My eyes widened at her response. His girlfriend?
Jason has a girlfriend?
I thought he's just as single as I am–well actually, used to be I guess. In a way.
But that's not really the point. Jason has a girlfriend?
"Uhm–hello?" her voice snaps me out of my head.
"Sorry, uhm..." I shake my head. "Come in, come in."
I step back from the door and welcome her inside. I noticed she wasn't wearing a jacket which took me by surprise.
It's freezing today. How did she stay outside like that?
"Dani, who is it?" I hear Bev from the living room.
I didn't really know what to say so I just called them into the foyer. "Guys...this is..." I turn to her not knowing her name.
"Annabelle."
I nod at her. "Annabelle. Jason's girlfriend."
The words rolled off my tongue weirdly and the others seemed to not believe it either.
"Jason has a girlfriend?" Raven asked.
"When did Jason," Bev puts emphasis on his name, "get a girlfriend."
I shrug as I'm just confused.
"Not that I'm trying to bash him or anything." Bev apologizes, "You're absolutely gorgeous it hurts but it's just...Jason would be the last person I'd expect to, you know..." she explains.
I completely agree with her. I mean, Jason. Out of all the people here, Jason got a girlfriend. And a really pretty one at that.
"Yeah uhm...he asked me out a couple weeks ago and before he left he told me if I wanted to, I could come here." Annabelle rubs up and down her arm awkwardly.
I notice her uneasy stance and lack of eye contact. I don't want her to feel uncomfortable with us.
"Ok, why don't you sit down with us. Bev..." I turn around and she nods.
Allie and Raven head back into the living room and Bev walks up to Annabelle.
"Oh honey, it's gonna be okay." Bev reassures her by pulling her into a hug.
The embrace was short before Bev walked into the kitchen. Annabelle wiped her eyes and went into the living room.
"I mean, he's gonna be okay right? He has to be okay." I could hear the panic in Annabelle's voice.
I sat down beside her to help calm her down. She rested her head against my shoulder and I placed my arm around her.
"I'm sure he's fine. We just have to wait to hear from someone." I explain.
I felt her nod. "Thanks for letting me stay here."
"Don't worry about it. We're all just as worried." Allie waves off the thank you.
Annabelle sniffles again, finally calming down. "You give really good hugs." she whispers to me.
I laugh under my breath. "Really?"
She nods again as Bev walks back into the living room. She brought more chips and sat in the armchair.
"Ok so please tell me how you two met. Because we had no idea Jason had a girlfriend." Bev laughs and pops a chip in her mouth.
"Yeah, I can't believe he beat you to it." Raven's glare is directed at me.
I bite my lip to hide a smile and shrug in agreement. "Whatever Rave."
Annabelle leans off of me and begins to explain. They had met in a class last semester but didn't begin talking until last month.
From there it seemed to just get better. They hung out more often and went on a few dates, which Jason excluded from us, but Allie was able to pry some details.
Annabelle explained that she was from Georgia and didn't know what to do in the cold. So most of their dates happened inside. It seems to me like they were the "let's watch movies and fall asleep" couple.
Cute.
"So why did you guys keep your relationship a secret?" Bev asked with her mouth full.
"We both agreed to not say anything until we were both set on the idea of a label. I haven't even told my parents yet." she mentions, her southern accent poking through.
"He was always quiet, wasn't he?" I asked the rest of them.
They all nod their heads and I let out a low chuckle. "Well I guess we all have boyfriends now." I say nonchalantly, standing up.
"You mean everyone here, but you right?" Allie asks.
I think back to what I just said and slap my hand over my mouth, catching my mistake. "Oh, yeah. Forgot I'm still single." I try to laugh it off, but it doesn't work.
How the hell did I let that slip?
I hear Allie gasp as she stands up. "Liar!"
"What?" I give her a look of forced confusion.
"You're lying! Who is he? Actually I don't need the answer to that I already know!" she smiles.
"What are you talking about? I didn't mean to say all, I meant all of you guys." My defense was weak but that's all I had.
"Dani." Bev pipes up.
"What?" I look at her and a grin appears across her face.
"You're blushing."
My face drops. Shit. Shit. Shit.
I turn around and start walking away. "It's nothing. I didn't mean it." I rushed out.
The sound of footsteps behind me made my brain go into overdrive. I came to the realization that they weren't letting this go and I would have to tell them.
So for the few seconds it took me to get into the kitchen, I savored my last moments before the interrogation started.
"Danielle Thompson! Get the fuck back here!" I hear Bev scream from the hallway.
I sit down on a stool and put my elbows on the counter. They all rush into the kitchen and surround the island.
"When were you going to tell us?" Raven blurts out.
"Tell you what?" I avoid the obvious answer, acting dumb.
"That you and Hunter were dating, duh!" Bev pipes up a little loud.
"We're not dating." I was quick to respond.
With the clear hesitation in my voice, it was easy to see I was lying. But I wasn't, in a way.
Yes we were dating, but not dating like they thought we'd be. It was just something built on terms whether I liked it or not.
So it wasn't real dating if that makes it easier to say.
"Stop lying Dani. I know you're lying." Bev pushes.
"Please, you can't just slip up and tell us you're dating someone." Raven reasons.
"So spill it." Allie demanded. "What is going on with you and Hunter?"
"I have a question." Annabelle cuts in.
We all look at her and she continues.
"Isn't Hunter the guy who scored those goals a few days ago? He's on the hockey team?" she asks.
"Yep. How do you–nevermind. Everyone probably knows." Bev turns back to me as Annabelle nods.
"But anyways, Dani. What is–"
"We kissed." I dropped my head into my hands.
I heard them all gasp and Bev screamed. My face grew hot as one of them shook my shoulders.
"Finally!" Allie sang loudly.
"It's about damn time you two got together." Raven said as I lifted my head.
"But we're not dating. I wasn't lying about that." I point out. "We've just kissed."
"Oh my god so you're not dating?" Raven stresses. I shake my head and she sighs. "I swear, you two are testing my patience."
"Mine two." Allie adds.
"Mine three." Bev continues.
"Mine...four?" Annabelle goes along too.
I laugh with them as my phone starts to ring. When I read the caller id my eyes widened.
Dr. Callahan.
"I want all the details!" Bev shouts.
I ignored her request and picked up the call. "Hello?"
"What–" I stop Bev from talking as I motion towards my phone.
"Hi, Dani I know you guys have probably been waiting for an update." he starts.
"You could say that." I sounded a bit anxious.
"Well he's fine. Nothing major. Just a concussion and a strained neck."
I drop my head in relief and lean against the counter. "Oh thank god."
"I know. Lucky him. I have to get going now, just thought I'd tell you."
"Yeah, thanks. Bye." I end the call and turn towards the others.
"Who was that?" Annabelle asks.
"Dr. Callahan." I said, stuffing my phone back in my pocket. "He's fine, just a concussion and strained neck."
I see the relief wash over all their faces and suddenly the room felt less heavy. The air, less thick.
Annabelle sat down in a chair and rested her head in her hands. I felt just as glad as the others.
After a few minutes of easy going silence we decided to watch the remainder of the game.
I feel a text come through and take my phone out of my pocket.
Bev: I still want details
I roll my eyes at the message.
Me: You're not getting any
Bev: I will
~~~~~
Hunter's POV
**a few days later**
We are in deep shit.
Halfway through this game and we still haven't scored. On top of that, the league slapped a two game suspension on Ryan for brawling.
Coach has been pissed off since that game and we've been struggling to score ever since Jason got injured.
I never knew how much we needed him until we could barely get the puck down the ice. I don't know how we won the last two games, but we managed.
It was the end of the second period when Carter decided to call a meeting in the locker room. The coaches were in a separate room probably discussing everything that's going wrong.
"Alright, everyone! We seriously need to pick our asses up out there. I know we're missing a few players but that's not an excuse." Carter shouts, standing on the bench.
Everyone agrees before someone blurts, "But we're missing our captain!"
"Screw the damn captain! Ryan doesn't care what he does, as long as his reputation is on a high shelf!" Carter argues.
Briggs stands on the bench with Carter. "Alright, who here has had a problem with Ryan?"
Me and Marty were quick to raise our hands and after a few tense moments, others started raising theirs too.
By the end of it, everyone had their hands up and as surprising as it was, I wasn't all that shocked.
He's a self-centered embarrassment.
"You see? He's a horrible captain." Briggs brings up the idea.
"So we're doing this quickly because we need someone to lead us out there." Carter motions down the tunnel.
"I say we vote for Hunter!" someone shouts from the back.
I turn around and see Jake, another defenseman, staring at me. My teammates agree and I stood there in disbelief.
"Me?" I point to myself. "Why?"
"Because, in all honesty, one; you're just a better player and two; you play for the team and not for yourself." Jake explains.
The whole team agrees and turns towards me. "Plus he's not a dickhead." Briggs mentions, hopping down from the bench.
He walks over to me and pats me on the shoulder. "Well it looks like we have a new captain."
"Who isn't a dickhead!" Carter shouts.
"Who isn't a dickhead!" The rest of the team repeats, letting out hoots and hollers.
They push me around and pat me on the head before the coaches come back in. We settled down and listened to what they had to say.
Heading down the tunnel though, there was only one thing keeping me going. This was the last game before we could go home.
This might've been the longest and most tiring week of my life. All I want is to sleep in my own bed.
I have stuff to do when I get back. Important things to say, important things to do.
And especially, an important person to see.
And she's at the top of my list.
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Next chapter is so ugh..... let's just say it's get a little hot ;)
I feel like people are gonna go heavy on the comments.
Thoughts??
And just to clear some things up on dating
Allie & Carter
Bev & Marty
Raven & Briggs
Cal & Addie
Jason & Annabelle