Collide: A Hockey Romance

“WHERE’S MY PHONE?”

The guys are sitting in the dining room when I walk in to locate my phone. Dylan’s studying which is uncharacteristic of him, and Kian’s on his phone with his legs up on the table, disregarding that people eat where he puts his nasty feet. Eli walks in too.

“You know that Find My iPhone was invented in 2010, right?” Kian says.

Dylan chucks an eraser at him. “Did you lose it last night? You didn’t answer any of our texts.”

“I think I might have left it at the bar.”

“When Summer friend-zoned you or when you let her cozy up with Howard?” asks Kian. He follows a few basketball guys on social media and saw us in the background of their videos. So much for keeping things private.

Ignoring him, I grab my keys to head down there.

“Dude, it’s two p.m. They don’t open until late,” says Dylan, stopping me. “Here, use my phone to track it in case it’s in your truck or something.”

When I enter my information, the compass spins, and I see my phone down south. In the opposite direction of the bar. At Yale University.

The guys all stare at the screen in confusion. Shit.

“Why the hell would you go there?” Dylan looks disgusted.

“I didn’t. I gave it to this girl to put in her number, and I never got it back.” Bethany was clearly too drunk to remember to hand it back to me. And I was too preoccupied with someone else.

“You might as well get a new phone now.”

Except, I can’t. Summer texts me when she needs me, and not having my phone means not talking to her. There’s also this strange feeling that I have something important to do today.

“That’s Kappa Zeta. She’s probably in a sorority,” says Dylan.

I head to the door and pull on my shoes when Eli stops me. “We’re leaving for Chicago in a few hours. Are you sure you want to risk pissing off Coach?”

Right. That is the important thing. “I can’t leave without it.”

“Then we’re coming with you,” he declares.

“You don’t have to do that.”

Eli doesn’t budge. “If Kilner’s going to be pissed, he might as well be pissed at all of us. We’re not letting you go to New Haven alone.” A blanket of understanding falls over us, and just like that we’re headed to Yale.

When we near campus a sea of blue coats the sidewalks, and it’s hard to keep the collective shiver at bay. “Should I have brought garlic?” asks Kian.

“Why?”

“If it repels vampires it should work on Yalies, too.”

Dylan laughs. “Smart thinking. Maybe we can buy some before we head in.”

“We won’t need it. I’ll be in and out. No one’s going to notice us.” We park and follow the directions on Dylan’s phone.

“There’s not one person on campus who doesn’t know who you are.” Kian barely finishes his sentence when we hear my name.

Eric Salinger, captain of the Yale hockey team, appears. “Never thought I’d see you guys here unless you had to be.” He laughs. “But it’s good I didn’t get to apologize in person for trashing your school. My guys won’t ever pull something as reckless as that ever again.”

Eric’s a stand-up guy. Like me, he was drafted when he played for A leagues, so his sole focus has always been hockey. His team, on the other hand, are a bunch of air-headed morons.

“Still pretty fucked up of you. Cap’s been paying for that shit for months,” says Kian.

Eric shakes his head in pity. “Look, if I knew I would have stopped it. That shit doesn’t fly with me.”

“Do dirty plays fly with you?” My hand on Kian’s chest prevents him from moving forward. The last thing we need is for someone to see him getting mouthy and retaliate.

“You’re good, but your guys still need to learn a lesson,” I say.

A hint of amusement lifts his lips. “I’m certain you’ll make sure of that at the final.”

“You think you’ll make it?”

“It’s looking that way. Don’t know about you though.”

“Guess we’ll see.” My parting words are more of a courtesy than anything. He definitely knows that we’ve won nearly every game this season.

We head to the bright yellow house on the corner of the street that screams sorority. Walking up to the white wooden porch, I knock on the pink door. The girl who opens it is bright-eyed and smiling but her posture is stiff.

“Hey, one of your friends took my phone last night. I’m going to need it back.”

Her perfect smile doesn’t waver. “I’m sorry, that’s not possible. Kappa sisters don’t fraternize with Dalton cronies.”

Dylan pushes forward. “Look, I’m not trying to get a rash here so if you just hand us the phone, we can head back.”

“Dylan?” A girl from inside charges toward him. “You never called!”

Dylan mutters a curse. I turn to the girl who opened the door as Dylan apologizes profusely to the one he ghosted. “See, it is possible. Now, can you just get her?” I ask.

“What’s her name?”

“Bethany.”

The girls give each other a look. “Wait here.”

I think I might have gotten Bethany in trouble. Kian and Eli climb the steps to stand behind us, and that’s when we notice the girls staring at us from the windows. I wave, making them scramble behind the curtains.

“I don’t know any hockey player—Aiden?” Bethany curses and then pulls me to the side. “You need to leave. Now.”

I pull my arm from her hold. “I need my phone.”

“What phone?”

I show her the flashing location pin on Dylan’s phone indicating mine is in this house. “That’s probably what’s been buzzing all morning,” she mutters, running a hand through her hair. “Look, I’m on thin ice here and they’re going to kick me out if they find out I was drinking last night. If I get your phone, will you make an excuse for me?”

“You’re not exactly in a position to negotiate,” I say.

“Do you want your phone or not?”

“Are you blackmailing me?”

She shuts her eyes in frustration. “Please?”

I concede, and she heads upstairs. Her sorority sisters cross-examines me. “How do you know Beth?”

I scramble for an excuse. “We met at a diner last night. She used my phone and must’ve accidentally taken it.”

“A diner? Are you sure?”

“Yup.”

Her glare sends me a step back. The guys have already moved onto the sidewalk. Cowards.

“Here.” Bethany shoves my phone into my hand. Before I can thank her, she slams the door shut. What is it with women and slamming doors in my face?

Summer

[10:00 am]

Summer: As much as it pains me to admit it, I had fun last night.

Summer: See you at noon!

[11:30 am]

Summer: Meet me at Advanced Imaging. Behind Carver Hall.

[11:42 am]

Summer: Please don’t be late. Dr. Toor is going on paternity leave this week.

[11:55 am]

Summer: Aiden???

[11:58 am]

Summer: If this is some type of sick joke, it’s not funny.

Summer: I swear to god if you don’t show up in two minutes, I won’t ever speak to you again.

“Twenty bucks says she socks him in the face.”

“I’m thinking knee to the balls.”

“Maybe she’ll beat him with his hockey stick before Kilner gets the chance.”

The guys pop off with their unamusing predictions of my plight. But I know, of all things she can do, the worst is if she ignores me.

When I spot her crossing the street to her dorm, I tell Dylan to stop. “Don’t want to rush you, man, but we’re late,” he says as I hop out.

To my dismay, Summer doesn’t turn when I call her name and instead walks faster. “Summer.” I take hold of her arm.

She jerks out of my hold, skewering me with an angry look.

I deflate. “It slipped my mind. I lost my phone last night.”

Her gaze flicks behind me to the car full of guys watching us. I hear a bunch of Hi, Summer’s from the peanut gallery, and she gives them a half smile.

“I made a mistake,” I continue.

“A mistake?” She scoffs. “Dr. Toor and I waited an entire hour for you! I’ve been reminding you about this for weeks. Losing your phone shouldn’t even matter.”

“I know. I don’t want to give you any excuses. I fucked up, and I want to make up for it.”

She shakes her head in disbelief. “You’re a goddamn headache, you know that?”

“I know, and I’m sorry.”

She stares at me for a long minute, something akin to surprise passing before she blinks it away. The light tap of the horn behind me tells me I’m running out of time.

“I have to leave for Chicago, and I won’t be back for a few days. I was really hoping we could talk this out.”

“You’re leaving?” There’s a hint of disappointment in the question. “I mean, you should leave then. You don’t want to be late.”

Dylan calls my name again, and I want to punch a hole through his head.

“Give me a minute!” I yell back. “Please, can we just talk this through later?” I say to her.

“There’s nothing to talk about. I’ll figure something else out.”

Dejection ripples through me. “I can’t leave without making this right.”

She shakes her head in disbelief. “You have a whole team waiting for you, Aiden. Don’t let them down, too.”

I should have expected that jab. “I won’t. I just need to make sure this—” I gesture between us, “—isn’t ruined.”

“My project is almost done. It shouldn’t matter anyway.”

Her sharp words are punctuated by a honk.

I ignore it. “Just tell me I can redeem myself.”

Summer bites the inside of her cheek in contemplation.

“Crawford! Kilner’s calling. We gotta go, man.”

“Fuck—One second!” I shout.

Summer doesn’t answer. She looks completely withdrawn, and it fucking kills me that I made her feel that way. “I messed up, Summer. I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” she finally says, turning to the doors of Iona House and disappearing inside.