Mitchell's Power Play

Away Games

MITCHELL

Things got a bit strained after Jackson interrupted Sammy and me in the kitchen. Regardless of what his intentions had been, he was successful in stopping whatever could've happened between Sammy and me that night. Cockblocking me if you will. Things got seriously awkward, and Jackson went to bed shortly thereafter. Sammy left as well after giving me a lame goodbye kiss on the cheek. Like, what was that? We'd been going at it, heavily, in the kitchen before Jackson interrupted. And if he hadn't shown up I probably would've taken Sammy to my bedroom and had my way with her, and made sure she was completely satisfied by the time she left. Unless she'd wanted to stay. I would've been completely okay with that too.

But, like I said. That didn't happen. Thanks to my roommate.

The apartment was quiet when I got up in the morning. I tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing where I stood with Sammy, or Jackson for that matter, and tried to focus on going through my normal morning routine. I had a hockey game to get ready for, so I needed to get my head straight, but it was difficult. Thankfully Jackson stayed away.

We won the game and both Sammy and Kennedy had been in the stands but they left before we got out. Kennedy was supposed to stay away from stressful situations and her attending our games in person was an ongoing argument between her and Nash. I figured that Sammy had left to take Kennedy back home, but it still felt like she was avoiding me.

That night was the same as the morning, except that the apartment was empty. Jackson wasn't home. He didn't always tell me if he went out, but he usually let me know if he was staying out. This time he didn't.

It was quiet again on Sunday morning, and it continued like that. I recognized that it wasn't just Jackson who was avoiding me. I spent more time in my room as well. Maybe it was unconsciously at first. I tried to give him space, but as time went by I realized it was me avoiding him too, and by doing that I was avoiding the inevitable. We'd have to have an actual conversation about what had happened eventually, and I wasn't even sure what that was. I had thought Sammy and I were hitting it off and that it was the start of something great, but other than a few short texts I hadn't heard from her either.

When Wednesday came around and I still hadn't talked to Jackson I was getting a bit frustrated. I felt childish for stressing about it, but Jackson was avoiding me just as much as I was avoiding him, so at least I wasn't the only immature one.

The hockey team left for the airport on Thursday morning and I actually looked forward to sharing a hotel room with a grumpy Nash, at least it got me something else to focus on. The further along Kennedy's pregnancy got, the more he worried and the grumpier he got. But I would gladly take that over the avoidance game Jackson and I were currently playing.

We were on the road for a week, and like our new normal, Nash was stressed and worried about leaving Ken alone at home. Her blood pressure had been slowly increasing and he told me how he worried about her miscarrying. I had conflicting feelings about that. Not about Kennedy miscarrying, I wanted her to have the best and easiest pregnancy ever heard of, but about the fact that Nash shared his concerns with me. As his best friend, he'd expect me to do the same, but I just couldn't... Jackson was his brother-in-law and one of his good friends. How could I confess that I was upset with Jackson for interrupting me almost getting it on with his wife's best friend? In comparison to what Nash was dealing with, my problems were silly and immature, but they still bothered me.

Nash and I got back to the hotel after the Sunday afternoon's practice. We were going to change and head out for dinner with some of the guys from the team. I showered first and was on my way back into the room when I overheard Nash on the phone. "Are you alright babe?" Obviously, I didn't hear the response but I knew he was talking to Kennedy.