The Hookup Pact

2| Atlas

Another hard slapshot, another puck whizzing into the top of the net, and then the satisfying sound of the buzzer. Nothing helped better my sour mood than scoring goals. Even if it was just practice.

Just then Coach blew his whistle, stopping all activity on the ice. "Take a 15-minute break!"

Skating over to the bench, I took my helmet off, ruffling my sweat-damp hair. The bite of the cold air in the rink was refreshing after a hard-fought scrimmage for the past hour and a half.

"Damn Griffin, who pissed you off this early in the morning?" Dylan, our goalie, asked as he skated over from the net, propping his mask up on his forehead.

Honestly? I had a list of people I could rant off, but I wasn't about to air my dirty laundry in front of the entire team. Shit happened all the time, and I dealt with it. No one had time to crib about it.

"Is it because you didn't get your solo ice time in the morning?" one of our defensemen, Kris, asked as he joined us.

That was just one of many reasons. Since my car was in the shop, I was not only late to my board meeting yesterday, but also to practice today.

And all of it was because of Evelyn and her crappy driving skills.

A scowl formed on my face as I remembered the parking lot incident and then the judgmental looks I got from the old farts in the boardroom, all whom should have retired long back. They could barely walk with their canes but still wanted to pick a fight with me.

As if they had a chance to win against me with their stick-like bones and non-existent muscles. The only reason they got away with all the shit they gave me was because my dad and uncle respected them, and my mom taught me better than to rough up old people. But one of these days those vicious old bags were going to push me over the edge for sure.

"Who was the girl back at the house this morning? I thought we had a rule not to let the one-night stands stay the night," I said, changing the topic. The more I thought about the board meeting, the angrier I got. Right now, I needed a distraction, not a reminder of the shit going on in my life outside the rink.

"Dylan's girl. Josie... Jacky something," Ethan said. He was a defenseman and one of my many roommates along with Kris and Dylan. The entire team living under the same roof had some benefits, like quality bonding time that carried over onto the ice, but it wasn't without its drawbacks.

Like having to deal with the drama of their messy girlfriends or one-night stands.

"Jamie," Dylan quipped, "and she is not my girl."

I was pretty sure her name was Jennifer, but whatever. If he didn't care about her name, I didn't either. I placed my hands on my waist and narrowed my eyes at him.

"Yeah, her. Why was she in our kitchen in the morning ?"

We had clear house rules, and I didn't appreciate them being broken.

"Oh puh-lease," Dylan said, rolling his gray eyes. "She didn't go anywhere near your precious bathroom. You can calm down."

"You wouldn't be saying this if you had been the one witnessing the traumatizing scene," I accused.

Sophomore year one of the guys' one-night stand had spent the night over and used my bathroom in the morning when she couldn't find an empty one, I was scarred for life. Not because she used my bathroom but because she used my bathroom while on her period and didn't bother cleaning it properly after that.

Don't get me wrong. I'm very supportive and understanding of the pains the women have to go through but the bloody scene I had witnessed then had me feeling queasy for days. Hence the rule.