights of me being toasted around. But also lucky me the replays actually make her feel bad for me and I fall asleep to her massaging my shoulders.
I wake up to someone brushing my hair from my face gently "Hey Ryder, I am leaving. I put the ladies away."
"Thank you," I mumble. I feel her pull a blanket over me and tuck me in like I tucked her in in the past. Confession: no one has ever tucked me into bed before, at least not that I can remember. I think that's why I keep falling harder for Francesca. Plenty of attractive girls have crawled into bed with me, but none sat with me all night rubbing my shoulders and tucking me in because they genuinely care about me. Then again I have never cared for anyone the way I care for Francesca.