Page 15 of The Chemistry Coach
“Ah, but I missed one key detail.Are you a fan of the Freeze?Or Beanie?”Hazy bounced his eyebrows.
She looked in Connor’s direction, but the moment their eyes met, hers darted away.Her attention snapped to Hazy.She fidgeted with her smoothie straw.“The Freeze.”
Lover bounded into the store like an eager puppy before Connor could ask a follow-up question.He was dying to know how she got into hockey.Had she played as a kid?Maybe her family were lifelong fans?
Or maybe she found the sport through romance books.Unlikely though, those fans didn’t seem to understand the meaning of boundaries, and she seemed to have nothing but.
“I got the goods!”Lover held up his bag of snacks and sat in the chair next to Daisy’s.
He crowded her, but Connor couldn’t think of a valid reason to make him move.She was at ease with Lover and Hazy, but kept her guard up for Connor.
Daisy clapped her hands.“Awesome.Connor.You’re up.Meet us at the car when you’re done?”
His sense of pride when she called him Connor was entirely unearned.But he liked being Connor.With two other Connors around, nobody ever called him by his given name.
He nodded and trudged his way to the door.He had no clue what to buy.
Connor stared at the packed aisle of cookies and candies and chips and sugar-filled drinks, unable to recall which snacks Hazy and Lover liked.
He picked up a pack of peanut butter cups and set it down.Did they eat chocolate?Were they allergic to peanuts?
If he had to do this for Casey and Evan, he’d have bought the peanut butter cups and a bag of salt and vinegar chips without thinking.He would’ve been in and out in thirty seconds.
How could he possibly build the same level of understanding with Hazy and Lover?And in a few months?They were kids, and he might as well be a dinosaur.They had nothing in common.
It had taken years for Connor, Casey, and Evan to build their trust and love.
Connor sighed and tugged at his hair, trying to get into the heads of his linemates.
Before a deep sense of panic could set in, inspiration struck.He’d ask the cashier what the other guys had purchased.Then he’d at least have something similar to what the others got.They’d look like they were on the same page.
He approached the cashier, who was happy to help.He rattled off a list of items, and Connor went to reach for them when he ran into a body.
It took him longer than it should’ve to realize it was Daisy.He grabbed her flailing wrists to steady her as she wobbled.
“Shit, sorry!”
She snatched her hands away from him and gave him an outraged glare.“Really, Connor?Couldn’t you at least try?This is supposed to be fun.It didn’t have to be perfect.How am I supposed to help you if you won’t put a little effort in?”
His heart rate kicked up at the accusation.She wasn’t wrong.He took the easy way.But he’d tried.Hadn’t he?He’d stood there for a solid five minutes hoping the answers would come to him, and they didn’t.But he couldn’t explain without sounding like a total idiot.
“Fuck, I know.Sorry.”
She abandoned the bottle of water and energy drink she’d been holding and spun on her heel, exiting the store.He grabbed her misplaced items and a few things from the cashier’s list.
Music blasted from the car.Lover, Hazy, and Daisy were dancing in their seats, singing a song he didn’t recognize.When he opened the door to get in, though, the music cut off.
“Hey, got the stuff.”
No one answered him.Daisy waited for everyone to get buckled and then exited the parking lot, starting the journey to wherever their next stop would be.Connor didn’t dare ask.
Before long they stopped in a parking lot on a dead-end street.The brick building they parked in front of must have been a hundred years old.They entered the yard through a wrought-iron gate that transported them into a fairytale.A haphazard mess of rose bushes and fruit trees blocked the entrance from the view of the parking lot.A pride flag swung over the grand front porch.
The front yard seemed magical, but the lobby was modern and manned by a front desk person who greeted Daisy with a friendly wave.She waved back and led them to the elevator.
As they rode up to the fourth floor, Hazy asked, “What is this place?”
Daisy gave him a shy smile.It annoyed Connor that she hadn’t directed one at him yet.He hadn’t earned one.But still.She cleared her throat and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, avoiding meeting their eyes.
