“So?”
“So?” He chuckles.
“Take your pick, but I’m leaving one of them behind. And whatever is in that box is yours too. The less I have to move, the better.”
He sits back on the couch and glances around the apartment. It was never very lived in. I spent most of my time hanging out at his apartment with Rauthruss and Scott upstairs, but it’s been home for the past year, the dorms the year before that. Two years I’ve been at Valley U, two of the best of my life, and now I’m leaving. It’s surreal.
Classes are done Wednesday, and when everyone’s done partying and heads off for the summer, I will too. I don’t need to be in Minnesota for another two weeks, but I’ve already signed a lease on an apartment, and Coach Miller said I could start using the workout and practice facilities as soon as I want.
The Wildcats season is over, and camp isn’t until July. No rest for the wicked, though. If I want to keep myself from being sent down to the minor league team, I need to start contributing immediately.
“It isn’t going to be the same without you,” my buddy says.
“It wouldn’t be the same regardless.” I take a seat in the recliner next to him. “Rauthruss and Scott are both done, and there’ll be a new group of rookies…” My voice trails off, and I’m hit with the finality of my decision.
I’ve signed, and there’s no going back now. I hope I made the right call. My dad, for all his faults, is a smart man, and he seems to think I made a good decision. And believe me, he doesn’t approve of many of my actions.
“I know. I’ll miss playing with you, though.”
“It isn’t too late. You can come with me. We can start our pro careers together.” I smile and pretend that I think there’s a real chance he might take me up on it. He won’t.
He isn’t going anywhere until he has a degree. I respect that. Heath hasn’t had the easiest path getting to where he is. He doesn’t take any of it for granted. He wants a fallback plan. Me? Well, I guess the money in my bank account gives me the freedom to not worry about what happens if hockey doesn’t pan out. And they say money can’t buy happiness.
He points at me and then waggles his finger. “Two years, and then I’m coming for you.”
“Can’t wait,” I say, honestly. He’s already been drafted by the Coyotes, and I’m looking forward to meeting him on the ice. Who knows, maybe someday we’ll even be on the same team again.
“The guys want to have some time, just the four of us, before everyone comes over. You ready?” His gaze drops to my bare chest with amusement.
“You said it was a shirtless party.” I run a hand across my pecs. “I even put on some of that shimmery lotion Ginny’s always leaving around your apartment. It really does catch the light and accentuate my best assets.”
He laughs, shaking his head, and smiling at me. “Fuck I’m going to miss you.”
Upstairs at their apartment, we find Adam and Rhett outside on the deck. It’s hot today, but there’s a nice breeze. They stand and show off their shirtless torsos. I laugh, and Heath pulls off his T-shirt as well.
“Aww, you’re all going shirtless for me? That’s the best going-away present ever. Maybe we should just make it a naked party. Let’s get weird.”
“Keep your pants on,” Adam Scott comes forward and hugs me, slapping me on the back twice. “Congrats, man.”
“Thank you.”
Rhett Rauthruss is next. He embraces me quickly and then steps back and adjusts the Bruins hat on his head. “I might have to start cheering for my home state team now.”
“Eh, I don’t care if you cheer for the team; just coming to watch me play will be enough.” He’s from a town not far from the Wildcats arena and moving back there after graduation to work with his family.
He laughs quietly. “Definitely.”
Heath brings out the Mad Dog, my favorite drink, and hands us each our own bottle.
“Oh fuck, I don’t know if I can drink an entire one of these,” Scott says as he gets a whiff of the sweet liquor.
“Party rules,” Heath tells him and holds up his bottle. He’s the only one staying. Technically, Adam will still be in Valley while he goes to medical school, but the team won’t be the same. “It’s been a wild ride playing with the three of you, living together, drinking, just hanging out. Congrats to all of you.”
“Cheers.” Rauthruss is the first to clink his bottle against Heath’s, and Adam and I follow.
“Cheers.” I take a long swig, swallowing down the emotion swirling with it. “Let’s get ridonkulous!”
Their girlfriends are the next to arrive. Ginny, Reagan, and Sienna file out together and go straight to their boys. Dakota is with them, and when I get a good look at her, I bark out a laugh.
“That for me, sweetheart?”
“I heard shirts were optional,” she says, batting her lashes and doing a spin that sends her red hair whipping around her head. The shirt, or scrap of white material, barely covering her tits, is held up by two thin straps around her shoulders, leaving most of her back bare too. She’s lean, and tone from running, and her skin looks soft and tempting. She’s gorgeous on any given day, but when she’s trying to impress, she could kill a man.
“I approve. Every day should be a no-shirt day.”
“You can’t handle all this every day, Johnny Maverick,” she says with a teasing tone.
“Man, but I’d love to give it the ole college try.” I scoop my arm around her back and pull her against my hip. Just like I thought, her skin is soft, and she molds perfectly to my side.
She swats at my chest. “I think I might miss you.”
“I’m definitely going to miss you.”
Someone starts the music, and more people join us outside. Dakota starts to move away, but I tighten my grip.
“Dance with me?”
“Now?” She looks around. No one else is dancing, but I give zero fucks. I’ll take any excuse to keep her at my side.
“Yeah. Now. Later. All night.” She has a slender but athletic build, and she’s a great dancer. I can’t think of a better way to spend my last party at Valley than dancing all night with the best chick I know.
“Maverick!” a freshman teammate calls out to me as he approaches, holding up a bottle of Mad Dog.
Kota opens her stance to acknowledge him, and I reluctantly let her go. I always let her go. She’s too beautiful. Too smart. Too rad. Too everything for me. Yeah, I’m definitely going to miss her.
With one last look in my direction, she hits me with those sexy blue eyes. “Enjoy your party, Johnny.”
3
Dakota
The guys’ apartment is packed tonight. People crowd out onto the deck and into the living room. It’s a real possibility we’re over capacity on this creaky deck. But at least we’re only on the second floor.
“Okay, so I know we were mocking the optional shirt tagline for the night, but holy shit, why did we not think of this sooner?” Reagan looks around from where we sit on a couple of loungers on the right side of the deck, and I follow her gaze.