“She broke his heart. He’s not looking to get into anything serious right now.”
I’ve seen a couple of guys on my team go through the rebound phase. It’s one of the many reasons I haven’t tried to do the serious-relationship thing. It seems to be a six-month cycle. The girls they’re dating get all kinds of antsy. They call all the time, get clingy, and start making unreasonable accusations, worrying about what the guys are doing after the games and who they’re doing it with. Sometimes the worry is justified; other times it’s paranoia.
Playing professional hockey means a lot of traveling; sometimes we’re away for up to two weeks. It’s usually during one of these long stints that the call comes: She can’t take it. It’s too much. It’s her, not him. Then the rebound bunny-pucking begins. The guy goes home with a slew of new bunnies, hoping to sex out the feelings or whatever. It never works. They mope around and get into fights on the ice. I don’t want to end up being one of those guys.
“So he’s on the rebound?”
“He wants a break. He sees her all the time since they work for the same not-for-profit organization. They were supposed to go on this trip together, but obviously that’s not happening, so I’m taking her place.”
“Lily must love this.”
“She’s looking out for me, Miller. She’s been my best friend since first grade. She’s only met you once, and she doesn’t know you apart from what she sees on social media. Most of that isn’t very positive. Maybe if you were more open about all the good things you do outside of hockey, and parties, and going to the bar, people would have something else to focus on besides all the hooker bunnies.”
I sigh and lean back in the chair. I feel a lot like the squirrel sitting on the telephone wire, waiting to be electrocuted. This conversation is on the road to becoming another fight.
“It’s complicated, Sunny. If people know where I’m going to be, it floods programs with kids who don’t need the support.” As it is, I usually have a campaign set up to fund the highest-need families. I get Amber and my dad to go through the applications first and pick the top five. I find it too hard to choose on my own. And I make sure any promo stuff happens after the fact, so the camps are full for the following summer.
I wrap my arms around Sunny’s waist and pull her against my chest. I need to work this from a different angle. Playing the possessive boyfriend isn’t a good idea. I need to be understanding. “I get that you made these plans with Lily, and you don’t want to back out of them. You’re a good friend. I don’t want you to bail on your friends for me.”
I need to focus on making the most of the time we have left together and make sure I secure more sooner rather than later.
“September is coming fast,” I continue. “You’ll be back in school, and I’ll be in training. Then the season starts, and I’ll be traveling a lot. I want more than a couple of days here and there.”
“I want that, too. I like being with you.”
I kiss her shoulder. “So it’s cool if I come out there and do the drive back with you? Maybe I can get Lily to warm up to me.”
“That’d be nice. She’s a great friend.”
“Will I get to meet this ex of yours before I leave?”
“That’s the other thing I was meaning to tell you . . .”
This doesn’t sound good.
“Lily is picking me up tomorrow morning.”
“Morning? I thought we had the day together.” Randy sent me his flight details. I don’t have to get him from the airport until five in the evening.
“Lily said eight, but she’s always late, so probably closer to nine or ten.”
“Why so early? Can’t you leave in the afternoon?”
“It’s a long drive. We need to be there before dark so we can set up camp; otherwise we’ll all have to sleep in the trailer.”