The More Boys I Meet

“I didn’t even need stitches!” I announced to everyone as we walked into the house. “This is an accomplishment!”

“Way to set your standards high there Ells,” Pat rolled his eyes, lounging on the patio outside.

“Thanks Pattycake. I’m hungry. What are we doing for food?” I asked as I went upstairs to change. “Oh Crow. They made me throw out the tee shirt. Pat will get you another one, promise!” I winked at my blonde roommate and he just rolled his eyes.

“Women,” he muttered. “How was she?” I heard Pat say to the Swedes.

“Fine. Very talkative on the way home though,” Viktor mused. “So I bought her a slushy and it was peaceful after that.”

“Hm, okay,” Pat said, ending the conversation as I walked into my bedroom to change.

“Hey Ell. . . WHOA!” Viktor walked in, froze at seeing me only a bra and a pair of shorts, closed his eyes, turned around, ran into the wall and fell down.

I pulled a tank top over my head and walked over to the stunned Swede. I lightly kicked his shoulder. “I mean I know I don’t have extremely big boobs, but can you take the shock down a few levels or something? You could give yourself a concussion you know.”

“You had the door wide open!” he spluttered.

“Because it takes more time and effort to shut the door than it does to just take off the shirt and change into a new one. And besides I thought you were all downstairs, not creepily following me upstairs,” I pointed out.

“What’s going on up there?” Hammer asked, coming to bottom of the staircase.

“Viktor made fun of my boobs,” I said, breezing past the defense man and outside, taking a seat beside Pat.

“What?!” Viktor roared. “I was not!”

“Changing with the door open again?” Pat asked.

I shrugged. “Didn’t hear anyone come upstairs. I still had a bra on and everything too.”

He rolled his eyes. “Do you do that at school too?”

“Sometimes,” I admitted. “Depends on the hurry that I’m in.”

Pat laughed and I saw Marcus staring at us from the yard. “Man your face Krugs. Stally walked in on Ellie changing and apparently freaked out.”

I watched him carefully, because it was one of those rare times where it was easier to read Marcus. His light eyes darkened for a quick second and he nodded his head. “Very odd of him. Considering he was at a girl’s apartment the other night and he didn’t come home shell shocked then.”

Viktor came out, sighing with irritation. “I hate you Ellie. You’re like my sister. And you don’t want to see your sister naked under any circumstance. That is why I freaked out. I hate people,” he grumbled walking away.

“Wait!” I called out. “Why did you even come upstairs in the first place?”

“We’re ordering Chinese. What do you want?” Johnny filled me in.

“Oh! Rice!” I beamed.

~~~~~

We were all sitting outside, around a campfire eating out Chinese having multiple conversations. I was talking with Hammer and Seabs about defensive plays and their favorite hits on guys. I put my plate down on the grass and noticed something very odd across the fire from me.

Marcus Kruger was quiet. Well no, I guess that wasn’t very unusual. What was strange was that Pat was also quiet, sitting next to him. And guilty looking. I narrowed my eyes and turned back to Marcus. His eyes met mine and he raised an eyebrow. And I knew. I just knew.

“You filthy little lying bag of blonde slut trash,” the words flew out my mouth; I was up on my feet in two seconds flat, ready to take on the littlelest guy on the Blackhawks team. I would win.

He jumped up, hands waving in a surrendering fashion. Unfortunately for him, I took no prisoners. “Ellie! I didn’t really tell him!”

“Oh really now?” I snarled, standing less than five inches from his face. I may have been smaller than him, but I was still fierce.

“He told me. . .”

“He told you. . . ? The fuck?” I spun on the Swede who looked absolutely terrified and for good reason too.

“I didn’t know if it was true or not and I didn’t think it was, so I just kind of asked and he seemed appalled so I figured it was true.”

“What is going on?” Seabs separated me from Pat. “Am I the only one confused here?”

Crow, Johnny, and Viktor were eerily quiet. And then it all clicked. “You told Johnny about me and Johnny made a comment without knowing to those idiots and the idiot Swede told baby Swede and I will murder you,” I finished in a low, dark tone before I leapt onto my house mate.

“Ellie!” Seabs wrestled me off of the blonde.

“What is going on?!” Hossa shouted. “What is this secret and can I please just know what it is so then we can determine whether or not Kaner deserves to be mauled.”

“Thanks Hoss,” Kaner gave him a thumbs up. “Way to have my back.”

“That’s why you didn’t answer my question,” Marcus mused out loud. “About how you and Kaner met.”

I sighed. “Yeah. That’s why I didn’t answer.”

“How did you two meet?” Seabs asked, setting me down in a camp chair, leaving Kaner in the grass.

“Oh for God’s sake,” Kaner sat up. “In a club after a game over spring break. She had a few drinks, I had a few drinks, it was dark, sweaty, and we danced. We got back to my place and well yeah.”

They all looked at me as if I had three heads. “You slept with Kaner?” Hoss shivered.

I sighed again. “We both woke up the next morning and decided we were better off as friends and we actually stayed friends.”

“You two win the award for weirdest friendship ever. You know it’s supposed to become friends first and then work your way up to that level, right?” Crow informed us.

“Don’t worry,” Johnny whispered loudly at me. “I’d be ashamed too.”

Pat through a grass clump at his best friend. “I will destroy you in your sleep, mark my words.”

“Not if I get to you first,” I told him. “You could have at least told me you told him!”

“I didn’t want to be killed before I got the chance to raise another Cup!” he whined.

I rolled my eyes and sulked in my chair. “I don’t regret what happened though. It spurred off a weird friendship and he’s unfortunately one of my best friends.”

“What about me?!” came the voices of Crow, Viktor, Hammer, and Johnny.

I looked at Marcus, ignoring the others and he just looked at me, a spark of curiosity in his light, hazel eyes. “You’re not very conventional, are you?” he asked amidst the war game that was breaking out around us. I still heard him though.

I shrugged, offering him a lopsided smile. “What can I say? Dare to be different?”

He laughed, looking up at the stars and I felt a surge of pride run through my veins as I memorized every aspect of Marcus laughing. I knew it would probably be a while before I saw him smile like that again and I wanted to save his smile for a rainy day.