Between You and Me (A college hockey romance)

Nine

Lennon

Nicholas and Evan is watching me loosen the corset, transfixed - as if they've never seen a woman before in their life.

Too bad for them, I'm not taking it off. At least not yet.

"Actually" I say, grinning. "My favorite item of clothing I'm wearing are my heels". I pull off my way-too-expensive heels and instantly feel better. They might be cute, but they sure as hell are not comfortable.

Nicholas bursts out laughing. "I fucking thought you were gonna get naked in front of us" he shouts. I wink at him. "You have to earn that right". His eyebrow shoots up and his grin widens.

"Tease".

I don't know why I'm flirting with him. He's attractive enough, sure, but I'm not a flirter. Especially not with men on the so-called hockey lane.

"Our turn" I say, breaking eye-contact with Nicholas and hand the ping-pong ball to Evan. He swallows hard, before wiping his hands on his jeans and taking the ball. He lines up the shot, but misses.

Luke has his turn but misses catastrophically - again - and so does Nicholas when his barely skims one of our cups. Even with the increased alcohol levels I could wipe these three amateurs of the floor. When it's my turn, I throw the ball, aiming for one of the cups on the left. It hits bullseye with a satisfying 'slosh'.

"You guys' suck!" I yell, throwing my hands up in celebration.

Before I get the satisfaction of seeing the boys do a dare, someone slams into me from the back. I feel the long, slender arms of my newly found best-friend, Arden, wrap around me. It might be the copious amounts of alcohol already consumed, but she's starting to really feel like my best friend. So is Jade, wherever she is.

"Lenny!" she squeals, and I turn around to hug her back. She's a lot taller than me, but I am stronger, and we end up in a mixture of hugging, and trying to lift each other of the ground. I'm sure we look ridiculous but I'm too giddy to care.

"Ardy" I squeal back, laughing.

"Lenny" she repeats and takes my face in her hands. "You are SO beautiful". A grin blooms on her face and I mirror her expression. "No, YOU are!".

"Jesus Christ, women are so weird" I hear Evan say next to me, but I don't care. I feel euphoric. Happy. Drunk.

I never let myself go like this but here I feel safe enough to do so.

"I need to pee" Arden exclaims and starts pulling me towards the bathroom. I wave to Evan and my new friends. When we get around the corner, the line to the bathroom is enormous. Arden groans and leans against the wall.

"We'll use Owen's" I tell her and takes her hand again, leading her up the stairs. Owen shares a bathroom with his roommates, but as all the rooms upstairs it has a code-lock on it, so I know it won't be crowded.

The upstairs hallway is quiet. I try to remember what door his bedroom and what door his bathroom is. Arden stumbles behind me, swearing as she tries to get the black Louis Vuitton heels of her feet.

I finally find the right door and insert the code, ushering Arden in after me. I've been in this bathroom before, but right now it feels like heaven. It's quiet and lavishing.

Arden sits down on the toilet, and I sink down on the bathtub. My head is spinning a little more than I am willing to admit.

"I think I might be fucked" Arden says. I look over at her. Her hair is dishevelled and wild, and the green dress she chose from my closet has been cleaner. What the hell did she get up to tonight?

"What do you mean?" I ask her, my words coming out slower than I intended. She sighs.

"I made out with your brother".

I raise an eyebrow at her. "You made out with my brother?".

"I'm so sorry Lenny" she drags her hands over her face.

I burst out laughing, nearly falling into the tub. "You didn't make out with my brother" I tell her. Because she didn't. There's no way. I have four brothers, but three of them are children and Wyatt is absolutely not here. So, there's no way she made out with my brother.

"Don't laugh at me" she says, swaying over to the sink to wash her hands. "He's just so hot".

That makes me laugh even harder and I slip backwards into the tub, hooking the underneath of my knees at the edge. Tears are running down my cheeks and my chest hurts from laughing.

Arden comes over and joins me in the tub. She leans her head on my shoulder.

"You didn't make out with my brother" I tell her again.

"But I did" she begins, and I can feel the laughter budding in my chest again. "Have you seen him? Owen's just... a god".

Owen?

Oh my god.

"Arden, he's not my brother" I laugh, and she sits up straighter. "He's not?". She looks at me for a second then she bursts out laughing, and I can't help but laugh too.

I never thought I'd be here. In a tub, laughing hysterically with a friend after having too many drinks at a party. The only thing missing is Jade and this would be the most complete core memory.

It's crazy how much my life has changed in the matter of a few days - and I'm not freaking out about it for once.

Lou, my childhood therapist, would be so fucking proud of me right now.

"Well, fuck" Arden says as she finishes laughing. I wipe the tears of my face with my palm, still grinning from the absurdity of this situation.

"Speaking of boys" she begins, turning to look at me. "I've seen the way a certain hockey player looks at YOU". She points a finger at my chest, exaggeratedly.

"Who?".

"Don't be dumb, Lenny" she rolls her eyes and tries to pull herself up from the tub. After a couple failed attempts she manages to stand up and goes to help me. "I've only just met him today and even I can see it".

I roll my eyes in response. "I don't care. I want to have fun".

As I stand up my head starts spinning again. Arden is already on her way out the door as I pull my skirt down and try to take a couple steps. The alcohol must have hit me harder than I thought.

As I walk out of Owen's bathroom, I walk straight into a broad-chested, tattooed, body.