Adam and Rauthruss wander out of their respective rooms. Rauthruss grabs a wooden chair from the dining table and Adam takes a seat in our leather recliner. He eyes the bottle in Maverick’s hand. “Dude, really?”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Mav tsks. “You can’t speak until you have the bottle. New house rule.” He hands it to Adam with a smirk. “Take a shot, captain, my captain.”
“You don’t even live here.” Adam takes a long swallow of the MD 20/20 anyway and grimaces. “That shit’s nasty. I haven’t had Mad Dog since high school.”
“Ironically, that’s the last time I got called to a family meeting, too,” Mav points out, taking the bottle back.
“Yeah, well feel free to leave since, again, you don’t live here, but this won’t take long. Three things.” He holds up his fingers like he’s talking to children. I glance over at Mav as he runs a hand along his tattooed chest where he’s spilled on himself and a trail of alcohol trickles down to his shorts. Okay, maybe we’re more like overgrown toddlers than functioning men. Maverick and I like to have fun, so sue us. We show up on the ice where it matters.
“Number one,” Adam goes right into it. “We looked like shit out there this week.”
Mav holds up a finger, takes a drink, and then speaks. “We’re not even on the ice yet. Give it time.”
Adam starts to respond, but not before Mav hands him the bottle and he begrudgingly takes another sip. “No, it’s my last year and I’m not taking any chances by waiting for ice time. I think we should invite the guys over.”
“Party. Good call,” I say and find the bottle thrust into my side.
As I’m taking a drink, Adam shakes his head. “No, not a party. Well, okay, a party, but no girls. Just the team.”
“You want us to spend our nights with a bunch of sweaty guys now too?” We’re already spending long days in conditioning together. The only thing that got me through the week was the promise of a weekend of fun. “I’m not sure more time together is the answer.”
“Girls,” Mav says. “The answer is always girls. Let’s get the freshmen laid.”
“That’s actually not a bad plan,” Rauthruss speaks up for the first time. The bottle is passed to him and he fingers the label as he finishes. “Maybe they just need to let off a little steam.”
Adam frowns and the vein in his forehead becomes noticeable—never a good sign. “We party all the time. The guys don’t need our help finding chicks. This is about coming together as a team.”
“You’re going to go all weekend without your latest girlfriend?” Mav asks Adam pointedly.
Adam always has a girlfriend. I can’t remember the current one’s name. Hannah? Holly? I don’t understand why he doesn’t stay single. It isn’t like he, or any of us for that matter, need the relationship label to get laid. But, no, Adam Scott is the full boyfriend experience. He doesn’t only hook up or go on a few dates. He wastes months on these girls, going all in with dates and sleepovers… just not for more than six months or so at a time. He’s an odd duck.
Rauthruss too. He’s been dating the same girl since high school and she lives in freaking Nebraska. Why have a girlfriend you never see? The only perk of having a girlfriend is getting laid on a regular basis, right? I’m really asking; I have no idea.
“Maria and I broke up,” he says with a shrug. “And it’s just for tonight.”
Maria. Wow, definitely off there.
“What happened to Heather?” Mav asks.
Ah, yes, Heather! My memory isn’t failing me yet.
“They broke up in May. Keep up.” Rauthruss reaches out for the Mad Dog again, but Maverick holds it up and shakes the empty bottle. Fuck, we went through that fast.
“Fine. Party tonight. No girls,” Mav says and looks to me. I’m the last holdout. “It’s one night, man.”
“What are the other two things on the agenda. We’ll circle back,” I say with a smile and Mav chuckles.
“Nice. Circling back. I think my dad used that the last time we talked.”
His dad is a big executive—suit and tie, phone permanently attached to his ear. Rich as sin, but kind of a prick, so we have a bit of fun at his expense with our corporate speak, or jargon, if you will.
Adam interrupts our joking, which to be fair is probably the only way to get us back on track. “Number two. Heath, you have to walk your dates out the door. Like personally see that they make it outside.” He looks to Rhett who’s turning a nice shade of red.
Mav gasps dramatically with a hand to his chest. Charli at his feet lifts her head to check on her owner. “Heath would never. He’s a true gentleman.”
“It was one time and I did walk her out.” I glance at my flushed roommate. The memory of him all bed head and in his boxers kicking out a half-naked Kimberly still makes me smile. “I just didn’t lock the door behind her. How was I supposed to know she was going to come back and try to work her way around the apartment?”
I mean, seriously… is it my fault that she broke into our place and slipped into bed with the guy? Apparently nothing is sexier or more challenging for a girl than a guy in a real committed relationship. And Rauthruss is as loyal as they come even though he barely sees his woman. It drives girls crazy. Seriously, he could have any chick he wanted. He might be onto something, not that I have any plans to try his method. Mine’s working just fine.
Maverick sets the empty bottle on the coffee table and heaves a sigh. “Are there any items on your list that don’t revolve
